Posted By Ashley Tate on December 15, 2025
Think about the last time you asked Google a question. Did you scroll through multiple pages of results, or did you find your answer right away — maybe in the AI Overview?
That box is the result of Google’s ongoing mission to prioritize user experience and surface the most relevant, credible information as fast as possible.
The way Google — and other AI-driven tools like Perplexity and ChatGPT’s new browser, Atlas — decide which content earns that prime real estate comes down to three key marketing strategies: SEO, AEO, and GEO.
What's the Difference Between SEO, AEO, and GEO?
Even if you’re not a marketer, you’ve probably heard these acronyms tossed around (sometimes interchangeably). But in today’s AI-driven search environment, it’s worth revisiting what each one means:
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Search Engine Optimization (SEO) |
The classic. SEO helps your content rank higher on search engines like Google by making sure it’s technically sound, relevant, and user-focused. |
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Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) |
The next generation of SEO. AEO ensures your content is directly selected by AI-powered tools (like Google’s AI Overview, Perplexity, or ChatGPT) to deliver instant, conversational answers to user queries. |
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Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) |
The newest frontier. GEO focuses on optimizing for LLMs to ensure your brand and data are recognized, referenced, and accurately represented when AI models generate long-form, synthesized responses. |
Quick takeaway:
- SEO helps you gets found
- AEO helps you get featured
- GEO helps you get cited
All three are essential for a unified search strategy.
How Has SEO Evolved to "Search Everywhere Optimization"?
Traditional SEO has been around since the late 1990s and for two decades, success meant ranking on page one of Google. But today, forward-thinking marketers must embrace a new mindset: Search Everywhere Optimization. This approach ensures your content is visible wherever people search for answers: across social platforms, marketplaces, voice assistants, and generative AI tools.
Users now discover information across a far wider ecosystem:
- Social media: Gen Z, for example, increasingly turns to TikTok, YouTube, Reddit, and Instagram as primary search engines
- AI assistants: ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity are now gatekeepers of information
- Search engines: Even within Google, new features like AI Overviews and featured snippets are changing how visibility is earned
How to Build a "Search Everywhere" Strategy
Being visible across search doesn’t mean being everywhere at once. It means being strategic about where you show up — and how. In this distributed search landscape, marketers must adapt their approach across four key areas:
- Understand where your audience discovers: Do they ask questions on Reddit? Browse TikTok for tutorials? Use ChatGPT for research? Your strategy starts there.
- Build a cross-platform keyword and query strategy: Keywords are no longer one-size-fits-all. Instead of targeting broad terms like “shoes,” focus on long-tail questions that reflect how people naturally search, like, “What are the best waterproof running shoes for women?” AI-powered search understands context and conversational language, so your strategy should prioritize natural phrasing and search intent. This approach goes beyond traditional long-tail targeting by aligning content with how AI interprets queries, increasing the chances your content appears in relevant search results.
- Repurpose with purpose: Turn one great idea into many native pieces — a blog into a carousel, a podcast into short-form clips for LinkedIn, or a webinar into a summarized Q&A post that’s easily parsed by AI.
- Prioritize your impact: Not every channel fits every brand. Focus your resources on the two or three platforms that align with your audience’s habits and deliver measurable visibility or conversions.
Pro tip: Consistency is everything. Deliver value wherever your brand’s audience looks for answers, in a format they actually want to consume.
How to Optimize for AEO and GEO
As AI-driven search accelerates, AEO and GEO will define who gets found … and who gets buried. To future-proof your content for AEO and GEO:
- Target question-based queries: Tools like SEMrush can surface the exact phrasing users rely on. Build content around those questions.
- Structure your content for AI readability: Use clear headers, concise paragraphs, and bullet points so AI models can easily extract meaning and summarize your ideas accurately.
- Add FAQs and schema markup: Structured data helps search engines and AI tools understand your content contextually.
- Optimize existing content: Refresh your content library according to modern SEO and AI guidelines to improve discoverability and performance across search and AI platforms.
- Use precision over jargon: Write conversationally, clearly, and with intent. AI models favor accessible, direct language.
- Incorporate credible data and citations: AI tools increasingly pull from authoritative sources. Back up your points with verifiable facts and expert voices.
In other words: Write for humans, format for machines.
What This Means for Marketing Moving Forward
Q: What does the future of search look like?
A: Search is changing faster than anyone can fully predict. But its goal remains the same: connecting people with the information they need, where they need it.
At Tier One, we’re keeping a close eye on the shifts reshaping visibility, authority, and discovery. We aim to help brands navigate the new world of SEO, AEO, and GEO with confidence — crafting strategies that not only follow the trends, but anticipate where they’re heading next.
Want to future-proof your brand’s visibility? The Tier One team can help elevate your discoverability across every platform that matters.
