Generative engine optimisation (GEO) – what it is, how to do it and why it matters

SEO has long been one of the most important marketing strategies for brand visibility. However, with the rapid rise of AI-powered search engines, it’s not uncommon to feel unsure how this change affects marketing. 

Generative engine optimisation (GEO) is the next layer of visibility. It’s how brands make themselves discoverable in a world where customers increasingly rely on AI tools such as ChatGPT, Gemini and Google AI overviews, among others, rather than searching through web links.

If you’re a marketing leader trying to position your brand for AI-driven search, this guide is the playbook you need.

What is generative engine optimisation (GEO)?

Generative engine optimisation (GEO) is the practice of optimising your content so that AI-powered search engines and answer bots, which are powered by large language models (LLMs), use your information when generating responses. Instead of gaining visibility by ranking a webpage on Google, the goal is to have AI engines cite, reference or draw from your content when answering a user’s question.

It is sometimes referred to as “AI visibility”, “LLM optimisation”, “Generative AI search optimisation” or the shorthand “GEO”.

Generative engines like ChatGPT, Gemini and tools such as Google’s AI Overviews gather information from multiple sources simultaneously, such as websites, articles, reviews, structured data and even brand mentions across the web.

This means that GEO isn’t about winning ranking position. It’s about being the most trustworthy, structured and accessible source so generative AI chooses your information to inform or power its answer.

How to implement generative engine optimisation (GEO)

The shift from traditional SEO to GEO doesn’t require you to throw away everything you know. Instead, it builds on what already works by adapting technical SEO, relevance and authority to the way AI engines understand and process content.

Here are the key points to consider when implementing GEO:

1. Optimise technical SEO for crawling and access

Before you start producing new content or rewriting existing pages, one truth remains: strong technical SEO is the foundation of GEO.

AI engines can only use content they can access, understand and trust. If your site is slow, poorly structured or inaccessible to crawlers, generative engines will simply source information from competitors who have done the basics correctly.

Key steps:

• Ensure your robots.txt allows crawling by major AI agents.
• Improve site speed and Core Web Vitals. LLMs favour fast-loading, stable pages.
• Make sure URLs are clean and descriptive.
• Use canonical tags correctly so AI engines can identify the primary source.
• Maintain a clear site architecture that’s easy to navigate.

Even though GEO focuses on AI visibility rather than rankings, your technical SEO still influences whether your content becomes part of the data AI pulls from. If an AI engine can’t find or interpret your content, it’s less likely to use it in its responses.

2. Answer specific, long-tail queries in depth

Traditional SEO is often focused on short, broad keywords because they have higher search volume. GEO flips that logic completely.

AI search behaviour is driven by highly specific, conversational queries. Users don’t type “electric car maintenance”; they ask specific questions. These can look like:

• How does cold weather affect a Tesla Model 3 battery?
• What’s the cheapest way to maintain an EV in winter?
• Do Teslas lose range at motorway speeds?

These longer, natural-language questions are known as long-tail queries, and generative engines excel at interpreting them.

Your strategy:

• Brainstorm all the detailed questions your audience might genuinely ask a chatbot.
• Use customer service logs, sales calls, forums, Reddit threads and social listening tools to find real phrasing.
• Build content that directly answers these questions with clarity and authority.
• Create dedicated Q&A sections or micro-articles that target each question individually.

Instead of one broad blog post, think in terms of content clusters. For example, a single generic “electric car maintenance guide” becomes a series of linked posts answering questions such as:

• How often should I replace the cabin filter on a Tesla Model 3?
• Can cold weather damage an EV battery long-term?
• What’s the most cost-effective way to charge an EV at home?

This level of granularity makes your content far more likely to be pulled into AI-generated responses because AI engines prioritise precise, context-rich answers.

3. Structure your content for AI consumption

Generative AI prefers content that is well-organised, easy to parse and structured in ways that reduce ambiguity.

AI doesn’t “read” the way humans do. LLMs break text down into tokens and search for patterns, clarity and logical structure. Poorly formatted content makes this harder.

To optimise for AI:

• Use clear, descriptive headings with H2s and H3s.
• Keep paragraphs short, ideally two to four sentences.
• Use bullet points and numbered lists wherever possible.
• Add FAQ sections with direct, concise answers.
• Front-load important details rather than burying them deep in the text.

Chatbots often prefer bullet lists and Q&As because they map cleanly onto the answer formats LLMs generate for users.

4. Use schema markup and structured data

Schema markup is a behind-the-scenes layer of code that helps search engines understand what your content means, not just what it says.

In GEO, schema becomes even more important because LLMs rely heavily on context. Structured data helps AI engines categorise, verify and interpret your content.

Include markup such as:

• FAQ schema: Allows AI to ingest Q&A format more easily.
• How to schema: Useful for instructional content.
• Organisation and author schema: Increases brand visibility and credibility.
• Product schema: Helps AI engines understand key information about your offerings.

While schema markups don’t guarantee your content will be used by AI chatbots and search engines, they do allow LLMs to understand and analyse your content better, increasing the likelihood of it being pulled into generative answers.

5. Build topic authority through depth, not volume

Generative engines look for topical depth. They want to know you’re not just producing one article on a subject but offering a rich, interlinked resource hub.

To build topic authority:

• Create long-form cornerstone content.
• Build multiple supplementary articles around it.
• Interlink them with logical internal links.
• Cover every angle of a topic cluster.

AI engines reward consistency and depth. The more comprehensively you cover a topic, the more likely an LLM is to see you as a definitive source worth referencing.

6. Encourage credibility through external signals

GEO takes the concept of “authority” beyond traditional backlinking. LLMs are trained on vast amounts of data, from reputable press sites to academic journals, wiki pages and verified industry sources. This means your brand’s credibility in GEO comes from being visible where AI engines learn.

Unlike SEO, it’s not always about obtaining a link. Mentions alone can contribute to your authority signals.

Ways to strengthen external credibility include:

• Contributing expert quotes to high-authority publications.
• Being mentioned or cited in respected industry journals.
• Securing a Wikipedia page for your brand or leaders (if eligible and notable).
• Publishing research or white papers that may be scraped by AI training datasets.
• Appearing in reputable podcasts or expert interviews that get transcribed online.

AI engines rely on the entire ecosystem of online information. The more your brand is genuinely present across trusted sources, the more likely it becomes that generative engines will perceive you as credible and use your content.

The rise of AI in search

Search behaviour is changing rapidly. Consumers are moving away from short, keyword-based queries and instead asking full questions to AI-powered tools. Platforms like ChatGPT have become “answer engines” rather than search engines.

The user journey is also shifting. Instead of visiting multiple websites to compare information, users now get a single, consolidated, AI-generated response.

ChatGPT users rose from 400 million to 800 million between February and September 2025. This shift isn’t slowing down. For brands, that means visibility strategies need to evolve accordingly.

Why is GEO important for companies?

As AI-powered search grows, ignoring GEO puts your brand at risk of disappearing from the customer journey entirely. When a user asks AI or Google a question relevant to your product or sector, the AI won’t cite your content if it isn’t structured, credible and accessible.

Over the past year, there’s been a dramatic increase in AI-led search behaviour, with many younger users adopting generative tools as their primary source of information. A recent report from McKinsey & Company explains that 40 to 50 per cent of customers are using AI-based searches to inform purchasing decisions. This number will only rise as generative tools become embedded into browsers, operating systems and voice interfaces.

For businesses, the implications are significant:

• Higher conversion rates: AI-powered search often delivers more qualified users because the engine pre-filters information. Generative platforms direct users to far fewer outputs than traditional search, meaning being cited has more impact.
• Brand authority: Appearing in AI-generated responses signals that your brand is trustworthy, accurate and authoritative.
• Competitive advantage: Early adopters of GEO will occupy AI visibility before it becomes overcrowded.

Ultimately, GEO matters because this is where the future demand funnel is forming. Missing out on AI visibility means missing out on future customers.

Is GEO replacing SEO?

GEO is not replacing SEO, but rather, is extending it. Traditional SEO is still essential for ranking in search engines, driving traffic and ensuring accessibility. The core principles of high-quality content, relevance and authority still matter just as much, if not more.

What’s different is where customers look for information and how AI engines extract it. SEO optimises for human-readable pages and Google’s ranking algorithms. GEO optimises for LLM-driven engines that scrape content and generate answers.

Think of GEO as the next layer of search visibility that sits on top of SEO.

Here are the key differences between GEO and SEO:

Traditional SEO	Emerging GEO
Aims to rank webpages in search results	Aims to be referenced or cited in AI-generated answers
Focuses on keywords and SERP intent	Focuses on natural language, long-tail conversational queries
Relies heavily on backlinks	Relies on broader credibility signals, including mentions
Optimises for Google’s crawler	Optimises for AI engines like ChatGPT, Perplexity and Gemini
Traffic comes from clicks	Visibility comes from being cited or included in the generated answer
Structured content is helpful	Structured content is essential

AI search trends to watch

GEO is still in its early stages. We are only beginning to understand how AI search engines choose their sources. As more research, academic papers and industry analysis emerge, the landscape will change rapidly.

Key trends to watch include:

• AI-native ads: Several generative engines are experimenting with sponsored answers and AI-powered ad placements.
• Personalised search: AI engines are likely to factor in user profiles, preferences and past interactions.
• Citation transparency: Some platforms may begin showing clearer attribution, favouring highly credible sources.
• Multimedia optimisation: LLMs are improving at interpreting images, videos and diagrams, meaning GEO will expand beyond text.
• Real-time web retrieval: Tools like Perplexity already retrieve live web data, which affects content freshness strategies.

With this shift to GEO, the brands that experiment, adapt quickly and invest early will be the ones who build a lasting advantage.

To get ahead, speak to us to learn how we can help you get started with your GEO strategy.