The short answer
GEO (generative engine optimization) is the work of making AI assistants mention, quote and link to your business when people ask them questions. It builds on SEO: the same clear pages and trusted mentions, measured by whether the answer names you instead of where your link ranks.
GEO vs SEO vs AEO.
The goal
SEORank a link on Google
GEOGet named in AI answers
AEOBe the one direct answer
Where it shows
SEOGoogle's ten blue links
GEOChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Claude, AI Overviews
AEOFeatured snippets, voice assistants
What you measure
SEOPosition and clicks
GEOHow often you're named, and linked
AEOAnswer boxes won
What moves it
SEOUseful pages, links, a fast site
GEOPlain answers on your pages, mentions on sites AI trusts, an llms.txt
AEOQuestion-shaped pages, FAQ markup
Why it matters now.
More buyers ask an assistant before they search. The assistant names two or three businesses, and for that buyer the rest don't exist. You can rank first on Google and still be missing from the answer.
The good news: the engines read the same web Google does. A page that answers a question plainly, and a business other sites talk about, gets named.
GEO in four steps.
- 1
Write down the questions buyers ask.
Not keywords. Whole questions, the way someone types them into ChatGPT.
- 2
Ask the engines who they name.
Every engine, every week. Answers change, so one check tells you little.
- 3
Answer plainly on your own pages.
Prices, who it's for, how it compares. Then add an llms.txt so AI finds those pages first.
- 4
Get mentioned where AI reads.
Reviews, directories, articles. Find the sites that named your rival, and get on them.
How Ezeo helps.
Ezeo does steps two to four for you. It asks the engines your buyers' questions every week, shows who they name, and lists the pages and sites to fix first.
See AI visibility in Ezeo