Generative engine optimization (GEO) is the work of making your business easy for AI assistants like ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity to find, trust and name when buyers ask them for a recommendation.
This guide covers where the term comes from, how GEO differs from SEO, what the work involves, and whether you need a service. We also measure it on our own site, in public, so you’ll see our real starting point.
Where does the term GEO come from?
It comes from a 2023 research paper, “GEO: Generative Engine Optimization”, by Pranjal Aggarwal and colleagues, published at KDD 2024 (arXiv, checked Oct 3, 2026). The authors built a benchmark of user queries and tested ways of changing a web page so that a generative search engine would feature it more. Their abstract says: “GEO can boost visibility by up to 40% in generative engine responses” (arXiv abstract, checked Oct 3, 2026).
Read that number with its limits. It was measured on the authors’ own benchmark of queries, called GEO-bench, and not on live ChatGPT answers about small businesses. The same abstract says the results vary by domain. So it tells you the idea has been studied. It is not a promise for any site, and we don’t treat it as one for yours.
Is answer engine optimization (AEO) the same thing?
Mostly yes. AEO, GEO, LLM SEO and “AI search optimization” are different names for overlapping work: making your business show up in the written answers that AI tools give.
People do draw small distinctions. Some use “answer engine optimization” for any tool that gives one direct answer, including AI search features and voice assistants, and keep “generative engine optimization” for tools that write the answer with a language model. Others use “LLM SEO” to stress the language model itself. “AEO SEO” and “AI search optimization” are mostly search phrases for the same idea. None of these labels has a fixed meaning, so when someone sells you one, ask what they actually do and how they check it.
We use GEO in this guide, and “AI visibility” when we mean the result: whether an AI assistant names you.
How is GEO different from SEO?
SEO aims for a ranked link in a list of search results. GEO aims for your business to be named or cited in a written answer.
| SEO | GEO | |
|---|---|---|
| Goal | A ranked link in search results | Being named or cited in an AI assistant's written answer |
| What you get | A link a searcher can click | A mention of your business, sometimes with a link to your site |
| What's measured | Where your page ranks, and the clicks it gets | Whether you are named, who is named instead, and which sites are cited |
They overlap more than the table suggests. For its own AI features, Google says a page needs no extra requirements or special optimizations beyond being indexed and eligible to appear in Google Search with a snippet, though eligibility doesn’t ensure it will be included (Google Search Central, last updated Dec 10, 2025, checked Oct 3, 2026). That is Google’s statement about Google, not about ChatGPT or Perplexity. It does mean the SEO basics still count for Google’s AI features. GEO sits next to SEO. It doesn’t replace it.
What does a GEO starting point look like?
Ours is zero. On Sep 30, 2026 we scanned answersky.com, and it scored 0/100 on ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity (Answersky log, Entry 1, checked Oct 3, 2026). It was named in none of the answers we used, and AI named 7 other tools that track AI visibility instead (Answersky log, Entry 1, checked Oct 3, 2026).
The method in one line: we asked 9 questions, each asked 3 ways, on all 3 assistants, which is 81 answers asked (Answersky log, Entry 1, checked Oct 3, 2026). We ask the models behind ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity, via their APIs with web search, so the apps themselves can answer differently. The full method is on how it works, and what the score means is at how the score works.
This is Answersky’s own measured starting point, one scan on one site. It is the point of a baseline: you need to know where you start before you can tell whether anything you do changes it. We read the 0 as a starting line, not a verdict on the business.
What does GEO work involve?
There are 4 pieces we use. We are testing each of them on our own site, so none of this is a recipe.
- Let AI search crawlers in. If an AI search crawler is blocked in your robots.txt or by your host, that crawler can’t read your site directly. How to check this in about 5 minutes is in Why doesn’t ChatGPT recommend my business?
- Answer buyers’ questions in plain text. Put the facts a buyer asks about in text on your own pages, with a heading that asks the question and the answer in the first line under it. Plain text is the easiest part of a page for a crawler to read.
- Get mentioned on the sites AI already cites. The sites an assistant cites are a place to look, not proof that a mention on them leads to being named. Which sites get cited depends on the question, so note which sites appear as sources when you ask your own questions, and treat that list as something to research.
- Measure with the same questions every time. Answers vary, and fixed questions make it less likely that you read too much into differences between answers.
Schema and llms.txt are not among the 4. The evidence on them is thin, and we cover them separately.
Can I do GEO myself, or do I need a service?
You can do the basics yourself, and outside help makes sense once the repeated measuring and the mentions on other sites take more time than you have.
AI visibility for a small business is mostly ordinary work. On your own you can check your robots.txt, write plain-text pages that answer your buyers’ questions, and ask ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity those questions by hand in a fresh chat, noting who is named. The free Quick Scan on our home page does the first pass for you.
Outside help starts to make sense in 3 situations: you want the same questions asked the same way on a schedule and compared; you need your business to appear on other sites, which takes outreach; or you simply don’t have the hours. People search for “generative engine optimization services” for these reasons. If you look at any, ask what they measure, how often, and how they treat answers that change from scan to scan. Be wary of anyone who promises a result. We don’t know how these assistants choose, so we don’t promise one either. You can see what we offer on pricing.
How do I know if GEO is working?
Ask the same questions every time, each asked 3 ways, and count a change only when 2 scans agree.
AI answers vary from answer to answer, so one answer tells you little in either direction. Asking each question 3 different ways, once each, and repeating the scan, reduces the risk of overinterpreting that variation. Counting a change only when 2 scans agree is our own reporting rule. It is not proof that something you did caused the change, and it is not statistical certainty. We explain the reasoning at Why ask each question 3 ways?.
For example, if you are named in one scan and missing in the next, we don’t count that as a change yet. If you are missing in 2 scans and named in the next 2, that is worth writing down, and worth checking again. Keep the wording of the questions fixed between scans, because a rewording can change who gets named.
Track the same things each time: whether you are named, who is named instead, and which sites are cited. Then compare like with like. We do this for answersky.com and publish each result, including the flat ones, on our log.
Free Quick Scan: 6 of your buyers’ questions on ChatGPT and Perplexity, 12 answers, and who AI named instead of you. Report within 3 business days. Get your free Quick Scan or See pricing.