People now ask AI tools such as Google’s AI Overviews and AI Mode, ChatGPT search, Perplexity and Microsoft Copilot for recommendations they used to type into a search box. These tools write an answer and cite a few sources. Generative engine optimization (GEO) is the work of making your pages more likely to be found, understood and cited in those answers.
The term became widely used after a 2023 research paper titled “GEO: Generative Engine Optimization”. Since then it has become shorthand for SEO adapted to AI search. This guide explains what it involves, where it overlaps with SEO, and what you can do today.
How AI search chooses its sources
Most AI search tools do not answer from memory alone. They retrieve pages from a search index, read them, and write a summary that links to some of them. That has three practical consequences:
- A page that cannot be crawled or indexed is unlikely to be used. Technical SEO still decides whether you are in the running.
- Clear, specific passages are easier to quote. A paragraph that directly answers a question is more useful to an AI system than one that circles around it.
- Consistent facts about your business build confidence. If your name, services and location match across your website, Google Business Profile and directories, it is easier for any system to describe you correctly.
GEO and SEO: what is the difference?
GEO is not a replacement for SEO. Google’s own guidance for its AI features says there are no extra requirements or special optimizations for AI Overviews and AI Mode: the same fundamentals apply, such as helpful, reliable content, pages that can be crawled and structured data that matches what is visible on the page. The difference is mostly one of emphasis:
- SEO aims for a ranking position and a click. GEO aims to be one of the sources an answer is built from, and to be described accurately.
- SEO often targets a keyword. GEO works better when a page answers the whole question, including follow-up questions a buyer would ask next.
- SEO success is measured in rankings and organic traffic. GEO is harder to measure, because AI answers change and are personalised.
Practical GEO steps for a business website
1. Make sure the basics are not blocking you
Check that your important pages are indexable, load quickly on mobile and are not hidden behind scripts that crawlers cannot run. Review your robots.txt for the AI crawlers you want to allow. For Google, access for Search and its AI features is controlled by your robots.txt rules for Googlebot; Google-Extended is a separate control for AI training and grounding in some of Google’s other systems.
2. Answer real questions directly
Collect the questions customers ask on calls, WhatsApp and email. Answer each one near the top of the relevant page in two or three plain sentences, then add the detail. Use the words your customers use, not internal jargon.
3. State facts that can be checked
Say which services you offer, where you operate, what your process is and what a customer receives. Specific, verifiable statements are more useful than broad claims, and they protect you from being misdescribed.
4. Keep your business identity consistent
Use the same business name, address, phone number and service descriptions everywhere. Add Organization or LocalBusiness structured data that matches your visible contact details, and link your official social profiles.
5. Cover the topic, not just one keyword
A service page supported by guides, FAQs and examples on the same subject shows depth. Link them together so both people and crawlers can follow the thread.
6. Earn mentions from other trusted sites
Reviews, industry directories, partner pages and press coverage help search engines and AI systems understand who you are. There is no shortcut here: genuine mentions from relevant sites matter more than volume.
How to measure GEO
There is no single reliable GEO score. Useful signals include:
- Visits from AI tools in your analytics, for example referrals from chatgpt.com or perplexity.ai.
- Google Search Console, where clicks and impressions from Google’s AI features are included in your web search totals.
- Regular manual checks of the questions that matter most to your business, recording whether and how you are mentioned.
- Enquiries that say they found you through an AI assistant. Ask new customers how they heard about you.
What GEO cannot do
No one can guarantee that an AI tool will cite your website, and answers can change from one day to the next. Treat GEO as a way to improve your chances and the accuracy of what is said about you, built on solid SEO and genuinely useful content.
Next steps
If you want to know how your website looks to search engines and AI tools, request a free SEO audit. A member of our team reviews it by hand. To see how we combine SEO with AI search work, read about our SEO and AI search visibility services, or our guide to answer engine optimization.
