Partly. Both draw on the same foundation, but they do not reward the same thing: Google ranks a page, while AI reads several sources, writes an answer and decides for itself who to mention in it.
There is a sentence we often hear when talking to companies: “We are already on the first page of Google, so we do not need the AI side.” Sometimes that turns out to be true. But more and more often we see a company that ranks near the top of Google not being mentioned at all when the same question is put to ChatGPT or to Google's AI Overviews. The reverse happens too: a company stuck on page two of Google is named in the AI answer.
In this article we explain where the two overlap and where they part ways. If you are reading about GEO for the first time, you may want to start with What is GEO?
Where they overlap: the same foundation
When AI tools that search the web receive a question, they run a search in the background, read a few pages from the results and write the answer from them. Google's AI Overviews also draw on Google's own index. So:
- A page that has never been indexed cannot be a source in an AI answer either.
- A page that cannot be crawled, loads slowly or has its content loaded only with JavaScript struggles on both sides.
- Content that answers the question clearly does well on both sides.
That is why there is no choice to make between “SEO or GEO”. On a site without an SEO foundation, GEO work has nothing to stand on.
Where they part ways: who gets rewarded
1. Google ranks the page, AI writes the answer
In Google, success is measured by ranking: the user sees the list, clicks and visits the site. An AI answer has no list; the tool combines what it has read into a single piece of text, and that text usually names three to five companies. Even if yours is the page in first place, your name may not appear if the tool built its answer from other sources.
2. AI looks more at what others say about you
For a question like “Which accounting firm in Manchester can I trust?”, the tool relies less on companies' own websites and more on comparison articles, industry directories, news sites and review platforms. A company writing “we are the best” on its own site does not carry the same weight as an independent source listing it. External links matter in Google too; but in an AI answer, your name appearing in the text of other sites helps directly, even without a link.
3. Questions are phrased differently
People usually type short queries into Google: “accountant manchester”. AI gets long questions with context: “I am a sole trader selling online — can you recommend an accountant in Manchester who knows this kind of business?” For a question like that, the tool is looking for a sentence that clearly says you work with sole traders who sell online. If your site does not have that sentence, you may not be matched in the answer, however well your keyword ranks.
4. Different expectations about clicks
The value of being visible in Google is mostly the click. With an AI answer, the user often does not visit any site at all; they read the answer and then look up the company named, or simply phone it. So the effect of AI visibility shows up not in site traffic but in searches for your company name and enquiries that come in directly. Looking at a traffic report and concluding “it is not working” can be misleading.
Four possible situations
| Situation | What it means | Where to look first |
|---|---|---|
| In Google, in AI answers | The foundation is solid. | Whether you are described correctly: are prices, address and services up to date? |
| In Google, not in AI answers | The page is good, but your name is weak in external sources or the bots are blocked. | Bot access, directories, comparison articles, reviews. |
| Not in Google, in AI answers | Others talk about you, but your site is weak. | The site's technical SEO and service pages. |
| In neither | Foundation first. | Getting indexed, service pages, business profile. |
They need to be measured separately
There are plenty of tools for the Google side: Search Console gives impressions and clicks, and rank trackers give positions keyword by keyword. On the AI side there is no “ranking”; answers vary by person and over time. What can be measured is the mention rate: asking a set of questions at regular intervals and counting how many answers name your company and your competitors. We do this every month with the same questions in our AI Visibility service; for a one-off look there is also a free AI visibility check.
Do not try to sum up both sides in a single number. Your Google ranking may improve while your AI mention rate stays flat, or the other way round. Each deserves its own chart.
In short
Ranking in Google is a precondition for being mentioned by AI, but not a guarantee. The difference comes down to three things: what others write about you, the clear answers you give to long, context-rich questions, and measuring the result by mentions rather than clicks. We describe what needs to change on the site on the GEO Support page.
Frequently asked questions
I'm number one in Google. Why doesn't AI mention me?
Because AI is trying to answer the question, not to rank your page. If the question is of the “which is the best” kind, it looks at comparison articles, directories and reviews more than at any single company's own page. If your name does not appear in those sources, your own page's ranking may not be enough.
Is the effort I put into SEO wasted when it comes to GEO?
No. A crawlable site, fast pages, clear headings and good content are the foundation for both. GEO adds consistency across external sources and quotable answer sentences on top of that.
How do I track the two separately?
You follow the Google side through impressions and clicks in Search Console and with rank-tracking tools. There is no ranking on the AI side; you ask specific questions regularly and count how many answers mention your company.
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