GEO vs SEO: Considerations When Trying To Appear In Google’s AI Summary

Shea Keaveney May 16, 2025

While the use of artificial intelligence in SEO causes great debate, there’s no denying that AI is disrupting SERPs at an alarming rate. Perhaps the most significant way in which AI is being used in SEO is through AI-generated summaries that now appear at the top of many of Google’s results pages. This has left many brands, website owners and agencies wondering how to appear in the AI summary on Google.

Our team prides itself on staying up to date with the latest trends in SEO, so we’ve pulled together a quick guide for those wondering how to appear in the AI summary on Google.

What Is GEO?

Generative engine optimisation (GEO) is a new term given to the process of optimising content to appear on AI-generated search results. This includes platforms such as ChatGPT, Claude and also AI summaries displayed within search engine results. 

It’s important to understand that GEO isn’t an alternative to SEO but should instead form part of your SEO strategy. Given that AI summaries appear in around half of all search results, it’s crucial to target both AI summaries and traditional organic results.

What Is Google’s AI Summary?

Google’s AI summary is perhaps the most significant AI-shaped addition to the SEO world. Google’s AI overviews, which first appeared in 2024, sit at the top of Google’s SERPs in what most would consider prime real estate position. 

Google’s AI overviews are generated with the help of existing content that exists on the web, with sources and referring links sitting on the right-hand side of the summary at the top of the page. These links provide a great new opportunity for ranking opportunities, appearing before the top ranking organic result and any paid search results. More recently, we’ve seen links start to be included in the actual summaries, too.

How to Appear in Google’s AI Summary

Create High-Quality Content

The golden rule when trying to appear in the AI summary on Google is to create high-quality content. Over the years, Google’s much-talked-about algorithm updates have consistently focused on rewarding content with depth and value to the user. 

Even in the AI era, this hasn’t changed. In fact, it’s become even more important when trying to appear in AI summaries. When crafting summaries, AI’s large language models will prioritise content that is well written, easy to understand and free from errors.  

Focus on AEO 

AEO, or answer engine optimisation, is similar to generative engine optimisation but specifically focuses on optimising content to answer questions. Over 13 billion searches occur on Google every single day, and a large number of these are users looking for an answer to a specific query.

While transactional queries are often best resolved through a website purchase, informational queries are primed for Google’s AI summary feature as they offer a new way to resolve a query without any additional clicks, known as a zero-click search.

For example, consider a user who wants to know how many calories they should be eating a day. This type of query doesn’t always require a website visit and can be answered through Google’s AI overview. However, if your website is able to appear in this overview section and the user wants a deeper explanation, the chances of them visiting your website are significantly higher compared to if your site wasn’t appearing in Google’s AI summary.

To optimise your content for AEO, ensure you are using headings (H1s, H2s, etc.) that mirror the user’s query to show AI that your content is about to provide an answer. A good way to do this is by adding FAQ sections to your website that contain common search queries along with a clear, concise answer to the question.

Stay Within Your Topical Niche

In the world of SEO, website traffic and domain authority play a key role when determining the quality of a backlink, web page or domain. As a result, many brands are happy to see their website linked to from a referring website, regardless of the site or article’s relevance in relation to their own product or service. 

You only need to take a look at the variety (and randomness) of topics covered on the Forbes website. A magazine which was once renowned for the expertise it offered around business and finance now covers everything from dog gifts to mattress sales. And while it may not be the best practice, most would agree that the SEO benefit it brings is still worth implementing the tactic.

However, if topical authority was important in SEO, it has become doubly important when trying to appear in Google’s AI summary. When providing solutions to user queries, AI-shaped models won’t be interested in thin content, nor will they gather information from websites which aren’t relevant to the query on a wider scale.

When trying to appear in the AI summary on Google, focus on building links from highly relevant websites and from within articles that offer a deep understanding of the keyword you are targeting.  

Attract Unlinked Brand Mentions

Backlinks are one of the biggest ranking factors when it comes to SEO, and we all know that algorithms are capable of analysing both the quantity and quality of a website’s backlinks. However, one area where GEO drastically differs from SEO is the power of unlinked brand mentions.

Unlike search engines, LLMs prioritise words and content, meaning the mere mention of a brand or product from a quality source can improve your chances of appearing in Google’s AI summary. Previously, SEO strategies would place very little value on unlinked brand mentions. 

Final Thoughts

While we are still in the early days of AI-shaped SEO, the key takeaway is that AI is not here to make traditional SEO null and void. But that’s not to say your SEO strategies shouldn’t consider GEO and ways to appear in Google’s AI summaries. When it comes to succeeding at the latter, prioritise relevance and authenticity. In other words, and as every Google algorithm update tells us, create great content with the end goal of offering value to the user, not the search engine.

We’ve started to consider AI summaries in our SEO strategies here at Red Cow Media. If you’d like to discuss how our SEO expertise could support your business, contact us or give us a call today.