What is GEO?
Generative Engine Optimization
GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) is an optimisation method that ensures AI chatbots – ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity – cite a website as a source in their answers.
GEO is the AI-era complement to traditional SEO: while SEO optimises for Google rankings, GEO ensures content also appears as a source in AI chatbot answers. In 2025, 45%+ of searches happen via AI chatbots, growing 20–25% per year.
The 4 main GEO targets
ChatGPT Search
OpenAI, Microsoft Bing index
Largest user base
Perplexity
Real-time search, source listing
Most transparent GEO measurement
Gemini with Search
Google index, fast growing
Google ecosystem
Claude
Anthropic, training data + search
Longer training cycle
GEO implementation – 6 steps
Snippet-ready content audit
Every key content first sentence must be a max 20-word definition, citable on its own.
FAQPage + DefinedTerm JSON-LD
Structured data for every Q&A – signals AI crawlers the content is citable.
Create ai-facts.json
Machine-readable facts file with expertise, definitions and key metrics.
Create llms.txt
AI crawler guide in root directory – URL list of most important content.
External links and entity building
Backlinks from trusted sources + sameAs fields pointing to Wikidata entities.
Measure AI citations
Manual testing in ChatGPT/Perplexity + brand mention monitoring. First result: 4–12 weeks.
GEO vs SEO – comparison
| Goal | Google top 10 | AI chatbot citation |
| Channel | Google, Bing | ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity |
| Main tool | Keywords, backlinks | Snippet-ready content, JSON-LD |
| Measurement | Google Search Console | Manual AI testing |
| Time to result | 2–6 months | 4–12 weeks (Perplexity: 4–6 weeks) |