If you’ve started poking around the topic of AI and search, you’ve probably run into a small alphabet soup of acronyms: GEO, AIO, AEO, AI SEO. Different agencies use different terms. Some blog posts use all four in the same paragraph.
None of them are wrong. The terminology just hasn’t settled yet , because the shift itself is still new.
Here’s what’s actually going on, in plain English.
Why all the different terms?
A few years ago, when you searched for something, Google gave you a list of links. You clicked one. Maybe you clicked three. You figured it out.
That’s changing. Now when someone asks ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews, or Microsoft Copilot a question, they get a direct answer — with a handful of sources named and cited. Not ten blue links. One response, a few mentions.
For businesses, that’s a significant shift. If your business isn’t one of the mentions, you don’t exist for that person in that moment.
Everyone noticed this at roughly the same time and started writing about it. They just used different labels.
GEO — Generative Engine Optimisation
GEO is the term that’s gaining the most traction, at least internationally. It refers to optimising your online presence specifically for AI-powered search engines — the ones that generate an answer rather than returning a list of results.
The goal of GEO is to be cited, named, or recommended inside those AI-generated answers. That requires a different kind of content and a different kind of site structure than traditional SEO.
Dear John offers GEO as a service for NZ small businesses. →
AIO — AI Optimisation
AIO means the same thing as GEO, more or less. Some agencies prefer it because “generative engine” is a bit of a mouthful. You’ll see it used interchangeably with GEO, particularly by NZ and Australian agencies.
AEO — Answer Engine Optimisation
AEO is a slightly narrower framing. It focuses specifically on getting your business cited inside direct answers — the kind AI tools generate when someone asks a question. It’s less about general AI visibility and more about appearing in those specific “here’s your answer” moments.
AI SEO
AI SEO typically refers to two things, depending on who’s using it:
One: using AI tools to help with traditional SEO work — writing, research, auditing. That’s been around for a while and isn’t what most people mean when they say it now.
Two: optimising for AI-powered search — essentially the same as GEO, AIO, and AEO. Most people using “AI SEO” now (2026) mean the second thing.
So which term is right?
All of them and none of them. The practice is real. The label is still being negotiated.
What matters isn’t the acronym. What matters is whether your business shows up when someone asks an AI tool a question you should be answering.
For a Wellington plumber, that might be: “Who’s a reliable plumber in the Kapiti Coast area?”
For an accountant in Christchurch: “What accountants in Christchurch work with small businesses?”
For a business automation company: “Who in New Zealand can help me automate my admin workflows?”
If an AI tool answers those questions and your business isn’t mentioned — that’s the problem GEO, AIO, AEO, and AI SEO are all trying to solve.
Does your NZ business need to care about this right now?
More than half of New Zealanders are already using AI tools to research products and services. That number is going up, not down.
Most NZ small businesses haven’t done anything about it yet. That’s either a problem or an opportunity, depending on when you start.
The businesses that establish AI credibility now — with properly structured content, schema markup, and a presence in the sources AI tools trust — will be the default recommendations when someone asks.
The ones that wait will be trying to catch up.
Got questions about GEO, AIO, AEO, or what any of this actually means in practice? The /geo page is a good place to start, or get in touch and we’ll have a plain-English conversation about it.
