SEO (Search Engine Optimization) aims to make a site more visible in classic search engine results. It works on keywords, tags, links, speed and perceived authority.
GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) is more recent. It aims to influence the way generative AI systems (ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and others) cite or represent an organization in their responses.
Both disciplines are useful, but each operates on a single reading layer. SEO does not guarantee that AI systems understand you. GEO does not guarantee that your pages support one another or that your brand remains coherent over time.
Interpretive governance replaces neither SEO nor GEO. It sits above them: it is the discipline that maintains the coherence of what all systems (engines, AI, agents) understand from your public assets. It governs structure, evidence, vocabulary, machine surfaces and brand so that the whole remains readable and stable over time.
In summary: SEO and GEO are tactical levers. Interpretive governance is the framework that prevents those levers from contradicting each other. To go further, visit the AI governance and machine readability page.