Ideas & perspectives
Google rankings are observed positions for indexed pages in a documented search environment. AI search visibility is an observation of whether a brand or source appears in a defined answer journey. The foundations overlap, but the evidence, reporting and commercial promises should not.
No publisher can command a citation in ChatGPT, Gemini or Perplexity. The practical task is to make important buyer information easy to find, understand, verify and keep current.
Generative engine optimization is not a shortcut to AI citations. It is the practical discipline of making buyer-critical information clear, evidenced, easy to verify and easy to maintain across search and AI-assisted discovery.
AI search optimization is the practical work of making buyer-critical information easy to find, understand, verify and keep current when people use AI-assisted search. It builds on SEO; it does not guarantee an AI mention or citation.
Your next customer is already researching.