Generative engine optimization, or GEO, is the work of making a company appear in answers written by AI, for example in ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Google’s AI answers. This guide explains how AI chooses its sources, how GEO differs from SEO and where to start.

What is generative engine optimization (GEO)?

When someone asks AI for advice, they get a finished answer rather than a list of links. The aim of GEO is for your company to be mentioned in that answer, or for the answer to be based on your page and refer to it.

The same thing also goes by the names AEO (answer engine optimization), LLM optimization and AI search optimization. The substance is the same: the website is made so that AI can find it, understand it and regard it as trustworthy.

How AI chooses its sources

AI answers in two ways. Part of an answer comes from what the model learned in training. Part comes from search: the service runs searches in the background, reads the pages it finds and writes the answer from them.

The services do not say exactly how they choose their sources, and the method keeps changing. Three things are clear all the same: the page has to be readable by the crawler, it has to answer the question directly, and consistent information about the company has to exist beyond its own website.

SEO vs GEO: the same foundation, a different outcome

A search engine shows a list of links, and the aim is for your link to be clicked. AI writes a finished answer, and the aim is for your company to be mentioned in it or for the answer to be based on your page.

Both need the same foundation: pages that can be reached, content that answers the question and a reason to trust whoever is speaking.

What is the same

  • The technical foundation: pages have to be findable and readable.
  • Content that answers the customer’s real question.
  • Expertise: who is writing and with what experience.
  • A clear structure: headings that say what the paragraph contains.

What is different

  • The questions are longer. People type “accountant Tampere” into Google. They ask AI “which accountant suits a small online shop that also sells abroad”.
  • The answer has to be found at once. AI prefers to pick up a paragraph that answers the question directly, without a preamble.
  • Mentions elsewhere carry weight. What other websites say about your company affects whether AI mentions you.
  • Measurement is different. There are no positions. You follow whether the company is mentioned and which sources are cited.

Do you have to choose one?

No. For most companies the sensible order is to get the foundation of SEO right first and add the particular features of GEO on top. GEO without working SEO is a house without foundations, because AI gets its information largely from the same pages as a search engine.

How to write content AI can use

  • Answer first. Open the page or paragraph with a direct answer and give the reasoning after it.
  • Use questions as headings. The heading says which question the paragraph answers.
  • Make paragraphs stand alone. A paragraph has to make sense even when read apart from the rest of the page.
  • Be specific. Name the service, the audience, the area and the limits. Generic text does not stand out.
  • Say who is speaking. Show the author’s name, role and experience.
  • Keep it current. Update the page and show the date it was updated.

The technical side: crawlers and structured data

Check that robots.txt does not block the crawlers of AI services if you want to appear in their answers. Each service has its own crawlers and their names change, so check the current names in the services’ own documentation.

Important content has to be present in the page’s HTML without needing to be loaded separately with JavaScript. Schema markup helps state unambiguously who the company is, what it offers and who wrote the content. The rest of the foundation is the same as in technical SEO.

Mentions beyond your own website

AI forms its picture of a company from many sources. Keep the company name, services and contact details the same everywhere: in your Google Business Profile, directories, LinkedIn and partners’ websites. Expert articles, talks and customer reviews add sources AI can lean on.

How AI visibility is measured

There are no rankings, so other things are followed: whether the company is mentioned for the most important questions, which sources the answer cites and whether visitors arrive from AI services. Answers vary from one time to the next, so a single query says little. The AI search visibility guide goes through the method.

Where to start

  • Ask AI the same questions your customers ask, and see whether you are mentioned.
  • Check that robots.txt does not block AI crawlers.
  • Add a direct answer to the main question at the very top of your most important pages.
  • Make sure the details of the company and its people are the same everywhere.

We cover measurement in the guide to measuring AI search visibility. As services these are search engine optimization and GEO and AI search optimization.

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