A Guide to AI, LLM SEO, and GEO

You’ve seen the buzzwords flying around.

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AEO, AI SEO, AIO, AISO, GEO, LEO, LLM SEO, SXO

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It’s a mess of acronyms that all point to one simple fact: search is not what it used to be. AI is here, and it’s changing how people find information. Your old SEO playbook is not enough anymore.

Let’s cut through the noise. Here’s what actually matters and what you need to do about it.

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So, what do all these acronyms mean?

Honestly, most of them are just consultants trying to brand a new concept. For strategic purposes, you only need to care about a few core ideas.

• Generative Engine Optimization (GEO): This is the big one. It’s about getting your content cited by AI tools like Google’s AI Overviews, ChatGPT, or Perplexity. The goal isn’t just to be a blue link. The goal is for the AI to use your website as a source of truth when it generates an answer.
• Answer Engine Optimization (AEO): This focuses on getting your content into Featured Snippets and "People Also Ask" boxes. It’s about providing short, direct answers to specific questions to win those zero-click searches.
• Search Experience Optimization (SXO): This blends SEO with good user experience. It answers the question: what happens after the click? SXO is about making sure your site is fast, easy to use, and actually converts the traffic you get.

Think of it like this. You need all three.

Traditional SEO gets you in the game. AEO makes you the direct answer. GEO makes you the source for the AI’s answer. And SXO makes sure the whole experience doesn’t suck for the user.

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How this AI search thing actually works

It’s simpler than you think. When you ask an AI a question, it doesn’t just search for keywords.

1. It understands your real question. It figures out what you actually mean.
2. It pulls relevant web pages. It grabs a bunch of pages it thinks are good sources.
3. It writes a draft answer. Based on its training, it makes a first guess.
4. It fact-checks the answer against the pages it found. This is the important part, called Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG).
5. It gives you the final answer, with links. It synthesizes the info and cites its sources. Your job is to be one of those cited sources.

This changes user behavior. People are asking longer, more conversational questions. And they are starting to trust the AI’s answer. If you are not the source, you are invisible.

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Your game plan: a simple framework for AI search

Forget the complex theories. Here are the three things you need to focus on right now.

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Become the obvious expert (E-E-A-T)

Google’s E-E-A-T guidelines (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) are no longer just suggestions. They are a technical requirement for getting noticed by AI.

• Show Real Experience: Share actual case studies with real data. Use personal stories. AI can’t fake first-hand experience.
• Prove Your Expertise: Get experts with real credentials to write your content. Put their bios and headshots on the page. Cite your sources.
• Build Authority Everywhere: Unlinked brand mentions on other trusted sites now matter more than just backlinks. Get talked about on podcasts, in newsletters, and on industry forums.
• Be Trustworthy: Have a secure site (HTTPS). Make your contact info easy to find. Be transparent. A strong brand is your best defense.

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Make it easy for robots to read (structure)

AI needs help understanding your content. You have to spoon-feed it information in a way it can easily digest.

• Use Schema Markup: Use JSON-LD to explicitly label your content. Use FAQPage, Product, and Person schema. This turns your page into a knowledge base the AI can easily query.
• Format for Skimming: Use clear headings (H1, H2, H3). Keep paragraphs short. Use bullet points and numbered lists. AI looks for "answer nuggets," so make them easy to find.
• Build Topic Clusters: Stop thinking about single keywords. Build deep authority around a whole topic. Create a network of content that covers a subject from every angle.
• Bonus: Generate llms.txt files automatically with llms-txt.com. A 'llms.txt' file is like a markdown-formatted sitemap, with extra context for llms, however it's not official if they are crawling them or not.

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Write content that gets cited (content)

Your content has one new job: to be so good, factual, and unique that an AI has no choice but to cite it.

• Be Factual: Write with a neutral, authoritative tone. State facts clearly.
• Link Out: Cite your sources. Linking to academic studies, government data, or other primary sources shows the AI you’ve done your homework.
• Offer Something New: You cannot just rehash what everyone else is saying. Publish original research, new data, or a unique perspective. Give the AI "information gain."

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The game has changed. But the rules are not complicated.

Build a trusted brand, structure your content clearly, and create things worth citing.

That’s how you win.

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TLDR:

• AI is changing search. Your goal is to get cited by AI engines like Google's AI Overviews, not just rank as a blue link. This is called Generative Engine Optimization (GEO).
• AI works by generating an answer and then fact-checking it against trusted web sources. Your job is to become one of those trusted sources.
• Focus on E-E-A-T. Demonstrate real experience, prove expertise with author credentials, build authority with brand mentions, and be transparent to build trust.
• Structure your content for machines. Use schema markup, clear headings, and short paragraphs so AI can easily find and extract information.
• Create citable content. Be factual, link to primary sources, and offer original data or unique insights that provide new value.