SEO, GEO and AEO: the three ways your customer searches today (and why you need all three)

Imagine there's a party. A party where the person you have a crush on is going to be. Or, let's say, the party where exactly the people you need to meet to close that deal, win that account or sell that product are going to be. Whatever excites you more.

And the party is right there. You know where. You're wearing the right clothes. You arrive on time. And you don't get in. Not because they don't want you. Because no one knows you exist. You're not on the guest list.

That's what happens to most companies on the internet. And here's the part almost no one has explained to you properly: it isn't about one party. And actually, not everything we're going to see is a party. There are two very different parties, and there's a third thing that isn't even a party — it's something better. Let me explain.

The first party: SEO, the one everyone knows

You know this party. SEO —Search Engine Optimization— is the work of getting your site to appear when someone searches Google for what you sell. Without paying for every click. Naturally, because Google considers your content relevant.

It's the biggest party, the most famous, and for that reason the most saturated. Picture the best party in the city. The one that's been running for years. Everyone wants to get in. Every year more people show up at the door, but the guest list stays the same size. The result? Getting in is harder every year. Not because you're worse than before, but because there are more companies bidding for the same space.

That's the reality of SEO today. It's still necessary. It's still important. But it's no longer enough to dress well and arrive on time. You need something that distinguishes you from the rest of the line. And even then, this is only the first of three doors. If your entire strategy is concentrated on this party, you're fighting in the most crowded place and leaving two opportunities untouched.

The second party: GEO, the exclusive club that just opened

This party is new. And almost no one in Mexico is telling you about it properly. GEO —Generative Engine Optimization— is the discipline of getting your company mentioned by generative AI engines: ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity, Grok.

Think of GEO as a brand-new exclusive club. Everyone wants in, but right now there are few guests. The list is still being put together. And the ones arriving now are taking the best spots — the ones closest to the hosts, the ones having direct conversations with whoever decides who gets recommended.

When that club is full —which will be soon— whoever shows up late will find the hosts already have their favorites. They already know who to mention when someone asks. They already have their references in place. Getting in then is going to cost much more than getting in now. That's why GEO isn't a discipline for next year. It's a decision you make this year or pay more for the next.

Let me give you a concrete example. Someone asks ChatGPT: "what's the best logistics agency in Mexico?". ChatGPT doesn't show a list of ten links. It shows an answer. Two or three names, sometimes just one, sometimes with an explicit recommendation. If your company isn't among those names, for that person you don't exist. It's not that you came in tenth. It's that you didn't get into the club.

The third thing: AEO, which isn't a party anymore

Here I switch the metaphor, because AEO doesn't work like the other two. AEO —Answer Engine Optimization— is the discipline of appearing in direct answers. Those boxes Google shows above the results when someone asks a specific question.

AEO isn't a party you have to get into. AEO is something better. Imagine that instead of having to go to a party to look for the person you have a crush on —or the one you want to do business with, "wink wink"— someone who already knows them introduces you directly. And, on top of that, speaks well of you before you even shake hands.

You're not competing with other guests for their attention. You're not waiting for them to spot you in the crowd. You're being introduced, with an endorsement, by someone that person trusts. That's AEO.

When Google answers directly with your information above all the results —"according to company X, a financial audit in Mexico costs between such and such"— it isn't sending your customer to a packed party where your site competes with nine others. It's introducing you as the authoritative source. It's literally recommending you.

AEO feels smaller because it sometimes doesn't produce an immediate visit to your site. But it does something more valuable: it turns you into the source the search engine cites. And in a world where Google writes the answer before showing the links —which is the world we're already in— being the source is worth more than fighting for third place in a list fewer and fewer people read all the way through.

Why you need all three

Here's the point no one explains honestly. SEO, GEO and AEO aren't three options to pick one from. They're three separate fronts that need to be worked at the same time, because your customer isn't a single person. Your customer is split across the three search behaviors.

Some still google like always and go to the saturated SEO party. Others ask the AI and enter the exclusive GEO club. Others only read the direct answer Google gives them above the results, and never make it to any party — they make their decision based on who was introduced as the source.

Which of the three is your customer? The most honest answer is: all of them. Your customer, at different moments of the same day, uses all three. They ask ChatGPT when they want a quick recommendation. They google when they want to compare three options. They do a specific search when they just want one concrete piece of data.

A company that only works on SEO is optimizing for a third of the map. Maybe half. But not all of it. And that uncovered portion is what your more awake competitors are already starting to claim.

Why your agency is probably only taking you to one party

I'll say this part directly, because it falls on me to say it. Most agencies in Mexico are still working with the 2019 playbook. And that playbook has one party: Google. SEO. Organic results.

It isn't out of bad faith. It's because GEO and AEO require different knowledge, different tools, different ways to measure. And the learning curve takes time. But what was tolerable three years ago —ignoring the new club and the possibility of being introduced directly— isn't anymore.

If your agency today isn't talking to you about GEO or AEO, it isn't because they aren't important. It's because they don't know how. And that's a difference worth being clear about before renewing next year's contract.

The first step

Before thinking about strategies, the first step is knowing where you stand. Do you show up on Google when someone searches for what you sell? Does ChatGPT mention you when asked about your industry? Are you the source Google cites in direct answers?

If you can't answer these three questions, you can't make a single informed decision about your digital presence. And, worse, you have no way to know if your current agency is doing its job well or just charging you to take you to the only party it knows.