What is the difference between AEO, GEO and LLMO?

AEO, GEO and LLMO are overlapping names for the same goal: getting a company's pages chosen and cited when an AI or answer engine replies. AEO started with featured snippets and voice answers, GEO with AI-written answers, LLMO with language models. There is no agreed definition, and the work is the same: crawlable, indexed pages that answer questions clearly.

Facts

The term generative engine optimization was introduced in a 2023 paper by Pranjal Aggarwal and co-authors, later presented at KDD 2024. (Wikipedia: Generative engine optimization)
In that KDD 2024 study, the optimisation methods raised a source's visibility in generative engine answers by up to 40%. (Aggarwal et al., GEO: Generative Engine Optimization (KDD 2024))
Google's guide to generative AI features, last updated on 10 July 2026, calls AEO and GEO terms for work on visibility in AI search and says this work is still SEO. (Google Search Central: Optimizing for generative AI features (July 2026))
On Alphabet's Q2 2025 call (July 23, 2025), Google said AI Overviews had over 2 billion monthly users. (Alphabet Q2 2025 earnings call)
Pew Research found in March 2025 browsing data that people clicked a link inside Google's AI summary in 1% of visits to pages that showed one. (Pew Research Center: Google users and AI summaries (July 2025))

How do AEO, GEO and LLMO compare?

They differ mostly in where the term came from, not in what you do:

Term	Stands for	Usually means
AEO	Answer engine optimization	Being the direct answer: featured snippets, voice assistants, AI answers
GEO	Generative engine optimization	Being cited in answers written by AI, such as ChatGPT, Gemini or AI Overviews
LLMO	Large language model optimization	Being described correctly by language models, in training data and in search
SEO	Search engine optimization	Ranking in classic search results; the base the other three stand on

Is GEO different from SEO?

GEO builds on SEO rather than replacing it. Google says its AI features retrieve pages with its core ranking systems, so a page that is not indexed cannot be cited there. What GEO adds is writing each page as a direct, sourced answer to one question. The geo-vs-seo guide covers this in detail.

Which term should my company use?

Use whichever your buyers and team understand; the work does not change. What matters is a list of the questions buyers ask assistants, one clear page per question, and a way to measure AI crawler reads and AI visitors.

Where does easyIndex fit?

easyIndex is a tool for this work under any of the three names. Your coding agent writes each page over MCP, easyIndex audits it, checks it on the live site, notifies Bing through IndexNow and measures which AI crawlers read it and which assistants send visitors.

Common mistakes

Buying a separate service for each acronym when the work is the same.
Treating GEO as a replacement for SEO and letting indexing problems pile up.
Adding AI-only files or markup while the pages themselves answer nothing.

How easyIndex solves it

easyIndex turns AEO, GEO or LLMO into one checked routine: one page per buyer question, built by your coding agent, verified live and measured, for US$ 30 per website a month with a 7-day free trial.

Frequently asked questions

Is AEO older than GEO?

AEO was in use for featured snippets and voice answers before generative AI search; GEO as a term comes from a 2023 research paper.

Is LLMO the same as GEO?

In practice, yes. Usage varies between vendors and writers, and none of these terms has an agreed definition.

Does Google have a separate AEO ranking?

No. Google says its AI features use its core Search ranking systems and that optimising for them is still SEO.

Do I need a different agency for each one?

No. The same pages serve all of them: crawlable, indexed, and each answering one question with checkable facts.

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Last verified on October 9, 2026.