What is Generative Engine Optimization?
Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) is the work of making your business and your content more likely to be cited in answers written by generative AI: ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Claude, Copilot and Google's AI Overviews.
The term comes from a 2023 research paper that tested which changes to a page made it more visible in AI-generated answers. In the industry, GEO and AEO (Answer Engine Optimization) now describe the same goal. We use both terms, and the work is the same. Our guide to AEO vs SEO vs GEO covers the differences in naming.
What the research found, and what we take from it
In the original GEO study's benchmark, adding citations to sources, quotations and statistics to content made it noticeably more visible in generative answers, while old SEO habits such as keyword stuffing did little or nothing. That matches what we see in practice: AI tools favour content that is specific, sourced and easy to quote.
Our own experiment added a second lesson. When we launched a brand-new entity and tracked it daily, recognition followed independent references to it, not the volume of content we published. So GEO has two halves: what is on your pages, and what other sources say about you.
What our GEO service covers
Quotable content
Clear answers near the top of each page, with the specific facts, figures and sources AI tools prefer to cite.
Entity clarity
Structured data and consistent facts so AI systems know exactly who you are and don't confuse you with anyone else.
Corroboration
Mentions, listings and press on the independent sources AI tools check before they name a business.
Crawl access
Making sure AI crawlers such as OAI-SearchBot and PerplexityBot can reach and read your pages without running JavaScript.
Measurement
Fixed question sets asked on each platform on a schedule, with every answer dated and logged, including drops.
Proof, with the method attached
A new domain cited by ChatGPT
No history, no backlinks. ChatGPT cited it on day 9, Perplexity on day 17 (then dropped and recovered it), and Claude never did within 21 days. We published all of it. Read the case study
Our own site, made readable
To engines that don't run JavaScript, every URL on our site returned the same document. After the fix, 13 of 13 serve their own page.
How an engagement works
Ghost Audit (free)
We ask the AI tools your buyers use the questions your buyers ask, record what comes back, and map who gets cited instead of you and why.
Architecture
We plan the entity framework, the content each question needs, and the sources you need to be mentioned on.
Implementation
We deploy the content, structured data and technical fixes, and start the corroboration work.
Monitoring
We re-run the same questions on a schedule and report what moved, including what got worse.
GEO: common questions
Is GEO different from AEO?
Not in practice. GEO is the term from academic research; AEO is the industry term. Both mean getting your business named in AI-generated answers. Judge an agency by its method, not its acronym.
Does GEO replace SEO?
No. AI tools that search the web lean on pages that are indexed and ranking, so SEO is the foundation GEO builds on.
Which platforms does GEO cover?
Any tool that writes answers from web sources: ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Claude, Copilot and Google's AI Overviews and AI Mode.
Can you guarantee citations?
No. AI answers change by session, location and date, and nobody controls them. We commit to the work and to measuring it honestly.
Do you work outside the UAE?
Yes. We are based in the UAE and work with clients worldwide. For UAE businesses, see our AEO agency in Dubai page.
See which AI answers cite you today
The Ghost Audit shows how ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and Google's AI Overviews describe your business, and who they cite instead.