# SEO (search engine optimisation) > SEO gets you into the list of results, GEO and AEO into an AI's answer. How the acronyms differ, what they share and where a business should start. Synonyms: SEO, search engine optimisation, search engine optimization, classic SEO, on-page optimisation SEO is the work of making a website findable in search results: a comprehensible structure, sound technology, and content that genuinely answers a question. The newer disciplines aimed at AI answers build on this — they do not replace it. Search engine optimisation, SEO for short, covers everything that gets a website into search results without paying for the placement. Three things carry it: the content answers a real question, the technology serves it quickly and without errors, and the structure makes clear what it is about — for people and for machines alike. That last point is why SEO today is about more than Google. A page that is clearly structured, backs up its claims and carries its meaning in [machine-readable](https://btlabs.dev/en/glossary/machine-readable-website) form is preferred by an [AI assistant](https://btlabs.dev/en/glossary/ai-agent) for the same reasons a search engine prefers it. The offshoots that have acquired names of their own start from exactly this point. ## What is the difference between SEO, GEO and AEO? SEO, [GEO](https://btlabs.dev/en/glossary/geo-generative-engine-optimization) and [AEO](https://btlabs.dev/en/glossary/aeo-answer-engine-optimization) differ in their goal: SEO gets a page into a search engine's list of results, while GEO and AEO get its content into the answer an AI system writes. With SEO, the searcher clicks a result. With GEO and AEO, they read a finished answer and often see the page only as a source. - SEO (search engine optimisation): optimising for the search results of Google and Bing. - GEO (generative engine optimisation): optimising to be cited as a source in the answers of generative AI systems such as ChatGPT or Perplexity. - AEO (answer engine optimisation): optimising for answer engines, in practice largely the same as GEO. - [LLMO](https://btlabs.dev/en/glossary/llmo-large-language-model-optimization) (large language model optimisation): optimising for individual [language models](https://btlabs.dev/en/glossary/llm-large-language-model) , framed more technically than GEO. ## How does GEO differ from classic SEO? GEO differs from classic SEO in the outcome, not in the groundwork: classic SEO aims for a position in the list of results, GEO for a mention in an answer. That makes the single keyword matter less, and it matters more whether a paragraph makes sense on its own, whether claims are backed up and whether the facts about the business are machine-readable. Fast technology, clear structure and content that answers a question are needed for both. ## Do GEO and AEO replace classic SEO? No, GEO and AEO build on SEO. Many AI systems fetch their sources through a web search. What cannot be found there has a hard time making it into the answer. Which is why the popular line "SEO is dead" misleads. What changes is the surface on which the answer appears, not the question of whether your content can be found and understood. Anyone who skips the fundamentals and starts with the new acronyms is building on sand. ## Where does a small business start? A small business starts with the groundwork that applies to all four acronyms: every important page answers a customer question in its first paragraph, name, address, opening hours and services match everywhere, and the site loads quickly. Only then is it worth asking which acronym is meant. What is behind each acronym is explained in the post [GEO, AEO, LLMO: Do You Really Need Five New Acronyms?](https://btlabs.dev/en/posts/geo-aeo-llmo-do-you-need-five-acronyms). How btlabs Core covers the chain from SEO to GEO is shown on the [SEO and GEO](https://btlabs.dev/en/seo-and-geo) page. - [SEO](https://btlabs.dev/en/glossary?tag=seo) - [Visibility](https://btlabs.dev/en/glossary?tag=sichtbarkeit) - [AI Readiness](https://btlabs.dev/en/glossary?tag=ki-readiness) ## Related terms - [GEO (Generative Engine Optimization)](https://btlabs.dev/en/glossary/geo-generative-engine-optimization) - [AEO (Answer Engine Optimization)](https://btlabs.dev/en/glossary/aeo-answer-engine-optimization) - [LLMO (Large Language Model Optimization)](https://btlabs.dev/en/glossary/llmo-large-language-model-optimization) - [Citability (AI citability)](https://btlabs.dev/en/glossary/citability-ai-citability) ## Frequently asked questions. **Has classic SEO become obsolete with AI search?** No. [Google AI overviews](https://btlabs.dev/en/glossary/ai-overviews) mostly cite pages that already rank well classically. SEO remains the ticket in — AI optimisation (GEO) is the extension with citable answers, structure and visible authority. **What is the difference between SEO, GEO and LLMO?** The three terms build on each other rather than replacing one another. SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) makes sure a page ranks well in classic search results. GEO (Generative Engine Optimisation) extends that goal to being cited as a source in AI-generated answers — in a ChatGPT or Perplexity answer, for example. LLMO (Large Language Model Optimisation) goes a step further and gets more technical: it means specifically understanding and influencing how individual language models process, weigh and reproduce content — essentially reverse-engineering the model in question. In practice: SEO remains the entry ticket, GEO secures broad [citability](https://btlabs.dev/en/glossary/citability-ai-citability) , and LLMO fine-tunes the details for the systems that matter most to a given business. Whether you need this distinction day to day is a separate question — we answered it at length: [Do you really need five new acronyms?](https://btlabs.dev/en/posts/geo-aeo-llmo-do-you-need-five-acronyms) **Why is classic search engine optimisation alone no longer enough?** Because a growing share of your customers no longer search the classic way — they ask AI assistants, and you only appear there if your website is readable for AI systems too. Classic search still brings visitors, but it is now just one of two channels. Serve both — people in the browser and AI systems as a second audience — and you stand the best chance of being found wherever your customer asks. This principle is called [dual-channel visibility](https://btlabs.dev/en/glossary/dual-channel-visibility) . --- Source: https://btlabs.dev/en/glossary/seo-search-engine-optimisation Languages: [de](https://btlabs.dev/llms/de/glossary/seo-suchmaschinenoptimierung) · [it](https://btlabs.dev/llms/it/glossary/seo-ottimizzazione-motori-di-ricerca) See also: [llms.txt](https://btlabs.dev/llms.txt) · [ai.txt (Policy)](https://btlabs.dev/ai.txt) · [identity.json](https://btlabs.dev/identity.json)