What GEO means
Generative engines are AI systems that write an answer instead of returning a list of links: ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews and Grok among them. Generative engine optimization is the work of making those answers use, name and cite your business.
GEO, AEO and SEO
You will see GEO and answer engine optimization (AEO) used for the same thing. Both aim to get you into the answer. SEO aims to rank a page in a list of results. The three overlap heavily, because the pages engines quote are often the same pages search engines rank. The difference is the result you judge yourself on: a position in a list, or a name in an answer.
What the work involves
- Answer-first content. Pages that put a real customer question in a heading and answer it in the first sentence.
- Crawler access. Robots and firewall rules that let AI crawlers such as OAI-SearchBot and PerplexityBot read your site.
- Consistent details. The same name, address, services and hours on your site and every listing.
- Trusted sources. A presence on the review sites, directories and lists engines cite for your category.
- Measurement. Your AI Share of Voice on the same questions, tracked over time.
For a step-by-step version, read how to rank in AI search. To see where you stand today, run the free AI Visibility Snapshot.
For what this looks like in a specific industry, see our guides for med spas, dental practices, law firms and car dealerships.
