GEO vs SEO: which does my Malaysian business need?
EasyFound · · 7 min read
Most Malaysian small businesses need both, and SEO basics come first. SEO gets your pages found on Google, and GEO gets your business named in AI answers like ChatGPT's. They share the same base: a website that can be read. But in our Malaysian test, only about one in five businesses ChatGPT named were in Google's top places. So check both, then fix the weaker one first.
Most Malaysian small businesses need both GEO and SEO, in that order: SEO basics first, then GEO on top. SEO gets your pages found on Google. GEO, generative engine optimisation, gets your business named when customers ask AI tools such as ChatGPT. GEO reuses most of the SEO basics and adds a few checks SEO doesn't cover.
Picture an owner in Puchong with two quotes on her desk, one for SEO and one for GEO. She only has to pick which comes first. In our Malaysian tests, a good place on Google didn't carry over to ChatGPT by itself.
What is the difference between GEO and SEO?
GEO and SEO differ in where your business shows up and how you can tell it's working. SEO aims at Google's list of links and its map. GEO aims at the short answer an AI tool writes.
| SEO | GEO | |
|---|---|---|
| Where you appear | Google's links and its Places list | Inside the answer ChatGPT or another AI tool writes |
| What the customer sees | A page of results to scroll | A handful of names, typically four in our tests |
| How you measure it | Your position, and clicks | How often you're named when the question is asked again and again |
| What it's built on | A website that can be crawled | The same website, plus directories and registers |
Where the names came from is in AEO vs GEO vs AI SEO. The work itself is compared in what AI SEO is.
Where do GEO and SEO overlap for a Malaysian business?
GEO and SEO overlap on the base: a website that search engines and AI tools can reach, with your facts on it in plain text. Google says so for its own AI answers: "The best practices for SEO remain relevant for AI features in Google Search (such as AI Overviews and AI Mode)."1 The same page adds that "all existing SEO fundamentals continue to be worthwhile".
That's Google speaking about Google. Our Malaysian ChatGPT data points the same way:
- Your own website is what ChatGPT cited most. Businesses' own websites were the largest group among the 482 pages ChatGPT cited in our analysis (full breakdown).
- Search engines already held most of those pages. In a separate check, Bing had 31 of the 37 pages ChatGPT cited for Malaysian questions (does ranking on Bing help?).
Our reading: a page that's easy for a search engine to find and read is usually easy for ChatGPT too.
Where do GEO and SEO differ in our Malaysian tests?
GEO and SEO differ in four places where good SEO didn't carry over to ChatGPT in our tests:
- A top Google place wasn't a seat in ChatGPT's answer. ChatGPT named 47 businesses across eight local questions. Ten of them were in Google's top five places for the same search (ChatGPT vs Google Maps).
- ChatGPT has its own crawler. OpenAI says sites that opt out of OAI-SearchBot "will not be shown in ChatGPT search answers"2. A site can rank on Google while a firewall keeps that crawler out.
- Malay and Chinese questions were searched in English. Asked in Malay, ChatGPT ran 87% of its web searches in English. Asked in Chinese, it was higher still (language test).
- There's no position to hold. Two ChatGPT answers to the same question shared only 15% of the businesses they named (why answers change).
Which should I do first, GEO or SEO, for my situation?
Which of GEO or SEO comes first depends on where your gap is. The table is our reading of the tests above, not a test result of its own.
| Your situation | Do first | Why |
|---|---|---|
| No website, or one nobody can update | SEO basics: one simple site saying what you do, where and when | Google and ChatGPT both need a page to read. Free Google Sites pages were cited too |
| A website, but Google doesn't show it for your own service and area | SEO basics: get indexed, and complete your Google Business Profile | GEO has little to build on until your pages can be found |
| You rank well on Google or its map, and have never checked AI | GEO: ask ChatGPT your customers' questions, several times | In our test, most of ChatGPT's names came from outside Google's top places |
| Customers ask in Malay or Chinese | Your English pages, then pages in their language | ChatGPT mostly searched in English for those questions |
| You already pay an SEO agency | Keep it, and ask what it checks in AI answers | The base is shared, so nothing is thrown away |
| Customers walk in and never search | Your Google Business Profile only | GEO can wait |
If two rows fit you, start with the one higher up. Once the base is in place, the GEO steps for a Malaysian business go through the work in order.
What can't our data tell me about GEO vs SEO?
- We have an interest. EasyFound sells a GEO service, so weigh our view like any seller's.
- It's mostly ChatGPT, through OpenAI's API. The ChatGPT app and Google's AI Overviews may behave differently, and the tests are small.
- It can't say which earns more. We didn't measure enquiries or sales from GEO or from SEO.
How do I find out whether my business needs GEO, SEO or both?
Comparing what Google shows with what ChatGPT says is the quickest way to see whether your gap is in SEO, in GEO or in both.
- Request EasyFound's free check. See what ChatGPT says about your business, then go through it with us on a free call.
- Search Google for your service and area, such as "aircon service Puchong", in a private window. Note whether your business appears.
- Compare the two. Missing on Google means SEO basics first. Found on Google but not named by ChatGPT means GEO is your gap.
- Check again each month, with the same questions asked the same way.
EasyFound is a founder-led AI SEO service in the Klang Valley for Malaysian businesses. We check six AI tools (ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews and Google AI Mode) in English, Malay and Chinese, then work on the pages they draw on. The free check is below.
GEO, SEO or both: where is your gap?
See what ChatGPT says about your business, then go through it with us on a free call.
Frequently asked questions
Is GEO replacing SEO?
No. GEO (generative engine optimisation) builds on SEO. Google says 'The best practices for SEO remain relevant for AI features in Google Search'. In EasyFound's Malaysian tests, businesses' own websites were the largest group of pages ChatGPT cited, so a website that search engines can read is still the base for both.
GEO vs SEO: mana lebih penting untuk perniagaan kecil?
Kebanyakan perniagaan kecil di Malaysia perlukan kedua-duanya, dan asas SEO patut didahulukan. SEO membantu laman web anda ditemui di Google. GEO (generative engine optimisation) membantu perniagaan anda disebut dalam jawapan AI seperti ChatGPT. Dalam ujian EasyFound di Malaysia, bila soalan ditanya dalam Bahasa Melayu, ChatGPT menjalankan kebanyakan cariannya dalam Bahasa Inggeris. Jadi, pastikan halaman Bahasa Inggeris anda jelas dahulu.
GEO和SEO有什么区别？中小企业需要哪一个？
SEO（搜索引擎优化）让您的网站在Google上被找到；GEO（生成式引擎优化）让ChatGPT等AI工具在回答中提到您的生意。大多数马来西亚中小企业两样都需要，先做好SEO基础，再做GEO。在EasyFound的马来西亚测试中，顾客用中文提问时，ChatGPT的搜索绝大部分是用英文进行的，所以请先把英文页面写清楚。
Can I do GEO without doing SEO first?
Not really. AI tools such as ChatGPT name businesses from pages they can find and read, and that is what SEO basics give you. In EasyFound's Malaysian analysis, pages that businesses controlled were about four in ten of the pages ChatGPT cited. A simple, readable website comes first, then GEO checks what the AI answers say.
If I rank first on Google Maps, will ChatGPT recommend my business too?
Not reliably. In EasyFound's Malaysian test of eight local questions through OpenAI's API, Google's first-placed business was named by ChatGPT in four of the eight, counting close name matches. A strong Google listing is a head start, but in that test ChatGPT found the businesses it named on websites and directories, not on Google Maps, so check its answers separately.
Sources
Our data: this guide adds no new test figures. Each one comes from the published data of an earlier EasyFound test, all run through OpenAI's Responses API with web search and approximate location Malaysia, not the ChatGPT app. ChatGPT and Google's Places list: eight local questions asked twice on 8 October 2026 (CSV). Cited pages: 482 pages cited in 135 answers on 24 September 2026, 164 of them businesses' own websites and 39 free Google Sites pages (CSV). Bing check: 37 cited pages looked up on Bing (CSV). Language test: 45 questions asked three times each on 24 September 2026; 109 of 126 searches for Malay questions and 132 of 138 for Chinese questions were in English (CSV). Answer stability: the same 135 answers (CSV). Businesses named per answer: a median of four across 324 answers (CSV). We also asked ChatGPT this article's question, in two wordings, four times in all on 10 October 2026; all four answers said SEO first, then GEO.
Other sources:
- Google Search Central, AI Features and Your Website, last updated 10 December 2025, read 10 October 2026 (link). Google's fuller guide treats GEO as part of SEO: Google's Guide to Optimizing for Generative AI Features on Google Search, last updated 10 July 2026 (link)
- OpenAI, Overview of OpenAI Crawlers, read 10 October 2026 (link)
ChatGPT and Google change often; treat these figures as a dated measurement.
Research by Janice Pang, EasyFound.