The acronyms can get confusing. For communications professionals, the practical question is how to make our companies’ expertise easier to discover, understand, and earn trust.

If you work in B2B communications, you have probably seen SEO, AEO, GEO, and AIO used so often that it is hard to tell them apart, much less know what to do with them. At the same time, you may have heard that AI is making press releases and media relations irrelevant.

So, what does this changing landscape mean for someone who has public relations in their job description? The core of it is still the same. Our goal is to help bring visibility to what a company does, why its expertise matters, and what evidence supports that claim to build reputation. It’s just now we are directing it towards both buyers and bots.

To better understand this, let’s sort through this “AI alphabet soup.”

What is SEO?

This likely is not a new term for you, but as a refresher, search engine optimization (SEO) helps websites like Google or Bing discover and understand your content so people can find it through relevant searches. That includes clear website copy, useful information, and a website that these engines can access.

While SEO is not being talked about as much right now, don’t mourn the time you spent learning it just yet. The strategies behind SEO are still very much alive, according to Google, which says established SEO practices remain relevant to AI Overviews, which leads us into AEO.

What is AEO?

AEO, or Answer engine optimization, focuses on making content immediately useful when someone asks an answer engine (Think: Google, Siri, or Alexa) a direct question. focuses on making information useful when someone asks a direct question and receives an answer rather than a list of links. Think of a Google AI Overview or a response from an AI assistant.

What is GEO?

Generative engine optimization (GEO) focuses on improving how a company or its content is represented in AI-generated answers. This has become more and more valuable as more and more users started to use large language models (LLMs) such as ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, and Gemini.

This is still very much the Wild West. GEO overlaps with AEO and SEO. In fact, Google describes AEO and GEO as terms used for work on AI search visibility, which it considers part of SEO on its own platform.

There is guidance available, along with plenty of advice that feels like throwing spaghetti at the wall and then taping it on to make it stick. Communications teams have a more durable place to start by making our clients’ expertise useful, consistent, and backed by evidence.

What is AIO?

AIO can stand for artificial intelligence optimization, though people use the term in different ways. For our team, AIO means using AI to improve our methodology and work. This could include organizing research, pressure-testing a message, or finding gaps in a draft.

That makes AIO a little different from the other terms here. SEO, AEO, and GEO concern how people find and understand your company. AIO concerns how your team does its work

So to go back to our title question, GEO, AEO, and AIO mean that your earned coverage, case studies, awards, and speaking opportunities can still give buyers independent context and concrete reasons to consider you. In addition to that, they can also create useful, publicly available information that search and AI systems may encounter.  An easy way to remember how to gain and maintain AI visibility is that you EARN it.

  1. E — Earn media with intention. Reporters are being slammed with pitches and so crafting an intentional personalized pitch will help you land an opportunity which you can then share as a citable proof point that tells AI systems (and human buyers) that you are worth trusting. Pursue awards and speaking opportunities with the same care: choose ones that genuinely reflect your expertise.
  2. A — Align your presence. Your website and LinkedIn presence should tell a consistent story about what you do, whom you serve, and what you know. Make it easy for someone who uses those channels to recognize the same company and expertise.
  3. R — Repurpose your proof. When you earn a placement or award, share it where appropriate. Add it to a relevant page on your website, reference it in a case study, or discuss the insight behind it on social media. Give one achievement more than one chance to reach the right audience.
  4. N — Nail your website copy. Describe your services clearly. Answer the questions buyers bring to a search engine or sales conversation. Support your claims with relevant case studies, testimonials, and earned coverage.

Sorry, had to add yet another acronym to our AI visibility alphabet soup.

Sound like a lot to manage on top of everything else on your plate? That’s where a partner comes in. SVM has been around for half a century and is well-versed in the ever-changing media and digital landscape. Our senior team can help you clarify your story, build credible proof around it, and make your expertise easier for the right people to discover, understand, and trust.