SEO vs GEO: what changes (and what doesn't) to rank your website in 2026

Do you have to throw SEO in the bin and start from scratch with AI? No. We explain what still works, what's new, and how the two fit together for a Mallorca business.

With all the noise about AI, a lot of people ask us the same thing: "is SEO dead?". The short answer is no. The long one: SEO doesn't die, it expands. GEO doesn't replace SEO; it sits on top of it. Anyone who gets this backwards will waste time and money.

What does NOT change: the fundamentals. Google and AIs still reward the same things — useful content that answers the user's real intent, a fast and secure site, quality experience, and signals that you're a trustworthy business. If your site already meets this, you've got 80% of GEO done without knowing it.

What DOES change: the shape of "winning". In SEO you won by ranking at the top of a list of links. In GEO you win by being the source the AI cites in its answer. That rewards content that answers directly and quotably, over content optimised only to stuff in keywords.

What's genuinely new: brand presence beyond your site. AIs care a lot about what's said about you online — mentions, reviews, consistency of your data — sometimes more than traditional links. Building reputation, not just backlinks, becomes a central lever.

A concrete Mallorca example: a restaurant that used to fight to rank first for "restaurant in Palma" now also wants its name in the answer when someone asks ChatGPT "where can I eat well near the port?". You get the second one with a flawless listing, real reviews, a clear site with its menu and its location well marked up. It's local SEO + GEO, hand in hand.

The conclusion is reassuring: you don't have to start over, you have to add. A solid SEO base is the best starting point for GEO. At Teix we build both at once, because the website that ranks on Google is, almost always, the same one the AI ends up recommending.