Comparison
AEO vs GEO — what is the difference?
AEO and GEO win two different kinds of AI traffic. AEO is about being named when a customer runs a search and the AI answer engine hands back one or two recommendations instead of a page of links — we show you the exact phrases that mention you, word for word what the AI said, and then give you a developer bundle of custom llms.txt, schema, answer pages and FAQ pages that makes you the answer. GEO is about being recommended when a customer is talking directly with ChatGPT, Gemini or Grok — which only happens if the engines see your business as authoritative, so we install one line of code and continually inject expert-cited articles into your site. AEO comes first, because GEO is built on top of the AEO files.
AEO vs GEO side by side
The simplest way to hold the difference: AEO makes you the answer inside an AI search result; GEO makes you the business a generative model recommends in conversation. AEO fixes what is on your site; GEO builds the authority around it. MyFast.ai delivers both done-for-you rather than handing you a score and a task list.
| AEO | GEO | |
|---|---|---|
| Traffic it wins | AI answers inside a web search | Direct conversations with an LLM |
| What it is | Opening the black box, then fixing your site files | Building and publishing the authority engines require |
| Core question | Are we the answer today, and why not? | Are we authoritative enough to be recommended? |
| Deliverable | Findability Score (0-100), Cited/Named/Not Found status per search, share of voice, verbatim AI answers, PDF report and dashboard, plus a developer bundle of custom llms.txt, structured schema, answer pages and FAQ pages | 3 articles + 2 Q&A briefs weekly for 8 weeks, then 6-8 deep articles monthly, Reddit and forum swipe files, auto-publishing snippet, 2-3 refreshed posts monthly |
| Engagement | One-time report, or keep the membership to re-test anytime | Ongoing monthly program, no contract, 90 days recommended |
| Time to value | Immediate — about 6 minutes per 100 searches | First citations typically in 4-12 weeks, then compounding |
| Platforms | ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, DeepSeek, Grok, Meta AI, Google AI Overviews (7) | ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok, DeepSeek, Meta AI (6) |
| Runs first? | Yes — GEO is built on top of AEO files | After the AEO files are installed |
| Best for | Anyone who does not know their baseline | Businesses ready to move the needle |
When should you choose AEO?
Choose AEO first, and choose it when you do not yet know your baseline. Most companies fail at this because they have no transparency into which search phrases cause AI answer engines to mention them versus their competitors — and if you don’t know, you are guessing. One report answers it: across 100+ real buyer prompts run through all seven engines, how often does AI cite you, name you, or not find you at all — and who does it name instead? You get a Findability Score out of 100, your share of voice, every AI answer word for word, and a developer bundle of custom llms.txt, structured schema, answer pages and FAQ pages built from your own results, which you or your web developer install on your website host. Once installed we track the changes so your gains are visible.
When should you choose GEO?
Choose GEO when the AEO files are in place and you need the authority that makes generative engines recommend you in conversation. It is a done-for-you publishing cadence — 3 in-depth articles plus 2 rapid Q&A briefs every week for the first 8 weeks, then 6 to 8 deep articles a month, each with a matching shortened Reddit and forum swipe file, published straight to your own domain through a one-line snippet, plus 2 to 3 older posts refreshed monthly. The articles are crafted for your specific business and carry the data generative engines crave: what specific named experts said about specific things, at specific places, at specific times. No contract, because authority compounds rather than switching on.
Do AEO and GEO work together?
Yes, and that is the intended sequence. AEO opens the black box, identifies the phrases where a competitor is winning, and installs the customized files that make you the answer. GEO then creates the authority around those files, filling the gaps in how the generative engines perceive your business. Monitoring re-runs the same prompts monthly, so improvement is measured rather than assumed.
Why AEO covers seven engines and GEO covers six
The two programs measure and target slightly different engine sets because they solve different jobs. AEO tests seven answer engines — ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, DeepSeek, Grok, Meta AI and Google's AI Overviews — because the goal is to measure, across the widest possible surface, every place a buyer's search could return a synthesised recommendation. GEO targets and monitors six generative engines — ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok, DeepSeek and Meta AI — because the goal there is to build authority inside the conversational assistants people talk to directly, and its visibility scanning tracks those same six every month. The overlap is deliberate: AEO measures the surface, GEO builds the authority those conversational engines reward.
AEO vs GEO — common questions
What is the difference between AEO and GEO?
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They target two different kinds of AI traffic. AEO (Answer Engine Optimization) is about being the business an AI answer engine names when someone searches something like “who is the best plumber in Austin, TX” and gets a recommendation instead of a list of links. GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) is about being recommended when someone is talking directly with an LLM such as ChatGPT, Gemini or Grok and asks it to do, explain, create or recommend something. AEO makes you the answer by fixing the files on your site — llms.txt, structured schema, answer pages and FAQ pages — all customized around what AI is saying about you right now. GEO builds the authoritative online presence generative engines require before they will recommend you at all. MyFast.ai does both for you.
Which should I buy first, AEO or GEO?
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Start with AEO. A single report gives you a factual baseline of where AI names you today and which competitors take the recommendations you lose — and GEO is built on top of properly formatted, customized AEO files, so those need to be in place first. Without that baseline you also cannot tell whether the monthly GEO Platform is working.
Can I run GEO without AEO?
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We do not recommend it. GEO works by creating authority around correctly formatted AEO files, so if the llms.txt, schema, answer pages and FAQ pages are not in place the articles have nothing to anchor to. AEO monitoring is also what turns GEO from a content subscription into a measurable program, because it re-runs the same prompt set each month so movement is attributable.
Can I run AEO and GEO together?
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Yes, and it is the common setup. AEO re-runs the same buyer prompt set each month so you can see the GEO Platform moving your standing, which turns publishing into something measurable rather than something you hope is working.
Do AEO and GEO replace SEO?
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No. Both sit on top of SEO. AI assistants still draw heavily on crawled and indexed content, so technical health and authority remain inputs. AEO and GEO address the layer above: whether you get named inside the generated answer.
Start with the baseline
An AEO report tells you exactly where you stand before you commit to a monthly program.