AEO, GEO and SEO: how the terms differ
| SEO | AEO (answer engine optimization) | GEO (generative engine optimization) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Target | Ranked pages on Google | Being the extracted answer: featured snippets, voice and assistant answers | Being named or cited in synthesized AI answers |
| Typical unit of work | Page, keyword | Question and its answer block | Buyer question across several engines |
| Where it overlaps | Crawlability, structured data, content quality | Same | Same, plus third-party sources |
In practice agencies sell AEO and GEO as one bundle. MaxGrowth’s GEO page covers it in full: GEO services. This page is for buyers who searched “AEO agency” and want to know what to demand.
What an AEO agency should deliver
- Question inventory: the buyer questions in your category, grouped by stage, not a keyword list.
- Answer blocks: a direct, quotable answer under each question heading on your pages, with FAQ markup that matches visible text.
- Entity facts: consistent company, product and pricing facts across your site and profiles.
- Off-site evidence: reviews, community threads and comparison articles that the engines actually cite.
- Measurement: original answers and sources per question, weekly or monthly.
Our approach: evidence off-site first
An answer block on your own site is necessary and, on its own, easy for every competitor to copy. What separates brands in AI answers is usually third-party evidence. So MaxGrowth works in this order: brand monitoring, community word of mouth (Reddit and forums), social comments, then answer pages as the supporting layer.
| Phase | Output | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Baseline | Buyer questions run on six engines | Original answers, screenshots |
| Gap map | Cited sources where you are missing | URL list per question |
| Community | Disclosed participation under each community’s rules | Link and screenshot per item |
| Answer pages | Answer blocks, FAQ and entity facts you approve | Published URLs |
| Retest | Same questions weekly | Comparison report |
Red flags when hiring an AEO agency
- A guaranteed ranking or a guaranteed number of AI mentions.
- A single “AI visibility score” with no original answers behind it.
- Only on-page work, with no plan for third-party sources.
- Fake or undisclosed accounts in communities. Reddit’s rules require authentic participation.
- No stated engines, or results from one engine presented as general.
Price
Public monitoring plans start at $99/month (Solo), $199 (Team, up to 5 sites) and $399 (Growth, with 8 Reddit and 12 other community posts monthly). Implementation is scoped after a free audit; see pricing. For comparison with other providers, see our scored list of GEO and AEO agencies, which ranks nobody by opinion and discloses that we wrote it.
FAQ
What does an AEO agency do?
It structures your content so assistants can extract a direct answer, and builds the off-site evidence they cite. A good one also reports original answers per question.
Is an AEO agency different from a GEO agency?
The terms overlap. AEO emphasizes extractable answers; GEO emphasizes being named in synthesized answers. Most providers do both, and so do we.
How much does an AEO agency cost?
Our monitoring is $99, $199 or $399 per month; projects are scoped after a free audit. See pricing.
Do you guarantee answer placement?
No. We guarantee delivered work and show before-and-after answers for the same questions.
How do I test my brand first?
Use the free AI visibility test.
Check your starting point with the free AI visibility test.
Request a free growth audit