Eudoxia

What is generative engine optimization (GEO)?

Updated · 2 min read

Generative engine optimization (GEO) is the practice of making your business more likely to be mentioned, recommended and cited by AI assistants such as ChatGPT, Google Gemini, Perplexity, Claude and Microsoft Copilot.

You'll also see it called answer engine optimization (AEO), LLM SEO or AI SEO. They all mean roughly the same thing: optimising for AI-written answers, not just for a list of links.

Why GEO exists

Search used to mean ten blue links. You competed for position one to ten, and people clicked. AI assistants work differently: they read many sources and write a single answer, often naming just three to five businesses. Being on that shortlist, and being described accurately, is the new goal.

GEO vs SEO: what's different

  • Goal: SEO aims for a high ranking position. GEO aims to be named, cited and described correctly in the answer.
  • Unit of success: SEO counts clicks. GEO counts mentions, position within the answer, and citations.
  • Sources: SEO is mostly about your own pages. GEO depends heavily on what other sites (listings, reviews, directories, forums) say about you, because AI summarises across sources.
  • Stability: search rankings are fairly stable. AI answers vary between runs, users and locations, so GEO is measured as a rate over many questions.

What stays the same

Good SEO is still the foundation. AI assistants that search the web use search indexes, so a fast, crawlable website with clear content helps both. Most GEO work is simply doing the SEO basics properly, and then making sure the rest of the web agrees with you.

The main GEO levers

  1. Access: let AI crawlers read your site (robots.txt, CDN and security settings).
  2. Clarity: plain-language descriptions of what you do, where and for whom.
  3. Structure: schema.org structured data and question-and-answer content.
  4. Consensus: consistent listings, reviews and mentions on the sources AI trusts.
  5. Freshness: up-to-date hours, prices, services and recent reviews.

How to measure GEO

Because AI answers vary, measure across many realistic questions rather than one. The useful numbers are:

  • Mention rate: the share of relevant questions where you're named.
  • Position: where you appear in the list when you're named.
  • Share of voice: how often you're named compared with competitors.
  • Sources: which websites the AI relied on, which shows you where to be listed.
  • Sentiment: whether the AI describes you positively.

The Eudoxia Score combines these with a website readiness check. Run a free check to get yours.

Where to start

If you do only three things this week: check that your site isn't blocking AI crawlers (free checker), make your homepage say clearly what you do and where, and complete your Google Business Profile and Bing Places listings. Then follow our step-by-step guide to getting recommended by ChatGPT.

Questions

Is GEO replacing SEO?

No. GEO builds on SEO. Traditional search still matters, and many AI assistants use search indexes to find information. GEO adds a focus on being named and described well in AI answers.

Are GEO, AEO and LLM SEO the same thing?

Practically, yes. They're different names for optimising how AI assistants and answer engines find, understand and recommend you.

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