For years the game was simple: show up on Google. Optimise your site, get links, publish quality content and climb the rankings. That still holds. But the board has changed.
A growing share of queries no longer end in a list of blue results. They end in an AI-generated answer — whether in ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews, Bing Copilot or Gemini. And the question you should be asking yourself is: when your customer asks one of these AIs who can help them with what you do, does your name come up?
What is GEO?
GEO stands for Generative Engine Optimization. It's the set of techniques that increase the probability of language models mentioning, citing or recommending you when a user makes a query related to your sector.
It's not magic, nor a new trick. It's a logical extension of classic SEO: if Google needs to understand what you are and why you're relevant, AIs need the same — but with a different emphasis.
What SEO and GEO have in common
- Domain authority. A site with quality backlinks and established reputation is more likely to be cited by an AI.
- Structured content. Both Google and LLMs understand information better when it's well organised, with clear headings and concrete answers.
- E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authority, Trust). Models tend to cite sources that demonstrate real knowledge.
- Structured data (schema.org). Helps models extract concrete information about your business, services and reviews.
What changes with GEO
Classic SEO optimises to appear in the results page. GEO optimises to be the answer. And that requires a different approach in some key areas.
Direct-answer content
AIs tend to extract fragments that answer specific questions. An article that opens with "In this post we will discuss..." has far less chance of being cited than one that answers directly in the first paragraph.
External mentions and citations
Language models are trained on web data. If other relevant sites mention you, if there are reviews, interviews, articles talking about you — that builds presence in the training space. Link-building for GEO isn't very different from SEO, but the type of content that attracts those mentions can vary.
Explicit questions and answers
Including real questions your customers ask — and answering them clearly — is one of the most direct ways to position yourself in AI-generated responses. Well-constructed FAQ sections are no longer just semantic SEO: they're training data for the models.
How to start working on GEO without scrapping your SEO
- Audit your existing content. Does it answer specific questions or just "talk about" topics? Rewrite key articles so the answer appears in the first lines.
- Add FAQ sections to your service pages. Each question is an opportunity to appear in a generative query.
- Implement full schema.org. FAQPage, Article, LocalBusiness, Review. The more structured data your site offers, the easier it is for models to use it.
- Build your external presence. Get relevant media, blogs and directories in your sector to mention you by name.
- Write with authority, not vague generalities. AIs discard generic content. What they cite is content that takes a stance and gives specific answers.
Conclusion
SEO is still the foundation. But if you're not thinking about how to appear in AI-generated answers, in two years you'll be having the same conversation you're having now about SEO in 2015: "why don't I show up?".
The good news: brands that start now have a real advantage. The generative answers space isn't saturated yet. And those that build authority and direct-answer content today will be the ones models cite tomorrow.