Best SEO Conferences 2026: Dates, Prices and AI Sessions

Updated Oct 19, 2026. First published Jan 10, 2026.

The best SEO conferences left in 2026 for AI search are GEO Elite, Chiang Mai SEO, MozCon London, SEO-DAY and the GEO Conference. Each published agenda names GEO or AI search sessions, as of Oct 19, 2026. For a free option, SMX Next runs online on Nov 18.

Below, every date, venue and price comes from the event’s official page, checked on Oct 19, 2026. “See site” means the official page shows no price. “Not announced” means no session titles are public yet.

Which SEO conferences are still ahead in 2026?

Nine events remain in 2026, and six of them already list sessions on AI search.

GEO stands for generative engine optimization, the work of getting your brand cited in AI answers. Its close cousin is answer engine optimization (AEO).

Event	Dates	City and venue	Price	Named AI search sessions	Note
Tech SEO Connect	Nov 5 to 6	Durham, NC (Bay 7)	See site	Not announced	Single track and technical. Talks are livestreamed and posted free on YouTube.
Chiang Mai SEO Conference	Nov 9 to 13	Chiang Mai, Thailand	See site	Yes	Has an AI SEO track, including “Perception Engineering: Getting Cited Is The Easy Part”.
GEO Elite	Nov 12	London (Wallacespace, 15 Artillery Lane)	From £215	Yes	Billed as the UK’s first GEO conference. Only 120 places.
MozCon London	Nov 13	London (Convene 22 Bishopsgate)	See site	Yes	Agenda includes “Citation Needed: Linking AI tactics to real results”. Run by Moz, an SEO software company.
SMX Next	Nov 18	Online	Free	Not announced	Organizers say the 2026 agenda is still being finalized. Every session is free on demand.
SEO-DAY	Nov 19	Cologne (RheinEnergieStadion)	€149 livestream, €349 in person	Yes	German language. Sessions include “The biggest GEO myths”.
SEOkomm	Nov 27	Salzburg (Salzburg Congress)	€630 to €790 plus 20% VAT, by sales phase	Not announced	German language. Organizers say there are no paid talk slots.
GEO Conference New York	Dec 4	New York (Quorum)	$1,100, rising $100 on Nov 1	Yes	The whole day is on AI search visibility. 150 seats, no recordings.
GEO Conference San Francisco	Dec 9	San Francisco (Fort Mason Center)	$1,100, rising $100 on Nov 1	Yes	Same one day format as New York.

Events from earlier in 2026 that were in the first version of this page have now taken place, so we removed them. For a look at a large AI conference from earlier this year, see Beket AI joining Team BC’s delegation to ALL IN 2026 in Montreal.

Which SEO conferences already have 2027 dates?

Five big SEO conferences have confirmed 2027 dates, but none has published its session list yet.

Event	Dates	City and venue	Price	Named AI search sessions	Note
SMX Advanced San Diego	Mar 17 to 19, 2027	San Diego (Marriott Marquis San Diego Marina)	$1,295 super early bird until Dec 19. Free Expo+ pass	Not announced	Promoted as SEO, GEO, PPC and AI training.
SMX Munich	Apr 6 to 7, 2027. Workshops Apr 5	Munich (ICM)	Two day ticket €1,299 early bird until Dec 4, 2026	Not announced	The site promises coverage of AI Overviews and GEO.
brightonSEO UK	Apr 15 to 16, 2027	Brighton, UK	From £265 plus VAT. Prices rise Oct 22, 2026	Not announced	Large multi track event.
brightonSEO San Diego	Sep 9 to 10, 2027	San Diego	From $0. Prices rise Oct 22, 2026	Not announced	US edition of brightonSEO.
SMX Advanced Boston	Sep 20 to 22, 2027	Boston	See site	Not announced	Announced by Search Engine Land on Jul 28, 2026.

How can you tell if a conference really covers AI search?

A conference covers AI search when its agenda names specific sessions on it, not just one “future of search” panel.

Many events still run a traditional SEO agenda with one AI panel bolted on. A few have rebuilt around how ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Perplexity and Gemini choose sources. These four checks tell them apart. If the terms blur together, our explainer on what AI search optimization actually means separates SEO, AEO and GEO.

Check	What to look for
Named sessions	A title that names an engine, a method or a metric. “AI trends” panels are usually general.
Speakers	People who test AI answers day to day and share their data.
Case studies	Examples from the last six to twelve months. Older AI search examples are often out of date.
Hands on time	A workshop or deep dive where you can run your own prompts with an expert.

A quick filter helps too. Put last year’s agenda next to this year’s. If only a track name changed, the organizers relabeled rather than rebuilt.

Are small AI search events worth it?

Small, single topic events are often the best value if AI search is your main goal this year.

GEO Elite and the GEO Conference each run one focused day for 150 people or fewer. That usually means deeper sessions and more time with speakers. Free options help when budgets are tight: SMX Next costs nothing, and Tech SEO Connect posts its talks on YouTube.

If you are curious why AI search changes what conferences teach, our guide to what answer engine optimization is covers the basics.

What should you ask before you register?

Ask the organizer which sessions changed because of AI search, and expect session names in the answer.

A vague reply tells you a lot. A specific one, with titles and speakers, tells you more. Then bring two lists to the event: the AI engines that matter to your business, and the questions your customers actually type.

If you want a baseline before you go, the free Beket AI readiness check shows how ready your site is for AI crawlers.