SEO, AEO and GEO: what a local business actually needs
SEO concerns discovery in search; AEO and GEO are commonly used for visibility in answer engines and generative AI experiences. The labels overlap. For a local business, a useful proposal should explain which information, pages and enquiry problems will be improved and how the work will be checked.
Use the terms to clarify the job
Ask the provider what a customer would experience after the work. Would a service page answer an important question? Would conflicting business details be corrected? Would the request form become easier to use? These are concrete outcomes of implementation.
A proposal that only lists 'SEO + AEO + GEO' leaves the actual work undefined. Ask for the pages, systems, checks and exclusions before comparing prices.
Is SEO being replaced by AI?
Google's guidance says its search foundations remain relevant to generative search. It does not require a special llms.txt file for Google visibility. A website still needs useful accessible information and a reason for someone to choose the business.
That does not mean every platform works identically. Platform-specific settings should be supported by that platform's current documentation, rather than presented as a universal shortcut.
Can ChatGPT do my SEO?
An assistant can help organise an outline, spot confusing prose or draft questions for a review. The owner still needs to check facts, examples, services and claims. A convincing draft can contain a wrong address, invented customer result or an outdated integration.
Use a review process: identify the question, gather your own evidence, draft the answer, verify claims, then check the rendered page and request link. Publishing a large amount of unchecked text skips the work that makes it trustworthy.
What you can do yourself
Start with the facts you know best: your actual services, service area, contact details and project evidence. Read the main pages on a phone and send a clearly labelled test through the agreed enquiry process. Keep a list of unanswered customer questions from normal conversations.
Bring in help when the next task requires technical diagnosis, a substantial content structure, design work or an integration you cannot maintain. The right choice depends on the specific problem and your capacity.
Judge the work by its usefulness
Look for a baseline, a prioritised scope, a clear handover and reporting that separates search activity from enquiries. Ask what remains yours if the engagement ends and which recurring services you will pay for.
Page count, keyword count and an unexplained AI score are incomplete measures. A smaller set of useful pages can answer many related questions; another page is worthwhile when it serves a distinct decision and adds something a customer needs.
Common questions
Do I need three separate SEO, AEO and GEO subscriptions?
Not automatically. Compare the actual work included. The same technical or content improvement may support more than one discovery channel.
Does adding FAQ schema guarantee AI citations?
No. Structured information should match the visible page. It is not a promise that an assistant will cite or recommend the business.
Is it worth hiring someone if I can use an AI writing tool?
It can be, when the work includes diagnosis, verification, implementation and measurement you cannot handle yourself. Compare that scope with the cost and your available time.
Get help with your next step
Send your website, the work you want more of and the problem you are seeing. We will review the fit and reply with a proposed next step.