Discover what the difference is between SEO, AEO, GEO & AIO, and why founders must optimise content not just for Google, but for AI-overviews and generative engines too.
1. What is happening to search in 2025?
Search is evolving. Traditional SEO still matters, but AI-powered tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Gemini are reshaping how people find information. These tools pull from multiple sources to give direct answers, so it's important to undertand where from and how you should engage with and structure content on these platforms to ensure your brand is surfacing for relevant search queries.
Quick wins for founders:
- Create high-quality, fact-based content that AI models can cite.
- Use clear, simple language and structured sections to improve readability.
- FAQs are great, short, sharp, punchy.
- Engage authentically with content on community forums like Reddit & Quora.
2. What is SEO and why is it still important?
SEO focuses on optimising for search engines through keywords, backlinks, and technical improvements. It remains the base layer for discoverability.
Quick wins for founders:
- Ensure your title tags and meta descriptions are under character limits and include keywords. A quick GPT search will help you structure for best-practises.
- Build backlinks through guest posts, PR mentions, and partnerships. When cross-polinating content, backlink to your original website posts.
3. What is AEO and why does it matter for AI answers?
AEO (Answer Engine Optimisation) ensures your content is structured to be used by AI systems. Q&A formats and FAQ sections make it easy for AI to pull concise answers.
Quick wins for founders:
- Turn subheadings into questions to match search intent.
- Add an FAQ section with short, clear answers.
4. What is GEO and how does it improve AI citations?
GEO (Generative Engine Optimisation) builds authority so AI tools are more likely to cite your content. Trust, expertise, and depth of content matter most.
Quick wins for founders:
- Publish long-form, authoritative posts on niche topics. Share these on platforms like LinkedIn, in the form of newsletters, they index well.
- Include data, examples, and unique insights that AI models value.
5. What is AIO and how does it work with AI search?
AIO (AI Optimisation) focuses on making your site machine-readable. This includes structured data, schema markup, and clean technical SEO.
Quick wins for founders:
- Add FAQ and "HowTo" schema to your pages.
- Use structured data for articles, products, and services. Again, a quick search and layred prompts leveraging ChatGPT or Perplexity will help here.
6. How do SEO, AEO, GEO and AIO work together?
All four approaches complement each other.
SEO drives traffic, AEO structures your content for answers, GEO builds authority, and AIO ensures AI systems can process and retrieve your content.
Quick wins for founders:
- Combine keyword research with question-based headings.
- Focus on one niche at a time to build strong topical authority.
- Overlay these with strategic content into highly relevant community channels and platforms, like Reddit and Quora.
7. How can founders start optimising for all four strategies?
- Write in a Q&A format and include FAQs.
- Publish niche, valuable, and trustworthy content consistently.
- Add schema markup to improve machine-readability.
- Track mentions in AI tools using tools like Perplexity alerts or Google Alerts.
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If you want a detailed SEO, AEO, AIO content strategy for your business, get in touch with Rafiki Works. Our fractional team of specialists will put together a structured plan and help you execute and track on a fractional basis.
Original LinkedIn post here.
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FAQs
What is the difference between SEO and AEO?
SEO optimises for search engines like Google. AEO optimises for AI answer engines like ChatGPT and Perplexity.
What is GEO in marketing?
GEO stands for Generative Engine Optimisation. It focuses on building authority so AI models cite your content as a trusted source.
What is AIO optimisation?
AIO makes your content more machine-readable for AI systems through structured data, schema, and technical SEO improvements.
Which is most important in 2025: SEO, AEO, GEO, or AIO?
They all matter. SEO remains foundational, but AEO, GEO, and AIO ensure your brand is visible in AI-powered search results and answers.
