In practice the two terms are often interchangeable; vendor blogs use them as synonyms more often than not. The useful distinction: AEO is the narrower term focused on direct-answer engines like ChatGPT and Perplexity, while GEO is the broader term that also captures AI Overviews and conversational summaries layered on top of traditional search. A team running one is effectively running the other.
GEO glossary
AEO vs GEO
AEO and GEO are overlapping disciplines: AEO emphasises being cited inside answer-engine responses, while GEO covers the broader generative-search surface including AI Overviews and chat assistants.