Vendors use these three labels interchangeably, which makes budgets hard to compare. They are related but not identical.
The short version
| AEO | GEO | AI Visibility | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Focus | Format of the answer | Being cited by generative engines | Everything about how AI represents you |
| Typical work | Question-shaped headings, FAQ markup, concise definitions | Entity signals, structured data, citable content, llms.txt | The above plus sentiment, share of voice, monitoring, paid placement |
| Metric | Snippet and answer capture | Citations in AI answers | Share of voice, sentiment, recommendation rate |
| Scope | Page level | Site and entity level | Brand level |
AEO: answer engine optimization
AEO is the narrowest and oldest of the three. It predates modern chatbots: it is the discipline of formatting content so an engine can lift a clean answer out of it. Question as heading, answer in the first 40 to 60 words, FAQ and HowTo markup.
AEO is necessary but not sufficient. A perfectly formatted page from a brand no engine trusts still does not get quoted.
GEO: generative engine optimization
GEO adds everything that makes a source trustworthy and identifiable to a model: consistent entity signals, structured data, an unambiguous brand identity across the web, and content specific enough to be worth citing. Where AEO asks "can this be extracted", GEO asks "will this be chosen".
AI Visibility: the whole picture
AI visibility is the umbrella. It includes AEO and GEO, and adds the things neither covers:
- Sentiment: not just whether you are mentioned, but how you are described.
- Share of voice: how often you appear versus competitors across a fixed prompt set.
- Recommendation rate: whether you make the shortlist when someone asks for the best option.
- Paid placement: advertising inside AI assistants, which sits alongside the earned work.
Which one should you buy?
If a proposal only covers AEO, you are buying formatting. If it covers GEO, you are buying discoverability. If it covers AI visibility, ask how sentiment and share of voice will be measured, because that is what separates a real programme from a content retainer.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need all three?
You need the outcome, not the labels. In practice a serious programme covers AEO formatting and GEO signals, then measures results at the AI visibility level.
Is one of these just SEO?
All three share a foundation with SEO, and none of them work if your technical SEO is broken. The difference is that they target citation and representation rather than ranking.