What Is GEO? Generative Engine Optimisation Explained
By Glimpse SEO Agency, Durban Central · Published
GEO, or generative engine optimisation, is the work of making your content and your business easy for AI tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Google's AI Overviews to find, trust and cite when they write an answer. SEO aims for a ranking. GEO aims for a mention.
It's one part of AI SEO. For the full picture, including AI Overviews and AEO, see our guide to AI Overviews, GEO and AEO.
Where does the term GEO come from?
The term comes from a 2023 research paper by researchers at Princeton and other universities. They tested which content changes made a page more likely to be used in AI-generated answers. Adding statistics, quotations and cited sources made the biggest difference. Stuffing keywords didn't help.
How does GEO work?
AI tools find information in two ways, and GEO works on both:
- Live search. Google AI Overviews, AI Mode, Perplexity and ChatGPT's search feature look up pages at the moment you ask, then summarise them. Pages that already rank well are far more likely to be pulled in.
- What the model already knows. AI models learn from huge amounts of web text. A business that's mentioned consistently across trusted sites is more likely to come up even without a live search.
How is GEO different from SEO?
| SEO | GEO | |
|---|---|---|
| Aim | Rank your page | Get your business cited or named |
| Win looks like | Position one on Google | "Recommended by ChatGPT" or a source link in an AI Overview |
| Biggest levers | Content, technical health, backlinks | Facts and figures, clear answers, mentions on other sites |
| Measured by | Rankings and clicks | AI citations and brand mentions |
How do you start with GEO?
- Put a clear, factual answer near the top of every important page.
- Add real numbers: prices, timeframes, quantities, years in business.
- Cite your sources, and get cited by others: directories, local news, industry bodies.
- Keep your business name, address and phone number identical everywhere online.
- Check monthly by asking AI tools the questions your customers ask.
Frequently asked questions
Is GEO the same as AEO?
They overlap. AEO is about formatting content so a direct answer can be lifted from it. GEO is broader: getting your business trusted and cited by AI tools, including through mentions on other websites.
Does GEO replace SEO?
No. AI tools lean heavily on pages that already rank in Google, so SEO is the foundation GEO builds on.
How long does GEO take to work?
Often one to three months once your pages have clear answers, schema and consistent business details. It moves faster on sites that already rank.
Want GEO done properly for your business? See our AI SEO service or WhatsApp us on 070 648 5898.