What is GEO (generative engine optimization)?

GEO, generative engine optimization, is the work of getting your content cited and mentioned in responses written by AI — in Google's AI overviews and AI mode, and in services like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Gemini. While traditional search engine optimization is about ranking in a list of links, GEO is about becoming the source on which the answer is based.

The concept was coined in a research article from November 2023, where researchers from, among others, Princeton showed that content can be made up to 40 percent more visible in AI-generated responses through how it is written and structured.

In practice, GEO is based on the same foundation as SEO: a technically sound website, high-quality content, and credibility. What is added are two things. The answer to a question must be able to be extracted from the text and stand alone. And the result is measured in how often you are cited and mentioned, not just in clicks.

Ranking high is not enough. In our own measurement of ten Swedish industry keywords, 45 percent of the sources AI responses cited were outside the top ten in the regular search results.

GEO is most relevant for informational questions — what, how, why. That's where AI responses appear most often. In our measurement of 9,580 Swedish keywords, AI responses were shown for 36 percent of informational questions, but only for 3 percent of purchase-related searches.

Those who have a lot of explanatory content — guides, glossaries, questions and answers — have the most to gain, and the most to lose. Those who primarily rely on searches where someone wants to buy, book, or hire are less affected.

• The answer first. Write the complete answer in a paragraph early in the text, so it can be cited without context.
• The question as a headline. AI services match questions to headlines. “What does it cost?” works, “The investment” does not.
• Facts as facts. Numbers, dates, and requirements should be stated as straightforward assertions that can be verified.
• Markup. Questions and answers need to be marked up with schema markup so the machine understands what they are.
• A sender. A named author and sources to the primary source strengthen credibility, see E-E-A-T.
• Don't count on a link. Google and Perplexity usually show sources. ChatGPT and Gemini do so sometimes, but not always.
• Measure before and after. Set a baseline for how often you are mentioned before you change anything, otherwise the effect cannot be demonstrated.

You can find the measurement and examples from five AI services in our article How you appear when the answer is written by a machine.

GEO is a shared responsibility. The content manager or SEO specialist owns the structure of the texts and the measurement of how often you are cited. The developer is responsible for the technical aspects: ensuring the content is in the code without JavaScript, that the markup is correct, and that the page loads quickly.

The marketing manager also needs to be involved, as the benchmark changes. Traffic may decrease while visibility increases, and this must be tracked correctly to avoid misinterpretation.

AI search, LLM, Zero-click search, Featured snippet, Generative AI

We at Pigment Digital Agency are happy to help you. Read more about our services at: Search Engine Optimization and AI solutions