How the two are similar and different.
Haley Banwart is a senior public relations and content strategist at Meyocks. Krissy Biesterfelt is the director of SEO & content strategy at Meyocks.
Shifts in search behavior have elevated the importance of implementing generative engine optimization best practices. While SEO has long rewarded relevance and authority, GEO picks up on those same signals – favoring brands AI considers credible, consistent and well-referenced across the web.
In this new landscape, success depends on a brand’s total digital footprint – not just owned channels, but everywhere credibility can be earned: media coverage, websites, reviews, forums and social platforms. Every mention strengthens the signals that tell AI a brand can be trusted.
Here’s how the old playbook (SEO) compares to the new one (GEO), and what it means for marketers leading the next evolution of search.
SEO vs. GEO Best Practices
| Feature | SEO (Search Engine Optimization) | GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) |
| Primary Goal | Improve website ranking in SERPs and drive traffic to website. | Earn inclusion, citations and brand mentions in AI answers; capture high-intent clicks. |
| Target Platforms | Traditional search engines (Google, Bing) | ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews & AI Mode, Bing/Copilot, Perplexity, voice assistants (Siri, Alexa). |
| Search Behavior | One-shot, research-based queries; users browse results. | Conversational, multi-turn questions; users expect instant, synthesized answers with citations. |
| Content Focus | Keyword-based long-form content, one main intent. | Concise, direct answers; multi-intent/topic-cluster coverage anticipating follow-ups. |
| Content Structure | Headings, narrative text, some FAQs. | Q&A blocks, snippet-sized paragraphs, bullets/tables/steps; cite sources inline for trust. |
| Entity & Off-Site Signals | Mass backlink outreach, guest posting, linked brand mentions | Entity optimization (schema, consistent naming), digital PR, reputable third-party unlinked mentions (news, forums, reviews), social presence. |
| User Interaction | Goal is click-through to a website. | Goal is satisfaction in-answer; win citation/mention and qualified clicks. |
| Optimization Strategies | Keyword research, on-page optimization, link building, technical SEO. | Question research & clustering, conversational phrasing, FAQ/How To formats, entity building, transparent sourcing, digital PR, social and forum engagement. |
| Key Metrics | Website traffic, keyword rankings, click-through rate, backlinks. | AI overview appearances, brand/product mentions and web citations in AI chatbots, AI-referred traffic and conversions. |
Reputation is the new ranking
For public relations teams, GEO brings earned media to the forefront. In the generative search era, the more credible, consistent signals you send, the more likely a brand is to be surfaced by generative engines.
A well-placed article, interview or review doesn’t just build human trust anymore – it trains the machines. When AI tools look for trustworthy mentions, they rely on entity consistency (using the same brand names, first-party research citations and expert quotes) and reputation signals (coverage in reputable trade publications, media outlets or authoritative sites).
PR professionals play an essential role in shaping brand visibility and GEO only amplifies that influence. Your media wins optimize how algorithms recognize authority and decide which voices are worth quoting.
Why traditional SEO still matters
GEO represents the next evolution of search discovery, but research shows traditional SEO continues to play a critical role. For example, industry data shows that AI search currently accounts for only a small share of web traffic – about 3% of visits.
Additionally, an Ahrefs study analyzing nearly 2 million AI Overview citations found that 76% of the content cited in Google AI Overviews already ranked within the top 10 of Google search results. However, citation overlap drops to just 11% in AI chatbots.
SEO fundamentals — strong rankings, authority and relevance — remain the foundation for showing up in AI overviews. But as AI search adoption grows, it will be increasingly important to integrate GEO best practices to improve the odds of brands appearing in answer engines, chatbots and voice search.
Together, GEO and SEO form a strategic, dual pathway for maximizing brand visibility across both traditional and generative search.
While there are signals the monetization of AI-powered search is on the horizon, success in the current landscape largely depends on content quality, consistency and authority. Earned and owned storytelling is having its moment again.
Now is the time to align your content, PR and social media efforts around a unified strategy that leverages both GEO and SEO as complementary practices.
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