Three terms, overlapping work
Start with the outcome you want.
AI SEO, GEO and AEO are used to describe work connected with visibility in search and answer experiences. Their meanings overlap, and different providers use them differently. A useful proposal should explain the actual deliverables rather than rely on an acronym.
AI SEO can mean improving discovery through AI-assisted search. It can also mean using AI tools in ordinary SEO work, so establish which meaning a provider intends.
GEO stands for generative engine optimisation. It generally describes efforts to improve how content and businesses are represented in generated answers and research experiences.
AEO stands for answer engine optimisation. It emphasises supplying useful answers to questions. You may also encounter LLM SEO or LLMO, referring to large language models.
At Byte, AI SEO and GEO describes a service covering audits, website improvements, content, business information, supporting evidence and ongoing review.
How this connects to SEO
The existing website still matters.
Useful public content needs to be discoverable and understandable. Technical access, clear pages, internal links and evidence remain important foundations. AI-assisted research adds questions about how information is selected, summarised and attributed in an answer.
For example, a company may rank for a service but explain little about its ideal clients or working methods. Improving that page helps a person evaluate the business and provides more substantive information for research tools to draw on.
The response should match the problem. An inaccessible page needs an access investigation. An unclear offer needs better content. An unsupported claim needs evidence or revision. Changing the label from SEO to GEO does not replace that analysis.
What to ask an agency
Translate terminology into a clear scope.
Ask which business objectives the work supports, which pages need attention and what implementation is included. Establish whether the provider will write content, make technical changes and research supporting sources, or only deliver recommendations.
Then ask how progress will be measured. Mentions, citations, visits and enquiries answer different questions. A useful report names its data sources and explains what they show.
Our agency selection guide provides a more detailed checklist. If you want a starting assessment of your own website, request a free AI visibility review.
