SEO, AEO and GEO: how to be found in the age of AI search

For twenty years, being found online meant one thing: ranking on Google. That world is changing fast. People now ask questions to voice assistants, read AI-generated answers at the top of search results, and turn to tools like ChatGPT and Gemini to decide who to buy from. If your website is only optimised for classic search, you are already invisible in half the places your customers look.

SEO — Search Engine Optimization — is still the foundation. It means a clean, fast, well-structured site with clear headings, sensible internal links and rich metadata, so Google understands what you do and shows you to the right people.

AEO — Answer Engine Optimization — is the next layer. Answer engines and voice assistants want direct, quotable answers. That means writing content in clear question-and-answer form, adding structured data (like FAQ schema) and making sure your key facts are stated plainly, not buried in marketing fluff.

GEO — Generative Engine Optimization — is the newest frontier. When someone asks an AI which local business to use, the AI pulls from sources it trusts and can parse. Being cited means having consistent, factual, well-marked-up information about your business across your site and the wider web.

The good news: you do not have to learn any of this. Every West Web Foundry site is built with all three in mind from the first line of code — and a real person keeps it current as the rules evolve.