SEO, AEO, GEO, AIO and SXO. What each actually means.
Four of these describe genuinely different goals. One of them does not have an agreed definition at all, which is worth knowing before somebody quotes you for it.
What each one is trying to achieve.
| Term | Goal | Where it happens | How you measure it | Definition |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SEO | A click on your link | The list of results | Rankings and sessions | Settled |
| AEO | Being quoted as the answer | Snippets and voice | Snippet ownership | Settled |
| GEO | Being cited in an AI answer | ChatGPT, Perplexity, AI Overviews | Inclusion and accuracy | Settled |
| AIO | Depends on the definition | Depends on the definition | Undefined | Contested |
| SXO | The visit converting | Your own site | Conversion rate | Settled |
Each one, with a real example.
Search Engine Optimization
Getting your pages to rank in the list of results.
Read more AEOAnswer Engine Optimization
Being the answer, rather than a link somebody has to click.
Read more GEOGenerative Engine Optimization
Being cited inside an AI generated answer.
Read more AIOAI Optimization, or AI Overviews, depending on who you ask
The one with no settled meaning. Ask before you buy it.
Read more SXOSearch Experience Optimization
What happens after the click, and whether it was worth arriving.
Read moreThey are layers, not alternatives.
- SEO is the base. A page that cannot be found, crawled or loaded is invisible to every other discipline on this list.
- AEO is SEO aimed at being extracted rather than clicked. Same page, different emphasis on structure and directness.
- GEO is AEO extended to systems that synthesize rather than quote. It rewards specific, checkable facts over persuasive language.
- SXO is what makes any of the above worth doing, because a visit that converts nothing is a cost rather than a result.
- AIO is not a fifth discipline so much as a word currently being used for at least three of the others.
What we tell clients who ask.
You almost certainly do not need five strategies.
You need one well built site seen from five angles. A fast, accessible, clearly written page with specific facts and a sensible structure performs across all of them. That is not a coincidence, and it is why the agencies selling five separate retainers are selling overlap.
The order matters more than the number.
Technical health and content quality first, because everything else reads from them. Structure and directness next, which covers most of AEO. Specific verifiable facts after that, which is most of GEO. Then the experience after the click, which is where the revenue actually appears.
Nobody can guarantee an AI mention.
These systems change without notice and do not publish their ranking factors. Anyone promising a fixed position in an AI answer is describing something they cannot control. What can be influenced is whether your pages contain the kind of specific, corroborated fact these systems prefer to cite.
Common ones.
What is the difference between SEO and GEO?
SEO aims to get a click on your link from the list of results. GEO aims to have your business cited inside an answer that an AI system generates, whether or not anybody clicks. The underlying work overlaps heavily.
Is AEO the same as GEO?
No. AEO is older and broader. It covers featured snippets and voice assistants as well as AI answers. GEO refers specifically to generative systems that synthesize an answer from multiple sources.
What does AIO mean?
There is no single agreed definition. It is used to mean Google AI Overviews, to mean AI optimization as an umbrella term, and to mean using AI tools to do optimization work. Ask which is meant before buying it.
Do I need all five?
No. You need one well built site. A fast, accessible, clearly written page with specific verifiable facts performs across all five, which is why agencies selling five separate retainers are largely selling overlap.
Can anyone guarantee my business appears in AI answers?
No. These systems change without notice and do not publish their ranking factors. What can be influenced is whether your pages contain the specific, corroborated facts these systems prefer to cite.
Not sure which of these you actually need?
Send us your site and what you sell. We will tell you which of the five is worth your attention first, and which ones you can safely ignore for now.
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