For twenty years, being found online meant one thing: ranking on the first page of Google. That is still important. But a growing share of people now ask AI assistants such as ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Google's AI Overviews for answers and recommendations, and they often act on what the AI tells them without clicking through a list of links.
Generative Engine Optimisation, or GEO, is the practice of making your business the source these AI tools trust, quote and recommend. This guide explains how it works and what you can start doing today.
What is GEO?
GEO is the work of improving how often, and how accurately, your brand appears in answers generated by AI platforms. Where traditional SEO aims for a ranking position, GEO aims for a mention or citation inside the answer itself.
You will also hear the term AEO, Answer Engine Optimisation. AEO focuses on structuring content so it becomes the direct answer to a question. In practice, the two overlap heavily, and most businesses should think about them together.
How AI assistants choose their sources
Each platform works differently and none of them publish their exact methods, but the patterns are consistent. AI assistants tend to favour content that is:
- Clear and specific. Direct answers to real questions, with facts that can be quoted without rewriting.
- Authoritative. Written by people or organisations with genuine expertise in the subject.
- Corroborated. Consistent with what other trusted websites say about the same topic and about your business.
- Easy to understand. Well structured, with headings, lists and structured data that machines can read.
- Up to date. Recently reviewed, especially for topics that change quickly.
Five steps to start with GEO
1. Find the questions your buyers ask
List the questions customers ask before they buy from you: comparisons, costs, "best" and "how to" questions, and problems they are trying to solve. Then ask those questions to the main AI platforms and note which businesses and sources appear.
2. Answer them clearly on your own website
Create pages and articles that answer each question directly, near the top of the page, before going into detail. Use plain language, short paragraphs and descriptive headings.
3. Make your facts easy for machines to read
Add structured data (schema markup) for your business, services, FAQs and articles. Keep your name, address, phone number and descriptions identical everywhere they appear online.
4. Build corroboration on trusted websites
AI assistants rarely rely on a single source. Mentions of your business on reputable industry websites, directories, news coverage and reviews help confirm that what your own site says is true.
5. Track and refine
Re-check your key questions every month. Record whether your brand is mentioned, how it is described and which sources are cited, then improve the content and corroboration where you are missing.
What not to do
Be wary of anyone who guarantees citations in ChatGPT or Gemini. AI platforms decide their own answers, and no agency controls them. Tactics such as publishing large volumes of thin, AI-generated pages or fake reviews tend to damage trust rather than build it. The durable approach is the same one that has always worked in search: be genuinely useful, accurate and credible.
The bottom line
GEO does not replace SEO; it builds on it. The businesses that appear in AI answers are usually those that already have clear, authoritative, well-structured content and a consistent reputation across the web. Start with the questions your customers ask, answer them better than anyone else, and make sure the rest of the internet agrees.
If you would like help assessing how AI platforms describe your business today, get in touch or explore our AEO & GEO services.
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