GEO vs SEO: definitions that hold up
On nous demande en réunion : « c'est quoi la différence entre GEO et SEO ? ». Réponse courte : le SEO vise les moteurs de recherche, le GEO vise les moteurs génératifs. Réponse longue : ça se recoupe beaucoup plus qu'on le dit.
The four acronyms
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SEO — Search Engine Optimization. Optimising for an engine that returns links. The goal: getting clicked.
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GEO — Generative Engine Optimization. Optimising for an engine that returns a generated answer. The goal: getting cited.
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AEO / AIO / LLMO. Commercial synonyms for GEO. No technical difference — just vendor branding.
Where they overlap
A site well-structured for Google is already 70 % optimised for ChatGPT. Clean HTML, Schema.org markup, dense and factual content, a clear h1. The remaining 30 % is what makes GEO distinct.
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