The New Language of Search: SEO, AEO, GEO, SEO 2.O and Beyond in 2026

Marketers love a good acronym. But the world of search and optimization has churned out a wave of new acronyms in the past few years — SEO, AEO, GEO, LLMO, AIO, SXO.

But here’s the thing: these terms aren’t just buzzwords. They represent how search, specifically how people find information, has completely changed. 

First, What Really Changed?

While there are new acronyms like AEO, GEO, and SXO, the fundamentals of optimizing a website haven’t changed much, which you will discover more in this article and in more detail in our follow-up post: What's Really Changed (and What Hasn't).

What has changed is where and how people discover brands, how information is surfaced, and how these shifts affect website traffic (like lower organic traffic). But the foundations such as great user experience, fast and secure performance, and clear, helpful content still matter just as much as ever. 

Now that we’ve established that the fundamentals of good SEO still matter, let’s take a closer look at some of the new search acronyms that have been making their way into the conversation.

Modern Search & Optimization Acronyms

Although we dive deeper into each of these acronyms, I first want to share short definitions and a little bit about each. Even if you don't get through the entire article, just reading this section will give you a solid understanding of these modern search optimization terms.  

SEO – Search Engine Optimization 
Still the foundation of discoverability — but no longer just about keywords or backlinks. Modern SEO focuses on creating technically sound, fast, and helpful websites that search engines (and people) can easily understand and trust across multiple platforms. 

SEO – Search Everywhere Optimization 
An evolved definition of SEO that reflects how discovery now happens everywhere — not just on Google. It’s about optimizing for all the places people and AI search: traditional search engines, AI assistants, social platforms, and voice tools. 

AEO – Answer Engine Optimization 
Optimizing your content so AI-powered search tools (like Google’s AI Overviews or ChatGPT) can easily find and deliver your answers. 

GEO – Generative Engine Optimization 
Creating content that performs well in generative search results by aligning with how AI models summarize, synthesize, and cite web content. 

LLMO – Large Language Model Optimization 
Structuring and tagging content so it’s understood, trusted, and accurately referenced by large language models (like GPT or Gemini). 

SXO – Search Experience Optimization 
Combining SEO and UX — focusing not just on ranking, but on the entire user experience once someone lands on your site.

Okay, now that you know how we would define these, let’s break each one down in plain language and talk about what actually matters for your website and your marketing strategy in 2026.

SEO: The Foundation That Still Matters

We’ll start where it all began: Search Engine Optimization.

And no, SEO isn’t dead. Its definition and goal have just evolved a bit. 

It’s been a long time since stuffing keywords or chasing backlinks was considered “good SEO practices”.  It’s more about clarity, speed, and experience. Search engines (and users) want sites that are fast, structured, secure, and genuinely helpful.

The goal of SEO used to be to rank (and kind of still is).

The goal of SEO now is to be found, understood, and trusted — wherever your audience is searching.

If you want to achieve this goal, the foundational principles are still important.

To optimize your site for SEO, you still need to make sure your site: 

• Loads quickly and works on every device
• Is secure (HTTPS, modern hosting, no bloat)
• Has structured data so search engines understand context
• Provides clear answers and next steps for visitors
• Is built with technical excellence from the ground up

At Smooth Fusion, we often say SEO starts with how your site is built—not just what’s written on it.

AEO: Answer Engine Optimization

Here’s where things start to evolve.

AEO is about optimizing your content so that it shows up as a direct answer in search—like in Google’s featured snippets. But this has been quickly replaced with Google’s  AI Overview. 

If you remember, Google’s first attempt to provide users with a direct answer to their search queries was “Featured Snippets”, which took direct snapshots of content from a website and placed it at the top of the search results page. Many “how to…” or “what is…” questions were answered without ever needing to click on a link. 

It’s hard to believe, but the “Featured Snippets” feature was officially launched in January of 2014, but it wasn’t until 2020 or even later than you saw a good amount (roughly 9-10%*) of search queries being answered in Featured Snippets. Source: MozCast SERP Feature History (2020)

So instead of marketers trying to rank as link number three on a results page, they were aiming to be the answer itself.

What did you need to do to rank in Featured Snippets?

Some of the tactics that were implemented were things like:

• Writing content in a clear question-and-answer format
• Using FAQ or HowTo schema
• Summarizing your content up front (think TL;DR or key takeaways)
• Building trust with clear authorship and citations

While GEO is fairly new, but if you’ve already focused on modern SEO practices and created content that answers questions (to be mentioned in featured snippets) then you are already on the right track. 

LLMO: Large Language Model Optimization

While LLMO is related to GEO, it’s a little more technical.

It’s about making your content easy for large language models (LLMs)—like GPT or Claude—to read, understand, and trust.

LLMs don’t see visuals or design. They “see” your HTML, your headings, your structure, and your words.

So, how do you optimize your content for LLMs?

Making your content easy to interpret.  And you do this by:

• Keeping language clear and unambiguous
• Using consistent formatting and logical structure
• Adding context through metadata and internal links
• Referencing credible sources
• Avoiding marketing fluff that sounds impressive but says nothing

In short, LLMO is about writing content that humans love—and machines can understand.

If you've noticed, there's a similar pattern.  Most of the way you optimize for LLMs and AI is very similar to modern SEO best practices. In some cases, it's exactly the same. 

SXO: Search Experience Optimization 

SXO is another acronym you might have heard and is more broad, related to other acronyms in this post, but is different because it blends SEO and UX. 

It’s because the click is not the goal and hasn’t been for a long time, it’s about the experience users have after they find you. 

You could have the best SEO in the world, but if your site frustrates visitors or makes it hard to take action, you’re wasting effort. 

To improve your website for SXO (Search Experience Optimization) you should: 

• Optimize for speed and usability
  
• Simplify your navigation and calls-to-action
• Write content that meets the user’s intent (not just your goals)
• Measure engagement, not just page views
• Make the journey from “search” to “satisfied” seamless 

SXO reminds us that every search is the start of a user experience. And that experience defines whether someone becomes a customer. 

SEO: Search Everywhere Optimization

Because visibility isn’t limited to one search engine anymore. SEO as “Search Everywhere Optimization” also referred to as SEO 2.0 is used when talking about the new era or evolution of search. 

Search has evolved beyond Google. People discover brands through AI systems like ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, and Copilot — and even through platforms like YouTube, LinkedIn, and TikTok.

Search Everywhere Optimization ensures your brand is discoverable, understandable, and credible no matter where — or how — people search. 

How to improve Search Everywhere Optimization: 

• Use structured data and schema so AI systems can interpret your content
• Write clear, question-based content that directly answers user intent
• Maintain consistent branding and expertise across every channel
• Publish original insights, data, and examples that AI can cite or reference
• Monitor visibility across AI tools, social platforms, and traditional search 

Search Everywhere Optimization reminds us that visibility today means more than ranking on Google — it means being present and trusted across the entire digital ecosystem. 

And I love how, even as search keeps evolving, it all circles back to the same three letters we started with: SEO — just redefined for a world where people search everywhere.

Ready to make your site discoverable everywhere?

Let’s talk about modern SEO and optimization →