What Google says about the word
We read Google's guide to optimising for generative AI features on 9 October 2026. It has a section on AEO and GEO. It says AEO stands for answer engine optimization and GEO for generative engine optimization. It calls them terms you may see used for work focused on visibility in AI search.
Google then says that, from Google Search's point of view, optimising for generative AI search is optimising for the search experience, and so it is still SEO (search engine optimisation). It tells readers who are thinking of third-party AEO or GEO services to read its guidance on judging SEO advice.
What you need, according to Google
Google's page on AI features in search says there are no extra requirements to appear in AI Overviews or AI Mode. These are the AI answer features in Google Search. See AI Overviews. A page must be indexed and eligible to show in Search with a snippet. Google says the usual basics still apply: pages that can be crawled, internal links, good page experience, and content in text form.
What Google says you can skip
- New machine-readable files or AI text files. Google names this directly. See llms.txt.
- Special markup. Google says no special schema.org structured data is needed. It still suggests structured data as part of SEO because it helps with rich results. See schema markup.
- Splitting content into small pieces for AI, or rewriting it in a special style.
- Seeking fake mentions on other sites. Google says this is not as helpful as it might seem.
These statements are about Google's features. We did not read the rules of other AI assistants for this page, so we say nothing about how they pick sources.
A made-up example
A paint dealer in Nagpur gets many calls asking which paint to use on outside walls that get wet in the rains. The dealer writes one page that answers the question in plain text in the first few lines, then adds details lower down.
Then the dealer checks that the page is indexed in Google Search Console and that nothing blocks Google from reading it. Google says traffic from its AI features is counted in the Performance report in Search Console, under the Web search type. Its newer guide also names a Generative AI performance report.
Common mistakes
- Paying for tricks that Google says are not needed, such as an llms.txt file, for the sake of Google results.
- Writing only for machines. Google asks for content that people find unique, compelling and useful.
- Blocking Googlebot in robots.txt and then wondering why nothing shows up.
- Believing that AEO replaces SEO. Google calls it SEO.
Related terms
- GEO (generative engine optimisation): the same idea with another name.
- AI Overviews: the AI-written answers Google shows for some searches.
- llms.txt: a proposed text file for large language model tools, the AI systems behind chat assistants. Google says it is not needed for its features.
- Schema markup: code that labels the facts on a page for search engines.
- SERP (search engine results page): the page of results Google shows after a search.
For a longer comparison, read SEO vs GEO vs AEO. If you want a check of your site for AI search, see our AI SEO service.
Sources
- Google Search Central, "Optimizing your website for generative AI features on Google Search" (developers.google.com/search/docs/fundamentals/ai-optimization-guide), read 9 October 2026. Last updated 10 July 2026 per the page.
- Google Search Central, "AI features and your website" (developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/ai-features), read 9 October 2026.
