When someone asks ChatGPT, Gemini or Perplexity to recommend a roofer in Dallas or the best project management tool for a small team, the assistant writes an answer and names a few businesses. Generative Engine Optimization, or GEO, is the work of becoming one of those names.
How AI assistants choose who to mention
AI assistants build answers from what they learned in training and, increasingly, from live web searches. They lean on sources that describe a business clearly and consistently: your own website, review platforms, directories, news articles and industry lists. If those sources disagree about what you do, or barely mention you, the assistant has little reason to include you.
GEO vs SEO
SEO aims to rank a page in a list of results. GEO aims to get your brand named inside a written answer. The foundations overlap: a fast, well-structured site, clear content and authority all help both. GEO adds more weight on consistent business facts across the web and on being cited by third parties.
Five steps to start
- Write down the 20 questions buyers ask before choosing a business like yours, and test them in major AI assistants.
- Make sure your name, services, service area and contact details match everywhere they appear.
- Rewrite key pages to answer questions directly in the first two sentences.
- Add structured data (Organization, Service, FAQPage) so machines can read your facts.
- Earn mentions on the review sites, directories and publications that AI answers cite in your industry.
How to measure it
Track the same set of prompts every month and record whether you're mentioned, how you're described and which sources are cited. In GA4, watch for referral traffic from chatgpt.com, perplexity.ai and gemini.google.com.
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