SEO, AEO, SGE and GEO: the differences, one by one
Four acronyms for four different jobs. What each one does, where it puts you, and the order that makes sense.
From a list of links to a written answer
For twenty years search returned a list and you picked. Today more and more queries resolve into a paragraph the engine writes, drawing on sources it chooses. The user reads that answer and often clicks nothing.
That did not remove visibility work: it split it into several disciplines with similar names and different goals. Here are the four, what each one does, and how they actually differ.
SEO: the base everything else rests on
Classic SEO aims to get your page into the list of results and get someone to click. It works site architecture, speed, URL structure, content, and the links pointing at you.
It is not obsolete, and this is the most misunderstood point: AI engines lean on the same index. If your site is not properly indexed, no amount of generative optimization makes up for it. SEO is the floor, not the alternative.
AEO: optimizing so the answer is yours
AEO is answer engine optimization. It aims to make your content the source an engine uses to answer a specific question, without the user having to visit your site.
In practice it means writing differently: real questions as headings, short self-contained answers underneath, and structured data telling the engine what each thing is. It is the work behind featured snippets and direct answers. We cover it in AEO.
SGE: the generative answer inside Google
SGE is the block Google builds with AI above the usual results. It is not a separate search engine: it is a new layer over the same index, and it coexists with the ten blue links.
That makes it the case where classic and generative work support each other most: what makes you rank still counts, and being citable is added on top. We cover it in SGE.
GEO: showing up inside what the model writes
GEO is generative engine optimization, and it is the broadest of the four: it is not limited to Google. It covers ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, and any engine that writes an answer from sources.
Its goal is not a position but a mention: getting the model to name you and cite you. That depends less on your site structure and more on having a recognizable brand entity with consistent presence in the sources the model reads. We explain it in GEO.
The differences, concretely
Where you show up. SEO in the list of results. AEO in the direct answer. SGE in Google's generative block. GEO inside the text any model writes.
What gets optimized. SEO optimizes the page and its links. AEO optimizes the shape of the answer. SGE optimizes both at once. GEO optimizes the entity and the sources that talk about you.
How it is measured. SEO and SGE are measured in Search Console, by impressions and position. AEO is measured by snippets won. GEO has no dashboard: you track real prompts and record what each engine answers.
How fast it responds. SEO compounds over months. AEO can move in weeks if the content already exists. GEO depends on the model re-reading its sources, which is less predictable.
The order that makes sense
The order is not a matter of fashion. If your site is not properly indexed yet, starting with GEO builds on sand: the model reads sources that cannot find you. First the technical and content base, then the answer format, and only then brand entity.
The exception is when you already have a healthy site and what is missing is AI naming you. There the work starts directly at the generative layer, which is what a GEO agency does.