What is Generative Engine Optimization (GEO)?

How GEO differs from SEO

Search engines return a ranked list of pages and the visitor chooses. An AI answer engine writes one answer and names only a few sources or brands. Being on page one is no longer the whole goal: you want to be one of the few names in the answer.

The term was popularised by a 2023 research paper on optimising for generative engines. Since then it has become the common name for this work.

What tends to help

• Clear facts about who you are. A plain description of what you do, who it is for, where you are based and what it costs, stated the same way everywhere.
• Text a crawler can read. Key content in the HTML your server sends, not only built by JavaScript afterwards.
• Structured data. schema.org markup such as Organization, Article and SoftwareApplication that says the same thing as the visible page.
• Mentions elsewhere. Reviews, directories, press and partner pages that describe you consistently. Models learn about brands from many sources, not only your site.
• Access for AI crawlers. If your robots.txt blocks the crawlers behind an assistant, that assistant has less to work with.
• Original, checkable content. Data, definitions and answers that other pages cite.

What you cannot control

Models are trained on snapshots and answers vary between runs, models and wording. Nobody can promise that an assistant will name you. Treat GEO as raising the odds, and measure it by asking the questions your buyers ask.