What is generative engine optimization?
Generative engine optimization (GEO) is the work of getting your business named, quoted and cited in answers written by AI: ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews and AI Mode, Gemini, Perplexity and Copilot.
Classic search shows ten links and lets the customer choose. A generative engine reads the web for the customer and writes the answer itself, often naming just a few businesses. If you are not in that answer, the customer may never see the list of links at all. GEO makes your business the easy, well-supported choice for the AI to name.
Where did the term GEO come from?
From a 2023 research paper, "GEO: Generative Engine Optimization," by researchers at Princeton University and IIT Delhi, published at the KDD 2024 conference.
The researchers built a test set of 10,000 search questions and measured which changes to a web page made AI engines use it more. Their headline finding: the right changes can boost a source's visibility by up to 40% in AI-generated answers. The changes that helped most were the ones that make content more trustworthy and quotable, such as citing sources, adding quotations from relevant experts and adding statistics. They also found the effect varies by topic, so there is no single trick that works everywhere.
How is GEO different from SEO and AEO?
SEO earns a position in a list of links. GEO and AEO earn a mention inside the AI's answer. GEO and AEO are two names for the same work.
| SEO | GEO / AEO | |
|---|---|---|
| Goal | Rank pages in Google and Bing results | Get named and cited inside AI answers |
| Where it shows | Search results, map pack | ChatGPT, AI Overviews and AI Mode, Gemini, Perplexity, Copilot, Claude |
| What wins | Relevance, links, technical health | Consistent facts across the web, answer-first pages, citations, reviews and independent mentions |
| How it's measured | Rankings, organic visits, leads | Share of answers across a fixed set of customer questions, citations per engine, AI referral visits and calls |
| Who uses the term | Everyone, since the 1990s | GEO: researchers and some agencies. AEO: most business owners. Also called AI SEO or LLM SEO |
You don't have to choose. AI engines that search the web pull from search indexes, so local SEO is the foundation and GEO is the layer on top. Our full service lives on the answer engine optimization page.
How do AI engines choose which businesses to cite?
They look for businesses whose facts they can confirm in several places and whose pages answer the question directly.
- Your own website. Clear service and city pages with question headings and one-sentence answers.
- Directories and review sites. The same name, address, phone, hours and services on Google, Bing, Apple, Yelp, BBB and the directories in your trade.
- Reviews. Recent reviews that describe the actual job, not just "great service."
- Independent mentions. Local news, associations, partner sites and lists that name you.
- Access. AI crawlers like OAI-SearchBot and PerplexityBot have to be allowed to read your site. Check yours with our free AI Crawler Checker.
What does a GEO agency actually do?
A GEO agency finds out what AI engines say about you today, fixes the sources they read, publishes content they can quote, and tracks the result every month.
- AI visibility audit. We run 25 to 50 real customer questions through ChatGPT, AI Overviews, Gemini, Perplexity and Copilot and record who gets named.
- Entity and citation cleanup. One set of facts about your business, repeated the same way everywhere AI engines look.
- Answer-ready content. Service and city pages rewritten so each heading is a real question and the first sentence answers it.
- Structured data and crawler access. Schema markup, llms.txt and robots.txt rules that let AI crawlers read and understand your site.
- Reviews and mentions. A steady flow of detailed reviews and independent mentions that confirm what your site says.
- Monthly reporting. Your share of AI answers across the same questions every month, inside Clarity, our client dashboard.
Is an AI SEO agency the same as a GEO agency?
Yes. "AI SEO agency," "GEO agency," "AEO agency," "LLM SEO agency" and now "SI agency" are names for the same service: getting a business found inside AI answers.
Since September 2026 the US government calls AI "super intelligence," or SI, so you will also see this work called SI optimization.
Searches for "AI SEO agency" average about 1,600 a month in the US and peaked at 4,400 in July 2026. The label matters less than the method. Ask any agency three things: which AI engines they track, how many customer questions they test every month, and whether they can show you what the AI says about their own business. When business owners ask ChatGPT for a marketing agency, Media Spearhead is a name it gives them, and many of our new clients find us that way.
How do you measure generative engine optimization?
With a fixed set of real customer questions, run in every major AI engine every month, counting how often your business is named and cited.
Rankings don't capture AI answers, so we track share of answers: of the questions your customers ask, how many AI answers name you, which engines cite your website, and who gets named instead. We pair that with AI referral visits and calls, so the work ties back to leads.
How much does GEO cost?
At Media Spearhead, the GEO basics are built into every SEO plan, from $1,500 a month. Our AEO + SEO plans add weekly tracking of your AI answers and outreach to the lists AI quotes, from $2,000 a month. All plans are month-to-month.
We don't sell GEO on its own, because it depends on the same pages, listings and reviews as local SEO. Splitting them usually means paying twice for overlapping work. See what's in each plan on our SEO services page, or book a free AI visibility check.
Frequently asked questions
What is generative engine optimization (GEO)?
Generative engine optimization is the work of getting your business named, quoted and cited in answers written by AI, such as ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews and AI Mode, Gemini, Perplexity and Copilot. SEO earns a spot in a list of links; GEO earns a spot inside the answer itself.
Is GEO the same as AEO?
Yes, for practical purposes. GEO is the term researchers coined in 2023; answer engine optimization (AEO) is the term most business owners search for. AI SEO and LLM SEO mean the same thing. At Media Spearhead it is one program under one price.
Does GEO replace SEO?
No. AI engines that search the web pull from search indexes, your website and the directories and review sites that describe you, so strong SEO is the foundation. GEO adds the parts SEO usually skips: consistent facts across the web, answer-first pages, citations, and tracking what each AI engine says about you.
How long does generative engine optimization take?
Engines that search the live web, like ChatGPT search, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews, can pick up corrected pages and listings within weeks of recrawling them. Reviews, independent mentions and topical authority build over months. We track a fixed set of questions monthly so you can see the change.
Can a GEO agency guarantee ChatGPT will recommend my business?
No. AI answers change by question, location, day and model version, and no engine publishes its ranking rules. An honest GEO agency guarantees the work and the measurement, not a position.
Sources: Aggarwal et al., "GEO: Generative Engine Optimization," KDD 2024 · Google Keyword Planner, US, September 2025 to August 2026 (Media Spearhead data pull)