Guide
What is GEO?
GEO stands for Generative Engine Optimisation: setting up your website so AI search tools such as ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google's AI answers can read it, understand it and use it as a source. Here's what it is, how it relates to SEO, and what it isn't.
Why GEO is emerging
More and more people ask an AI assistant, or see an AI summary above the search results. Those answers draw on sources across the web. GEO is about whether your website is a useful source for them.
GEO and SEO
SEO aims for a place in the list of results; GEO aims to be used and described correctly inside a generated answer. The foundations overlap: crawlable pages, clear structure and trustworthy content. GEO puts extra weight on plain facts and passages that can be quoted on their own. Other names for the same idea include AEO and AI SEO.
What AI tools need
Clear, factual information: what you do, for whom, where and on what terms. Pages that can be read without JavaScript, structured data and access for crawlers.
What you can do
Check that AI crawlers are allowed to visit your site. Answer client questions directly and verifiably. Keep your company details consistent everywhere. Add schema.org data for your organisation, services and FAQs.
What you can't influence
How often, and in what words, an AI tool mentions you. Answers vary by moment, by user and by tool. Anyone promising a 'position in ChatGPT' is promising something nobody can deliver.
How to keep track
Regularly ask a few AI tools a fixed set of questions and record the answers with the date. It's a sample rather than a measurement, but it does reveal changes.
Where to start
With the basics: technology, clear service pages and factual information. If you'd like help, our GEO service combines it with SEO in a single approach.
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