SEO, GEO, AEO, AIO, REG and RAG
These terms belong in the same conversation, but they do not belong in the same category. Some describe publishing work, one is ambiguous, one is an original guidance framework and one is an AI architecture.
Six terms, six different questions
| Term | Primary question | Type | Who applies it? | Not guaranteed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SEO | Can the page be discovered, indexed and considered relevant? | Search discipline | Publishers, developers and marketers | Ranking |
| GEO | Can the information be useful inside a generated answer? | Generated-answer strategy | Publishers and organizations | Citation or mention |
| AEO | Can the direct question be answered clearly? | Answer strategy | Publishers and support teams | Answer selection |
| AIO | Does this mean AI Optimization or AI Overviews? | Ambiguous label | Depends on scope | A settled meaning |
| REG | Has the correct entity been recognized and can the correct facts be retrieved? | Original guidance framework | Businesses and data stewards | Platform control |
| RAG | How can an AI application retrieve outside knowledge before generating? | AI architecture | AI engineers | Accuracy |
Apply them in the right order
- SEO: establish crawlability, indexing eligibility, content and architecture.
- REG: establish the correct entity and resolve factual conflicts.
- AEO: answer real questions directly.
- GEO: add original evidence, clear authorship and passages that can support generated answers.
- AIO: define the scope before measuring or selling it.
- RAG: treat it as application architecture, not a public-site tactic.
Use the related sites for different depths
AI Search Explained provides longer conceptual pages. The Great Morph explains the business shift. IRefer shows the local-business application.
Sources used on this page
- Google SEO Starter Guide — SEO foundation.
- Google generative AI search guide — Official guidance and mythbusting.
- GEO research paper — Academic GEO framework.
- RAG research paper — RAG architecture.