GEO vs SEO: what is the difference and do you need both?

SEO helps your website rank high in Google's search results. GEO helps AI assistants like ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Claude mention your business in their answers. Most businesses need both, and the good news is that they largely build on each other.

A quick refresher on SEO

SEO stands for search engine optimization. You work on your website so Google understands your pages well and shows them high for the right keywords. The goal is a click: someone sees you in the list of results and visits your site.

SEO is about things like keywords, page titles, speed, internal links and links from other websites. You measure it with rankings and visitors, for example in Google Search Console.

What is GEO?

GEO stands for generative engine optimization. You make sure AI assistants know your business, understand it and mention it when someone asks a question. Think of "which installer in Zwolle is good with heat pumps?" or "where can I get my bike repaired in Delft?".

The big difference: there is no list of ten blue links. The AI gives one answer, often with a handful of names. If you are not in it, you do not exist for that user. Read more in our article what is GEO.

The key differences

• Outcome: with SEO a position in a list, with GEO a mention in an answer.
• Sources: Google mostly looks at your website and the links pointing to it. AI assistants combine your website with reviews, comparison sites, news and forums.
• Questions: people type short keywords into Google. They ask AI longer, personal questions with context.
• Measuring: you measure SEO with rankings and clicks. You measure GEO by asking AI the same questions repeatedly and checking whether you are mentioned.
• Stability: a Google ranking is fairly stable. AI answers vary from one time to the next, so you need to measure across several questions and weeks.

Where they overlap

Much of what is good for SEO also helps GEO. A fast, clear website that bots can read. Pages per service and per location. Structured data with schema.org. A complete Google Business Profile. Genuine reviews.

Take a hair salon in Leiden. If its website clearly states which treatments it offers, what they cost and where it is, that helps both Google and ChatGPT. The foundation is the same: make it easy to understand who you are.

Where GEO goes further

GEO asks for a few extra things that classic SEO tends to give less attention:

1. Writing direct answers: AI likes to cite short, clear paragraphs that answer a question straight away.
2. Mentions beyond your website: what others write about you carries a lot of weight. Think review sites, local news sites and industry directories.
3. Consistent details: your name, address and services need to match everywhere, or a model starts to doubt.
4. Letting AI crawlers in: some websites block bots like GPTBot or PerplexityBot without realising it.
5. Measuring per question: you want to know for which questions you are mentioned, and who shows up in your area instead.

Our page on generative engine optimization shows how we approach this in practice.

Do you need both?

For most businesses, yes. Plenty of people still simply search in Google. At the same time, more and more people put their question to an AI assistant, especially when they want advice or a comparison. And Google itself now shows AI answers above the regular results.

You do not have to run two separate projects. A sensible order:

1. Get your SEO basics in place: technical health, clear pages, Business Profile.
2. Measure how often AI mentions you now, for the questions your customers really ask.
3. Work on the areas where GEO goes further: mentions, reviews, direct answers.
4. Measure again and see what changes.

A bike shop in Amersfoort that already does well in Google can often gain ground in AI fairly quickly by focusing on reviews and mentions on local sites.

Start by knowing where you stand

Without measuring, you do not know whether AI mentions you, so you do not know where to begin either. With GEO tracking you ask ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Claude the same questions every week and see exactly when you are mentioned and when your competitor is. Want a snapshot first? Try the free AI visibility check.