"Hey Google, where's the nearest pharmacy that's open right now?" and "ChatGPT, recommend a 24-hour pharmacy near Chamberí" sound like the same question asked two different ways. And yet the machinery behind each one is radically different, and confusing the two leads many businesses to optimise for the wrong thing, or to assume they are already covered when they are not.
Voice SEO: deep down, it is still traditional SEO
When someone asks a voice assistant like Google Assistant, Siri or Alexa something, in the vast majority of cases that assistant does not generate its own answer: it searches the normal Google index (or Bing, for some devices) and reads out loud the snippet that best answers the question, almost always pulled from a featured snippet or a Google Business Profile listing. This means voice SEO is not a separate discipline with new rules: it is local and content SEO done well, with one added nuance, that voice searches tend to be phrased as complete, natural questions ("what's the best Italian restaurant near me that's open on Mondays?") rather than typed fragments ("Italian restaurant Monday").
GEO: the AI does not search and read, it generates its own answer
When you ask the same thing to ChatGPT, Gemini or Perplexity, something different happens: the model does not simply read an existing result, it builds an original answer by combining information from many different sources (its training data, and in models with browsing enabled, real-time searches too). That answer might cite your business, cite a competitor, blend information from several sources into a single paragraph, or simply make something up if it cannot find clear data. The discipline of trying to get that generated answer to mention you is called GEO (Generative Engine Optimization), and it is a considerably newer and less predictable field than classic voice SEO.
Why the mix-up gets expensive
A business that has done its local SEO homework well (complete Google listing, clear content, consistent data) is probably already fairly well positioned to show up in Google Assistant voice answers, because that assistant draws directly from Google's index. But that guarantees nothing about whether ChatGPT will recommend you when someone asks about your industry and area, because that model might not have recent access to your listing, might give more weight to sources it considers more reliable (media outlets, directories, forums) than to your own website, or might simply not know you if your online presence outside your own site is thin.
What the two do share, and where to start
The foundation is common to both disciplines: clear content answering real questions phrased the way people actually phrase them ("how much does... cost", "how do you...", "what's the difference between..."), structured data that helps any kind of machine understand your business unambiguously, and consistent presence in external sources (reviews, directories, trade press) that serve both as evidence for Google's algorithm and as training or reference material for AI models. Neither discipline is solved with tricks: it is solved by being the clearest, most cited source on your own topic.
Content format: direct question-and-answer wins on both fronts
Both voice assistants and generative models prefer text snippets that answer a question in a self-contained way, in two or three sentences, without depending on the previous paragraph to make sense. Structuring your content with real questions as subheadings (exactly the FAQ format we are using in this very article) and answering each one fully improves your odds in both disciplines at once, without having to write the content twice.
How to track each one
Voice SEO can be monitored indirectly through Search Console, paying attention to longer queries phrased as full questions, and checking whether you win featured snippets for them. Tracking GEO is, for now, more hands-on: there is no dashboard telling you which AI answers you appear in, so you have to manually and periodically ask the models your audience uses most about your industry and area, noting whether they mention you and with what description.
Which one should you focus on first?
It depends on your industry, but for most small local businesses it makes more sense to start by consolidating voice SEO (which in practice is well-done local SEO, with data that is already known and measurable) before chasing GEO, which is still harder to measure and control. The good news is that, since they share the same foundation, almost all the work done for one also serves the other.
An everyday example that illustrates the difference
Picture a tax advisory firm in a mid-sized Spanish town. Someone asks their phone "hey Google, tax advisor near me who handles freelancers", and the assistant reads out loud the name, rating and address of the Google Business Profile listing best ranked for that search, exactly the same result that would appear if that person had typed the search on their phone. If instead that same person asks ChatGPT "recommend a good tax advisor in this town for freelancers", the model can combine several sources (reviews it has seen during training, directory information, local press articles) to build its own answer, which may or may not include that firm depending on how much presence it has beyond its own Google listing. These are two completely different paths to reach the same type of potential customer, and a business that has only worked on one of the two is unknowingly leaving half the door shut.
Why brand consistency matters more than it looks in GEO
A nuance almost never taken into account: generative AI models tend to give more weight to information that appears repeated and matching across several independent sources than to information that only appears once on the business's own website. This means a business with consistent presence across industry directories, local press and reviews (all saying the same thing about what it does, where it is and who it serves) has considerably better odds of being cited accurately in an AI answer than a business with a perfect website but no footprint beyond it. The practical lesson is that GEO is not won just by improving your own website, it is won by building a consistent presence across the entire information ecosystem surrounding the business.
What to do with the results of manually monitoring GEO
Periodically asking AI models about the business itself only adds value if those answers turn into concrete actions. If a model cites a competitor with more complete data (exact address, hours, specialty), it is worth checking whether that same information is just as complete and accessible in the business's own sources. If the model simply does not mention the business at all, it is worth checking whether there is enough external presence (directories, press, reviews) for that model to have reliable information to draw from. Without that active follow-up, GEO monitoring stays a curiosity exercise with no real impact on the business.
Step by step: setting up simple monthly GEO monitoring
No paid tool is needed to start watching how AI sees you. The process, repeatable every month, is this: first, draft a list of eight to ten real questions a potential customer might ask an AI about your industry and area ("best [your industry] in [your city]", "recommend a [your industry] that handles emergencies", "which [your industry] has the best reviews in [your neighbourhood]?"). Second, ask those same questions, in the same order, to ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity, logged out if possible, to avoid personal history skewing the answer. Third, note in a simple spreadsheet whether you are mentioned, where within the answer, and with what exact description. Fourth, compare the result with the previous month: has anything changed about how you are described? Has a new competitor shown up that was not there before? This exercise, taking under an hour a month, is currently the only reliable way to know whether the work on brand consistency and external presence is having an effect, because there is not yet an automatic report equivalent to Search Console for this kind of visibility.
Common mistakes when confusing voice SEO with GEO
The costliest mistake is assuming that, because the Google Business Profile listing is spotless, the business is already covered for GEO too. It is not: a model like ChatGPT, especially in its version without browsing enabled, may have no access at all to that listing and rely solely on what it "learned" during training, which can be outdated or incomplete for small businesses with little presence in major media or directories. The second mistake is treating one AI's answers as representative of all of them: each model has different training biases, and a business can show up cited in detail in one and be completely ignored in another, which calls for checking several models, not just the most popular one. The third mistake is expecting fast results: while a change to the Google listing can show up within weeks, updating what an AI model "knows" about a business depends on training cycles and real-time browsing entirely outside the business's control, so patience here needs to be even greater than with traditional SEO.
Frequently asked questions
Do voice assistants like Alexa use generative AI to answer?
Increasingly, some already incorporate generative AI layers for certain questions, but most everyday answers (hours, addresses, contact details) are still based on traditional search results, not generated text.
Do I need a different website to optimise for voice search?
No, the same website works, but it is worth checking that your content answers complete, naturally phrased questions, not just isolated keywords.
How do I know if I am losing customers to a competitor who does show up in AI answers?
It is hard to measure precisely, but an indirect signal is to ask the most-used models yourself about your industry and area, and compare which businesses they mention before yours.
Is it worth optimising for GEO alone if my business is very small and local?
Yes, and increasingly so: people use AI assistants for everyday local decisions too (where to eat, who to call for an emergency), not just for general questions.
Do voice searches convert worse than typed ones because there is no screen to click on?
Not necessarily worse, but differently: many voice searches end in a direct phone call or a physical visit, rather than a click to a website, so it is worth measuring those conversions separately to avoid underestimating their real impact.
Should I be worried if an AI model gives incorrect information about my business?
Yes, it is worth correcting whenever possible, mainly by publishing the correct information clearly and consistently on your own website and in external sources, since that is what eventually helps models update what they say about you.