SEO vs GEO: Why It's the Same Work Now
November 9, 2026
If you own a local business, somebody has probably pitched you "GEO" in the last few months. Maybe it came with a scary chart. Maybe it came with a second monthly fee on top of what you already pay for SEO.
Short version, before you spend a dollar: SEO and GEO are mostly the same work now. If someone is selling them to you as two separate jobs, ask a lot of questions.
Let's walk through it in plain English.
What GEO actually means
GEO stands for generative engine optimization. Ugly name. Simple idea.
SEO is getting your business found in Google's regular results. GEO is getting your business named when someone asks an AI tool for a recommendation. That means ChatGPT, and it also means the AI answers Google now shows at the top of the page.
Don't skim past that second part. Search Engine Roundtable reported that AI Overviews now show up on more than 80% of Google searches, based on Semrush data, up from about 50% in June of last year (Search Engine Roundtable).
So when your customer Googles "roof repair near me," there's a good chance the first thing they read is an AI answer. GEO is already happening on Google itself. You don't get to opt out of it.
The overlap: the work that wins both
This is what helps you rank on Google and get named by AI tools. One list. Both jobs.
- Your Google Business Profile, kept complete, accurate and active. It's Google's record of your business and the version of your facts you control.
- Reviews that keep coming in, with a reply from you on each. That's other people vouching for you in their own words.
- Citations, meaning your name, address and phone match on every directory. Mismatches make you look like two businesses, or a closed one.
- Helpful local content: pages that answer the exact questions customers ask. In ktau's study of 158,099 AI answers, matching the question was the one page trait that reliably earned more citations (ktau research).
- Structured data, the code that labels your hours, address and services so machines read them right. Treat it as hygiene. ktau found schema on its own made no real difference to AI citations once you compared pages on the same site.
- Official pages, meaning clear pages for hours, pricing and booking. Google said on Oct 15 it's testing a section at the top of AI answers that points people to official pages for a task (Google blog).
Notice anything? That's the same list a good local SEO would have handed you five years ago. We go deeper on how AI tools use each one, plus a checklist, in What Makes ChatGPT Recommend a Local Business?
What's actually different
It's not 100% identical. Three differences are worth knowing.
1. ChatGPT doesn't search like Google
When you ask ChatGPT a question, it rewrites it into a handful of short searches, about four on average in ktau's data, and often tacks on the current year. The pages it finds are mostly not the pages Google shows. ktau found 97% of the pages ChatGPT pulled up weren't in Google's top 50 for the same question.
So ranking #3 on Google doesn't mean ChatGPT ever sees that page. The fix is boring: more pages that each answer one real question clearly, so you match more of the ways a question gets rephrased.
2. Other people talking about you counts for more
AI tools remember brands. ktau found 47% of ChatGPT's citations came from websites the model would name without searching at all. Brands it knows get searched for by name, ranked higher and cited more.
For a local business the AI hasn't heard of, that memory gets built by mentions on other sites: the local paper, your chamber of commerce, industry directories, a real "best of" list. On Google those mentions help a little. With AI, they can be the difference between getting named and getting skipped.
3. You measure it differently
On Google you can check your rank. AI answers don't hold still. When ktau checked the same questions ten weeks apart, only about 14% of ChatGPT's citation pattern held.
So you don't judge GEO by one screenshot. You ask the same questions every month and watch the trend.
The honest traffic numbers
This is where a lot of GEO sales pitches go quiet.
SEO consultant Marie Haynes looked at 12 months of Google Analytics data from 100 websites, more than 145 million sessions in total. Search Engine Land reported what she found (Search Engine Land):
- ChatGPT sent 0.62% as many visits as Google's regular search results. Add every other AI tool and it only rises to 0.73%.
- But the AI visitors were ready to buy. On the 55 sites tracking conversions, 13.8% of ChatGPT visitors converted, compared with 3.02% of Google visitors.
- Even so, Google's regular results drove 27 times as many conversions as all the AI tools combined.
Haynes called GEO "a distraction" and put it bluntly: "The AI search that is actually sending people to businesses today isn't ChatGPT. It's Google."
To be fair, Search Engine Land noted the study didn't spell out the industry mix or how each site defined a conversion. Still, it's real data from real sites, and it lines up with what we see.
Our take: she's right that Google pays the bills today. But Google itself is turning into AI answers, and the few people who do arrive from ChatGPT show up with their wallet out. Ignoring either one is a bet we wouldn't make.
Why doing both together is the safe plan
Look at your three options.
- Skip GEO, and you're betting your customers never change how they search. AI Overviews went from about half of Google searches to more than 80% in a little over a year. Bad bet.
- Chase GEO by itself, and you're putting money into the channel that sends a sliver of the traffic, while Google drives 27 times the conversions. Also a bad bet.
- Do both with one plan. Same profile, same reviews, same citations, same helpful pages. One budget. You win on Google today and you're in the answer when your customers switch.
That third option is what we do for clients, and it's what we do for ourselves. In mid October, marketer.report's tracking showed ajwn.co climbing from #43 to #33 in AI visibility, and AI tools started citing our About page. We didn't buy a separate "GEO package" to get there. We did the SEO basics well and kept them current. And some of our clients have told us they found us through ChatGPT.
The end goal hasn't changed. More calls, more booked jobs, and no more guessing where the next lead will come from.
Find out where you stand
Want to know what Google and ChatGPT say when a customer asks for a business like yours? Book a free visibility check. We'll show you where you show up, where you're missing, and the first fixes that would bring in more calls.
FAQ
What is the difference between SEO and GEO?
SEO gets your business found in Google's regular results. GEO gets your business named in AI answers from tools like ChatGPT and Google's AI Overviews. The foundations are mostly the same. The differences are how AI tools search, how much they rely on mentions from other sites, and how you measure results.
Do I need to pay for GEO separately from SEO?
Usually not. A solid local SEO plan already covers your Google Business Profile, reviews, citations, helpful content and structured data, which are the same things AI tools use. Be careful with anyone selling GEO as a separate product that ignores Google.
Does AI search send real customers?
Yes, but not many yet. In Marie Haynes's 100 site study, ChatGPT sent less than 1% of Google's traffic, but those visitors converted at 13.8% versus 3.02% from Google. Google still drove far more total conversions.
Is SEO dead because of AI?
No. Google's regular results still drive most conversions, and Google's own AI answers draw on the same signals SEO builds. SEO is now the foundation for showing up in AI answers too.
How do I check if AI tools recommend my business?
Ask ChatGPT and Google the questions your customers would ask, like "best [your service] in [your city]," and save the answers. Repeat monthly, since AI answers change. Or book a free visibility check and we'll do it for you.
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