Official definition

What is GEO (Generative Engine Optimization)?

GEO is the discipline of optimizing content to be cited by generative engines like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews — the equivalent of SEO for the era of AI-generated answers.

GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) is the set of practices for structuring content and data so that generative AI engines — ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Google AI Overviews — cite your company as a source when synthesizing an answer. It's essentially synonymous with AEO (Answer Engine Optimization), with "GEO" more common in academic literature and "AEO" more common in the B2B marketing industry.

How GEO differs from traditional SEO

SEO optimizes to rank in a list of blue links. GEO optimizes to be cited inside a synthesized answer, where there's no visible ranking and no guaranteed click — the AI decides, based on semantic density, structure, and trustworthiness, who deserves to be mentioned.

Why it matters for your B2B business

B2B decision-makers increasingly ask AI assistants instead of searching Google. If your content isn't structured to be read and cited by these engines — with JSON-LD, llms.txt files, direct answers at the start of the content — your company becomes invisible exactly where the buying decision is being formed.

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