Search isn't what it used to be. Neither is the vocabulary we use to describe it.
In June 2025, a survey of 2,000 consumers revealed that 82% find AI-powered search more helpful than traditional search engines. By year's end, ChatGPT is forecast to reach 1 billion users. McKinsey estimates that generative search could impact $750 billion in revenue by 2028.
The industry scrambled to name this shift. Was it GEO? AEO? AISO? LLMO?
The acronyms multiplied faster than anyone could track them. Business Insider described it as a "GEO gold rush," with agencies racing to claim expertise in AI-era optimization while platform representatives from Google, Microsoft, and Perplexity urged caution about overhyped tactics.
For B2B firms trying to maintain visibility across fracturing discovery platforms, the confusion created a real problem. When your customers start finding answers through chatbots instead of search results, what does that mean for how you show up?
The stakes are high. Adobe's recent acquisition of Semrush signals how seriously major players are taking AI-driven discovery. But amid the gold rush, skepticism persists about which strategies actually work versus which are simply repackaged fundamentals with new labels.
Traditional search optimization worked because the rules were relatively stable. Optimize content for keywords. Build authority through backlinks. Improve site speed and structure. The tactics evolved, but the framework held.
Then AI-powered discovery platforms arrived and fractured that model. Consumers now get answers from ChatGPT, Google's AI Overviews, Perplexity, and dozens of other generative interfaces that don't operate like search engines. They synthesize, summarize, and serve answers without sending users to your website.
Users have been receptive, too. AI bots have been generating huge traffic on publisher websites without ever seeing ads or paywalls, in many ways bypassing the importance of traditional search. When AI overviews provide all the information a user needs without one click, why would they visit a webpage?
The industry responded by inventing new terms to describe optimization for these platforms. Generative Engine Optimization (GEO). Answer Engine Optimization (AEO). AI Search Optimization (AISO). Each acronym attempted to capture a slightly different slice of the problem.
A recent study by Fractl and Search Engine Land analyzed tens of thousands of job postings, surveyed hundreds of marketers, and scraped thousands of social media conversations to understand which terms were actually gaining traction. The results revealed a market in transition, with no consensus on what to call the work of maintaining visibility across AI-driven discovery platforms.