GEO (generative engine optimisation) helps your business get mentioned in AI-generated answers from tools like Google’s AI Overviews, ChatGPT and Gemini. AEO (answer engine optimisation) helps your content get picked as the direct answer to a question. Both build on SEO: clear facts, consistent details, direct answers and structured data.
SEO, GEO and AEO: what’s the difference?
All three are about being found. The difference is where people are looking and what the search tool gives back.
| SEO | GEO | AEO | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stands for | Search engine optimisation | Generative engine optimisation | Answer engine optimisation |
| Goal | Rank your pages in Google’s list of results | Get your business mentioned and cited in AI-generated answers | Have your content chosen as the direct answer to a question |
| Where it shows | Google and Bing results pages | Google AI Overviews and AI Mode, ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Perplexity | Featured snippets, “People also ask”, voice assistants, AI answers |
| What it rewards | Relevant pages, good structure, links, speed | Clear, consistent, quotable facts about your business across the web | Short, direct answers to specific questions |
In practice they overlap. A page that answers a real question clearly, on a fast and well-structured website, from a business whose details are consistent everywhere, helps all three.
Why it matters for Australian businesses now
- Google’s AI is already in your customers’ results. AI Overviews arrived in Australia in October 2024, and AI Mode in October 2025.
- People are asking assistants directly. Around 12% of Australians already use AI as their main way to search (Telsyte, 2026).
- Assistants name only a few businesses. A results page shows ten links; an AI answer often recommends two or three. Being one of them matters more.
How AI assistants decide which businesses to mention
No one outside these companies knows the exact rules, and they change. But the patterns are consistent with how these systems work: they draw on what’s published about you and favour information that is clear, consistent and easy to verify.
- Clear facts. What you do, where you work, your prices or price ranges, your hours — stated plainly on your website.
- Consistency. The same business name, address, phone and services on your website, Google Business Profile and directories.
- Direct answers. Pages that answer the questions customers actually ask, in the first sentence or two.
- Structured data. Schema markup that labels your business, services, prices and FAQs for machines.
- Reputation. Reviews and mentions on other reputable sites.
- Freshness. Dates, recent updates and current information.
A 10-point checklist you can start this month
- Write one sentence that says what your business does, for whom and where. Put it on your home page.
- Make sure your name, address and phone are identical on your website and Google Business Profile.
- Give each main service its own page, with the suburbs or areas you cover.
- Add a FAQ with the ten questions customers ask you most, answered in two or three sentences each.
- Publish your prices, or at least typical price ranges, if you can.
- Complete every section of your Google Business Profile and post weekly.
- Ask happy customers for reviews and reply to every review.
- Add structured data (schema markup) for your business, services and FAQs.
- Check your site loads fast on a phone.
- Ask ChatGPT, Gemini and Google “who’s a good [your service] in [your suburb]?” and note what they say.
How Allygro handles GEO and AEO
Every Allygro plan includes the foundations of SEO, GEO and AEO on your website pages: structure, speed, consistent business details, answer-first copy and structured data. The Enquiries plan adds 1 blog article a month and the Growth plan 2, written around the questions your customers ask. Plans start at 700 AUD a month. More about our SEO, GEO and AEO service.
Frequently asked questions
Is GEO replacing SEO?
No. GEO builds on SEO. AI tools still rely heavily on well-structured, trustworthy web pages, so good SEO remains the foundation.
Can I pay to appear in ChatGPT or Google’s AI answers?
Organic AI answers can’t be bought. What you can do is make accurate, clear information about your business easy to find and verify. Some platforms are testing ads near AI answers, but those are separate from the answers themselves.
How do I check if AI assistants mention my business?
Ask them the questions your customers would ask, such as “best electrician in Parramatta” or “kids’ martial arts near Box Hill”, and note whether you’re mentioned and what they say. Allygro’s free visibility check does this for you.
Do you guarantee rankings, leads or sales?
No, and you should be wary of anyone who does. We commit to the work: the deliverables, deadlines and monthly reports in your plan, done with care and skill. Rankings, mentions in AI assistants, clicks, enquiries and sales also depend on things nobody controls — competitors, budgets and each platform’s algorithms.
Sources
- Google, AI Overviews launch in Australia, October 2024
- Pickr, AI Mode arrives in Australia, October 2025
- Telsyte, Australian AI Study 2026
- Pages consulted 9–10 October 2026