What is GEO?
Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO) is the practice of optimising your content and brand so that AI search engines. ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews, Bing Copilot, Claude, cite you in their answers.
Unlike SEO, where the goal is to rank high in a list of links, the goal of GEO is for AI models to include your content in a generated answer, with or without a click back to your site.
How AI search engines work
AI search engines combine a Large Language Model (LLM) with real-time web search. Given a query, they: (1) retrieve relevant sources, (2) read and summarise them, (3) generate an answer with citations.
The source selection is everything. AI models choose sources based on authority, relevance, structure and recency. Meet all four criteria consistently and you get cited.
GEO versus SEO: what is different
GEO and SEO overlap by about 70%. What works for traditional search usually works for AI search too. But there are specific GEO requirements.
Citability at the passage level
AI models cite individual paragraphs, not whole pages. Write every paragraph so it makes sense in isolation, answer first, then context.
Brand mentions off your own site
AI models learn that your brand exists through external mentions: reviews, press releases, podcast shoutouts, citations in other articles. Off-site work is GEO work.
Structured data matters more
Schema.org markup is even more important for AI than it is for Google. FAQPage, Article, Organization and LocalBusiness are the baseline.
Which AI platforms should you optimise for?
In 2026 the six most important platforms are: Google AI Overviews (largest reach), ChatGPT with browsing, Perplexity AI, Google Gemini, Bing Copilot and Claude. Optimise for all six, the techniques overlap almost entirely.
The 5 GEO ranking factors
AI models have not published their source-selection algorithm, but five factors appear consistently across observation and research:
Authority
Domain authority (the classic SEO metric) remains a strong proxy for 'can this source be trusted?'
Citability
The easier a passage is to cite on its own, the more often AI uses it. Short, answer-first paragraphs win.
Structured data
Schema.org markup tells the model explicitly what a passage is, a FAQ answer, a definition, a product detail.
Recency
For time-sensitive queries, AI systems prefer recent sources. Update existing content regularly.
Brand consistency
The more frequently your brand appears across training data and the real-time web, the more likely a citation becomes.
Writing citation magnets
Writing for AI citation has its own rhythm. Four principles:
Answer first, context second
Start every H2 with the direct answer in 1–2 sentences. Then the explanation, examples and nuance.
Make definitions explicit
Add a one-sentence definition for key terms: 'GEO (Generative Engine Optimisation) is the practice of optimising content so AI models cite you in their answers.'
Passage-level independence
Every paragraph must be understandable without the paragraph before it. AI systems frequently read isolated passages.
Citation-ready statistics
Numbers and data, with a cited source, are quoted far more often than vague statements.
Structured data for AI
Schema.org JSON-LD is to AI models what meta tags are to classic SEO: machine-readable context. At minimum: Organization, LocalBusiness (for local businesses), FAQPage, Article (for blog content), BreadcrumbList.
Building brand mentions and authority
AI models only know your brand exists if they have encountered it repeatedly. Off-site brand mentions are therefore core GEO work: press releases, guest posts on authoritative sites, podcast appearances, registration in business directories, and local Wikipedia entries where applicable.
llms.txt and AI crawler accessibility
Some sites publish a /llms.txt file to explicitly show AI crawlers what they may index. Adoption is still limited but it costs nothing to add. Combine with a robots.txt that allows AI bots (ChatGPT-User, Claude-Web, PerplexityBot, Google-Extended).
Measuring GEO
GEO measurement is still an emerging field. Practical approaches: manual prompt checks ('What is a good SEO agency in Tilburg?'), Profound (paid), Otterly.ai (paid) and GSC's AI Overview reporting (rolling out gradually).
5 anti-patterns: what NOT to do
Common mistakes: fabricated statistics (AI models are becoming stricter about this), schema spam (irrelevant markup), stuffing AI prompts into your content, AI-only content without human editorial review, and buying brand mentions from low-quality sites.
Implementation roadmap for SMEs
A realistic GEO roadmap for a small business looks like this:
Days 1–30
Implement Schema.org basics, clean up robots.txt, rewrite your first 5 service pages with answer-first formatting.
Days 31–60
Add an FAQ section to every commercial page, begin off-site brand mentions (1–2 guest posts, one press release), build review velocity.
Days 61–90
Publish pillar pages (like this one), set up monitoring through manual prompt checks, update existing content for recency signals.
When should you hire a GEO agency?
GEO is a specialism. An agency pays off when: you have no time for the technical implementation, you want to produce content systematically that AI models cite, or you want measurement tooling to track your AI visibility over time.
Organiq Grow is one of the few Dutch agencies with an explicit GEO focus. We layer a GEO strategy on top of a solid SEO foundation.
Want to know where your brand stands in AI search? Book a free GEO audit.
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