AI visibility is the outcome: how often AI assistants mention, recommend and cite your business. GEO, AEO, AI search optimization and LLM optimization are overlapping names for the work that improves it. This glossary defines each term, plus prompt coverage, citation gap, share of voice and AI visibility score, in plain language.
GEO (generative engine optimization): improving your chances of being mentioned, recommended and cited in answers from generative AI assistants.
AEO (answer engine optimization): optimizing to be the direct answer, from snippets and voice to AI answers.
What do the terms mean?
AI visibility is the measure, while GEO, AEO, AI search optimization and LLM optimization are names for kinds of work.
| Term | Plain definition | Used for |
|---|---|---|
| AI visibility | How often AI assistants mention, recommend and cite your business, and whether what they say is accurate | The outcome you measure |
| GEO (generative engine optimization) | Improving your chances of being used in answers from generative AI such as ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Claude | The work |
| AEO (answer engine optimization) | Optimizing to be the direct answer, from featured snippets and voice to AI answers | The work |
| AI search optimization | A general label for improving how you appear in AI-powered search and chat; used loosely | The work |
| LLM optimization (LLMO) | A label for improving how large language models describe and recommend you; used loosely and overlaps with GEO | The work |
| AI visibility score | A single number summarizing visibility. Each tool builds it differently, so scores cannot be compared across tools | Reporting |
| Prompt coverage | The share of your tracked customer questions where you appear at least once, as a mention or a citation | Breadth of visibility |
| Citation gap | A question where competitors’ pages or other sources are cited but yours is not | Finding content to create |
| Share of voice | Your mentions divided by all business mentions in the same answers, including competitors | Competitive position |
| SEO (search engine optimization) | Optimizing to rank in lists of search results | The older, related work |
What to do next: Use one label consistently in your own work and check what any vendor actually measures.
Why do the labels vary?
This is a young field and no standards body decides the names, so agencies and tools pick their own.
You will also see AI SEO and LLMO. They are used loosely. The term GEO was popularized by a 2023 research paper. If two sources use different words, compare what they measure and do.
Is traditional SEO dead?
No. Assistants that search the web often draw on search results, so pages that are easy to find and trusted still matter.
What changes is that you can now be named inside an answer, and you track mentions and citations as well as rankings. For the full comparison, read AI visibility vs SEO.
Do you need to do SEO and GEO separately?
Mostly no, because most tasks serve both.
| Task | SEO | AEO | GEO |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crawlable, fast pages | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Answer-first content | Helps | Core | Core |
| Structured data | Helps | Helps | Helps |
| Consistent business details | Local SEO | Helps | Core |
| Independent mentions and reviews | Links, reviews | Helps | Core |
| Testing who the assistants name | No | Some | Core |
What to do next: Read what AI visibility is, then how to measure it.
Frequently asked questions
What is GEO?
GEO, generative engine optimization, is improving your chances of being used in answers from generative AI such as ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Claude.
What is AEO?
AEO, answer engine optimization, is optimizing to be the direct answer, from featured snippets and voice assistants to AI-generated answers.
What is the difference between GEO and AEO?
Both aim to get your business used in answers. AEO has older roots in snippets and voice. GEO focuses on generative AI. In practice the work overlaps heavily, so the labels matter less than the tasks.
What is share of voice in AI visibility?
Your mentions divided by all business mentions in the same set of answers, including competitors. It shows whether you are winning or losing against the businesses customers compare you with.
What is a citation gap?
A question where the assistant cites competitors’ pages or other sources but not yours. Closing citation gaps means making a page that answers that question better, or appearing on the sources that are cited.
What is prompt coverage?
The share of your tracked customer questions where your business appears at least once, as a mention or a citation. It shows how broadly you are visible, not just how often.
Is AI visibility replacing SEO?
No. AI visibility adds a new place to be found and new things to measure. Many assistants that browse the web draw on search results, so SEO fundamentals still matter.
Is traditional SEO dead?
No. The pages that are easy to find and trusted in search tend to matter for AI too. What changes is where you appear, now inside an answer, and what you measure.
Do I still need SEO if I optimize for AI?
Yes, and most of the work is shared. The extra AI tasks are clear business identity, consistent details, answer-first content and measuring who gets named.
No one controls what an AI assistant says. These steps improve your chances of being understood and recommended. They do not guarantee a mention, a citation or a position.
Related guides
- AI visibility vs SEO: what is the difference?
- What is AI visibility?
- How to measure AI visibility without vanity metrics
- How to get mentioned by ChatGPT
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