GEO · 6 min read
What Is GEO (Generative Engine Optimisation)?
Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO) is the practice of getting your business mentioned and cited in the answers that AI tools — ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews and Gemini — generate when people ask them questions. Where SEO is about ranking a page in a list of blue links, GEO is about being the source an AI quotes when it writes the answer.
It matters because search behaviour is shifting. A growing share of people now ask an AI assistant "who are the best landscapers in Sydney?" instead of scrolling Google. If the AI does not know your business exists — or cannot find clear, quotable information about it — you are invisible at the exact moment a customer is deciding.
How is GEO different from SEO?
SEO optimises for a ranking — you want your page to appear high in a list of results. GEO optimises for a citation — you want an AI model to pull your business into the answer it generates and, ideally, name you as the recommendation.
The two overlap (both reward clear, well-structured, trustworthy content) but the win condition is different. With SEO the user still clicks through and chooses. With GEO the AI often makes the shortlist for them, so being included is everything.
How do AI engines decide which businesses to mention?
AI models build their answers from the sources they can read and trust. In practice, a business is more likely to be cited when several signals line up:
- Clear, machine-readable facts about who you are, what you do and where (structured data and consistent business details across the web).
- Answer-shaped content — pages that directly answer the questions buyers ask, in plain language a model can lift.
- Third-party corroboration — being mentioned on directories, review sites and "best of" roundups the models already trust.
- A crawlable, fast website the AI tools and the search engines that feed them can actually read.
What does GEO work actually involve?
Good GEO is mostly unglamorous, repeatable work. It starts by finding the real questions your customers ask, then making your site the clearest, most corroborated answer to them.
On your own site that means answer-formatted content and FAQs, structured data (schema.org) so machines understand your business and services, and consistent entity details everywhere your business appears. Off your site it means earning mentions in the directories and roundups AI tools cite — the modern equivalent of backlinks.
Is GEO just a fad?
No. The underlying behaviour — people asking a machine for a recommendation instead of reading ten links — is already mainstream and growing. The tools will keep changing, but "be the clear, trusted, well-described answer" is a durable strategy that also happens to strengthen your traditional SEO.
The businesses that move now have an advantage precisely because GEO is new: very few of your competitors have a track record, so the field is unusually level.
How do you measure GEO?
You measure it by tracking whether your business actually shows up. That means running the questions your customers would ask through the AI tools (ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews) on a schedule and recording when you are cited, when a competitor is cited instead, and how that changes as you do the work.
It is slower and less precise than a Google rank tracker, but the trend over a few months tells you plainly whether your visibility is improving.
Frequently asked
Is GEO the same as AEO (Answer Engine Optimisation)?
They are used almost interchangeably. GEO emphasises generative AI answers; AEO emphasises answer/featured-snippet style results. In practice the work is the same: be the clear, structured, trusted answer to the questions people ask.
How long does GEO take to show results?
Expect a few months. Some wins (being cited for niche, low-competition questions) can come quickly; broader category visibility compounds over time as your content and third-party mentions build.
Do I need to do SEO and GEO?
For most businesses, yes — they reinforce each other. The structured, answer-shaped, well-cited content that earns AI mentions also helps you rank in Google, and being indexed in Google feeds the tools that AI engines read.
Curious what's actually costing you customers?
AI visibility is one signal — but most businesses lose more in the gap between an enquiry and a booked, paid job. Start with a free Workflow Audit and we'll show you exactly where that's happening.
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