How AI SEO, GEO, and AEO Actually Work (Without the Jargon)
AI SEO, also called Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) or Answer Engine Optimization (AEO), is the technical and editorial work that helps Google AI Overviews, ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity find, verify, and cite your business accurately.
By MGO Data. Sources checked .
What changes when search produces an AI answer?
AI SEO, GEO, and AEO are overlapping industry labels, not one standardized technical protocol. Traditional SEO still matters: search systems need useful pages they can discover and understand. AI answer evaluation adds a practical question: which sources support the answer, and do they describe your business correctly?
Google says AI Overviews and AI Mode can use query fan-out, searching related subtopics to assemble an answer. A page must be indexed and eligible for a search snippet to qualify as a supporting link; no special AI schema is required. See Google Search Central guidance.
Our editorial approach is to answer distinct buyer questions in self-contained sections, link evidence next to claims, and connect useful related pages. That makes the material easier to inspect; it does not compel any system to retrieve or cite it.
On small screens, scroll the table horizontally to compare every column.
| Question | Traditional SEO | AI SEO / GEO / AEO |
|---|---|---|
| What are you trying to improve? | Discovery and useful search visits for relevant queries. | Accurate business descriptions and supported mentions or citations in answers. |
| What work overlaps? | Crawl access, useful content, internal links, accurate business facts. | The same foundations, plus inspection of answer sources and factual errors. |
| What evidence should you keep? | Indexed pages, search queries, visits, and conversions with dates. | Exact prompt, platform, date, answer, cited URLs, and any resulting visits. A mention is not a citation. |
What can you actually inspect and improve?
Valid JSON-LD from real store facts
Use structured data to describe facts already visible on the page: the organization name and URL, product price and availability, or a real service offer. Select the type that fits the page and validate both JSON syntax and required properties. Never fill a missing fact with a guess.
A valid parser result only proves syntax. Compare every value with the visible storefront, then use a relevant validator. Google structured-data rules require representative, accurate content; markup alone does not establish eligibility or visibility.
Crawler rules in robots.txt, discovery in sitemap.xml
robots.txt expresses crawl rules. sitemap.xml lists canonical public URLs for discovery; it does not grant access or override a blocked crawler. Confirm that useful pages return readable HTML, have internal links, and are not accidentally marked noindex. Check CDN rules as well as files.
For Google Search, including AI Overviews, review Googlebot access. Google-Extended controls other uses and is not the switch for appearing in AI Overviews. Keep search, user-triggered fetching, and model-training policies distinct.
OpenAI separates OAI-SearchBot for search from GPTBot for training. Anthropic documents Claude-SearchBot, ClaudeBot, and Claude-User separately. Perplexity documents PerplexityBot and user-triggered fetching. Review the policy for each platform you want to reach.
Inspect our robots.txt and sitemap.xml as concrete examples. A sitemap helps discovery but does not promise indexing; see Google sitemap guidance.
Third-party citations you can open and verify
Inspect sources actually cited for your category. Check whether relevant directories, editorial coverage, partner pages, and independently published comparisons identify your business accurately. Correct factual discrepancies where you control the listing; contribute useful evidence when an editor requests it.
This is our recommended evaluation process, not a universal ranking formula. Record the source URL and the claim it supports. A self-authored comparison is first-party material, and a paid placement is not independent endorsement. No fixed number of mentions guarantees an AI citation.
How do I audit a store with @mgodata/mgo?
Use Node.js 22 or newer. Replace yourstore.com and Your Brand with your public domain and business name. Audit and schema commands require an MGO Data sign-in. The AI scan additionally requires your own supported provider key; provider usage is separate.
npm install -g @mgodata/mgo
mgo login
mgo audit yourstore.com
mgo schema yourstore.com
mgo ai-scan "Your Brand"mgo audit checks the live page. mgo schema prints proposed JSON-LD from page facts for review. mgo ai-scan samples provider answers. These commands do not publish storefront changes. See installation, key setup, and the approval workflow.
API answer samples are directional, not a replay of consumer ChatGPT, Claude, or Perplexity sessions. Preserve the model, prompt, date, and actual source links. Do not report model recollection as verified web coverage.
Asked and answered.
Does AI SEO replace traditional SEO?
No. Crawlable pages, useful content, accurate facts, and internal links still matter. AI SEO adds evaluation of how answer systems describe a business and which sources they cite.
Do I need special schema or llms.txt for Google AI Overviews?
Google does not require special AI schema or an llms.txt file for AI Overviews. Use accurate structured data where appropriate and keep important information visible on the page.
Does allowing a training crawler enable AI search visibility?
Search and training crawlers can have separate controls. For example, OpenAI documents OAI-SearchBot for search and GPTBot for training. Review each provider policy instead of treating all AI bots as interchangeable.
Do mgo audit and mgo schema change my store?
No. They inspect the site and produce findings or proposed structured data. Publishing a supported change requires the separate approval and execution workflow.
Does an AI scan prove that customers see the same answer?
No. API answers can differ from consumer apps and change with the prompt, model, date, and search context. Save the actual response and cited sources, and measure referrals or conversions separately.
Compare, then try one useful task.
Choose the route that matches your next decision: choosing an SEO company, understanding AI SEO, GEO, and AEO, or comparing DT 1.5 with agencies and bulk AI tools.
Inspect the current DT 1.5 capabilities and documentation, or review the human service scope and pricing before committing.