Google isn't the only game in town anymore.
Our clients are asking us about voice search. They want to know why ChatGPT sometimes mentions their competitors but not them. And frankly, we've been figuring it out as we go.
The thing is, most content strategies still treat search engines, voice assistants, and AI tools as separate problems. Which makes sense—they're different beasts. But juggling three content strategies? That's expensive and messy.
So we started testing something simpler: one piece of content that works across all three. SEO for Google, AEO for Alexa, GEO for ChatGPT.
Fair warning: we're still early in this experiment. No rock-solid data yet. But the framework seems promising enough to share.
The Three Engines (Quick Refresher)
SEO - The old reliable. Keywords, backlinks, page speed. You know the drill.
AEO - Answer Engine Optimization. Making content that voice assistants and featured snippets can actually use. Think structured Q&As and schema markup.
GEO - Generative Engine Optimization. The new kid. Getting AI tools to cite or reference your content when people prompt them.
As Andreessen Horowitz put it, GEO isn't about ranking—it's about being retrievable when people generate, not just search.
Why Bother With All Three?
Simple. People don't just Google anymore.
They ask Siri while driving. They prompt ChatGPT for research. They expect answers, not just links.
If your content only works for traditional search, you're missing conversations. And conversations are where decisions happen.
Some early signals look decent. A 2024 study on GEO-bench showed 37-40% better AI visibility for structured content. We've seen a few clients get more AI citations. But again—early days.
Our Current Framework
This is what we're testing with clients:
Headlines that do double duty
Include your keyword (SEO) but make it answer a question (GEO).
Example: "What Is Clean Hydrogen? Benefits, Challenges, and Future Outlook"
Intro that gets to the point
2-3 sentences. Define the topic, say why it matters, preview what's coming. AI tools grab this section a lot.
Write like your reader has 30 seconds to decide if this is worth their time.
Simple structure (AEO loves this)
Use a table of contents or H2 overview. Voice engines eat this up:
- What is it?
- How does it work?
- Why does it matter?
- Pros and cons
- What's next?
Body content that's actually readable
Go deep for SEO, but keep it clean for AI summarisation:
- Short paragraphs
- Bullet points where they make sense
- Stats with sources (always)
FAQ section
Schema markup if you can swing it. Voice search loves FAQs.
Q: What's the difference between SEO and GEO? A: SEO focuses on ranking in search results. GEO makes sure AI tools can understand and cite your content.
Author info
Real name, title, date. We're not sure how much AI models care about this yet, but transparency never hurts.
TL;DR summary
3-5 bullet points at the end. Makes it easy for AI to lift the key points.
Where to Put Your Content
- SEO: Your main domain. Fast loading, good internal links.
- AEO: Structured data is your friend. Test how you show up in voice search.
- GEO: Submit to AI aggregators like Perplexity. Get cited in industry resources.
Measuring success is still a work in progress. Google Search Console helps with SEO. For GEO, we're basically taking screenshots when AI tools mention our clients. Not elegant, but it's what we've got.
Bottom Line
- People find information differently now. They search, ask, and prompt.
- Your content needs to work for all three, or you're leaving visibility on the table.
- This approach isn't about doing three times the work. It's about being smarter with the work you're already doing.
- We're still learning. But for B2B companies especially, this feels like a chance to get ahead rather than play catch-up.
- Working on content that performs across SEO, AEO, and GEO? We'd be happy to chat about what we're seeing. At Fifth Ring, we're testing this stuff so our clients don't have to.
