SEO and GEO: what is the difference, and how do you work on both?

SEO and GEO are often presented as two competing disciplines, with the second supposedly replacing the first. That is wrong: GEO extends SEO, and the two rest largely on the same work. Here is what really sets them apart, what they share, and how to run them together without paying twice.

Two simple definitions

SEO (Search Engine Optimization) covers what you do so that a page appears in a search engine's results, without paying for advertising.

GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) covers what you do so that a company is cited in answers written by an AI: ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, or the overviews Google generates above its results.

In the first case, the user receives a list of links and chooses. In the second, they receive a ready-written answer that mentions a few sources.

What really changes with AI

	SEO	GEO
What the user sees	A list of pages	A written answer, with a few sources
What you aim for	A position in the list	A citation in the answer
What is picked up	The page's title and a snippet	A precise passage, sometimes rephrased
Measurement	Rankings, clicks, impressions	Present or not in the answers, from one try to the next
Stability	Rankings move slowly	Answers vary with the wording

Two practical consequences follow.

Fewer clicks, but better qualified. Some users get their answer without visiting any site. Those who do click on a cited source are further along in their thinking.

Less clear-cut measurement. For AI answers there is no equivalent of a stable ranking. You observe a trend, not a position.

What does not change

This is the point most often forgotten: AI tools that search the web rely on the same pages as search engines. A page Google cannot crawl, or judges unreliable, has very little chance of being picked up in an answer.

Google says so itself about its AI-generated overviews: no special optimisation is required. The page simply needs to be indexed and eligible to be shown with a snippet in standard search.

The foundation is therefore shared:

• a site that crawlers can explore and read;
• fast pages that are readable on mobile;
• content that precisely answers customers' questions;
• an identifiable company: who it is, where it is, what it has delivered;
• reviews, mentions and links from other sites.

Everything done for this foundation serves both goals at once.

What GEO adds

Three writing habits carry more weight when you want to be cited.

Answer in the first sentence. A passage that opens with the answer, then develops it, is easier to reuse than text that circles around the subject.

Write self-contained passages. A paragraph should still make sense outside its page. Name things, and avoid "as seen above".

Bring what others do not have. An AI already summarises very well what is written everywhere. What it cites is the original element: a figure you measured, a client case, a method, a firm opinion.

Add to that a consistent presence outside your site: the same name, address and activity on your Google Business Profile, directories and professional networks.

Misconceptions to set aside

• "SEO is dead." No: AI answers are built from pages that rank well.
• "You need to rewrite the whole site for AI." No: content that is clear and useful to a reader is so for an AI too. Artificially chopping up your text achieves nothing.
• "A technical file is enough to get cited." No: no file replaces useful content and a real reputation.
• "A citation can be guaranteed." No: nobody controls an AI's answers, any more than Google's rankings.

How to work on both together

Rather than two separate services, a single plan is enough.

1. Check access: can search engines and AI crawlers explore your site? It is the quickest check.
2. List your customers' questions: prices, timelines, comparisons, steps. These are what people type into Google, and what they ask an AI.
3. Answer them on dedicated pages, with your own examples and your own figures.
4. Look after your Google Business Profile and your reviews, then align your details wherever they appear.
5. Measure on both sides: rankings and clicks in Search Console, and a monthly test of the same questions put to the main AI tools.

To go further on that last point, our guide to appearing in ChatGPT details the testing method. For the budget, see our article on SEO pricing.

In practice

If you remember only one thing: do not choose between SEO and GEO. Start by making your site readable and your content useful, and you will have done most of the work for both.

At KPS Agency, GEO is part of our SEO support, with no separate charge for the shared foundation. Ask for a free review of your visibility in Google and in AI tools: you receive it within 48 hours. Discover our SEO & GEO service too.