AI Search . 7 min read
AEO vs SEO, How Search Is Changing
The difference between SEO, AEO and GEO, and what each one asks of an ecommerce brand.
Search used to return a list of places to look. Increasingly it returns an answer. That shift changes what content has to do, without making the fundamentals of search visibility irrelevant.
Three related disciplines
SEO
Making pages discoverable, crawlable, relevant and credible so they can rank for queries with commercial intent.
AEO, answer engine optimisation
Structuring content so a specific question can be answered directly and attributed clearly, in the form an answer engine can lift.
GEO, generative engine optimisation
Making a brand and its facts clear enough for generative systems to represent accurately when they summarise a category or compare options.
What changes in practice
- Write the answer first, then the supporting explanation.
- Use question shaped headings that match how people ask.
- State facts plainly so they can be quoted without distortion.
- Keep entity information consistent across every page.
- Add structured data so machines do not have to infer.
What stays the same
Useful content, technical health, sensible internal linking and genuine authority still matter. AEO and GEO are additional demands on quality, not replacements for it.
Want this applied to your own store?
We will review your storefront, identify the stage that is costing you the most and tell you what we would change first.