Generative engine optimisation (GEO) and AI search optimisation
Much of what's sold as GEO is invented. What's left, once you check it against Google's documentation and the research, is short, practical and mostly ordinary good SEO.
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Quick answer
Generative engine optimisation (GEO, or generative engine optimization), also called AI search optimisation, is making your pages likely to be found and cited when AI search tools such as Google's AI Overviews and AI Mode, ChatGPT search and Perplexity write an answer. Google says there are no special requirements: a page needs to be indexed and eligible for a snippet. Beyond that, pages with clear claims, sources, quotations and data are easier to cite, and each AI search tool's crawler must be allowed to reach them.
Key takeaways
- Google says AI Overviews and AI Mode need no special markup, files or optimisations.
- A page must be indexed and snippet-eligible to be a supporting link in Google's AI features.
- ChatGPT search uses OAI-SearchBot; blocking it removes you from ChatGPT search answers.
- Search Console's Generative AI report shows impressions in Google's AI features.
What generative engine optimisation is
GEO is about the AI answer that appears instead of, or above, the usual list of results. The goal is for your page to be one of the sources that answer draws on and links. Being the single quoted answer in a featured snippet is answer engine optimisation; how AI models learn about your business, and the crawler controls involved, is LLM SEO.
How each AI search tool finds pages
| Tool | How it finds pages | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Google AI Overviews and AI Mode | Google's normal index; supporting links must be indexed and snippet-eligible | Page is indexed and not blocked by nosnippet |
| ChatGPT search | OAI-SearchBot; OpenAI says sites opted out of it won't be shown in ChatGPT search answers | robots.txt allows OAI-SearchBot |
| Perplexity | PerplexityBot, which surfaces and links sites in its results | robots.txt allows PerplexityBot |
| Claude | Claude-SearchBot indexes content for Claude's search | robots.txt allows Claude-SearchBot |
What Google says helps, and what doesn't
Google's AI features documentation says there are no additional requirements to appear in AI Overviews or AI Mode, nor special optimisations, and no special schema.org structured data to add. To be a supporting link, a page must be indexed and eligible to be shown in Google Search with a snippet.
Its guide to optimising for generative AI features adds that you don't need new machine-readable files or Markdown, don't need to break content into tiny pieces, don't need to write in a special way for AI, and that seeking inauthentic mentions across the web isn't as helpful as it might seem.
What the GEO research tested and found
The term comes from a 2024 paper, "GEO: Generative Engine Optimization" by Aggarwal and colleagues, presented at KDD 2024. It tested how changes to a page's text affected how much of it a generative search engine used, and reported visibility gains of up to 40%, with the best method varying by topic.
| Change tested | Result in the paper |
|---|---|
| Adding quotations from relevant sources | Among the best performers |
| Adding statistics | Among the best performers |
| Citing sources | Among the best performers |
| Keyword stuffing | Did worse than leaving the page alone |
The paper tested a research setup (search results fed to a language model, plus a smaller test on Perplexity), not live citation rates, and its authors note that engines change. Treat it as evidence about what makes text usable as a source, not a ranking formula.
Make pages citable
- State claims plainlyOne clear claim per sentence, so a sentence can be quoted without its neighbours.
- Back figures with sourcesLink the original source for every statistic, with its date.
- Quote people properlyName who said it and where.
- Answer the question near the topA direct answer under a clear heading, then the detail.
- Keep it currentUpdate figures and dates when they change; don't change dates when nothing else has.
- Show who wrote itAuthor or organisation, and why they know.
Earn corroboration beyond your own site
AI answers often cite several sources and compare them. Genuine coverage elsewhere, such as industry listings, supplier pages, local media and reviews on established platforms, gives an answer more than your own word to go on. Paying for mentions to game AI answers is the inauthentic kind Google warns about.
Technical minimums
- The page is indexed in Google (URL Inspection in Search Console).
- No nosnippet rule on pages you want cited.
- robots.txt allows OAI-SearchBot, PerplexityBot and Claude-SearchBot.
- Main content is in the HTML, not loaded only after a click.
The technical SEO guide covers indexing, and the LLM SEO guide covers every AI crawler.
Measuring AI search visibility
| Tool | What it shows | Limits |
|---|---|---|
| Search Console Generative AI report | Impressions of your URLs in Google's AI features, by page, country and device; available to all sites since 31 August 2026 | Google's features only |
| Analytics referrals | Visits from chatgpt.com, perplexity.ai and similar | Many AI answers send no referrer |
| Manual checks | Whether you're cited for your key questions | Answers vary between runs |
For what AI Overviews have done to clicks in Australia, see AI Overviews and Australian search.
GEO myths and the evidence
| Claim | Evidence |
|---|---|
| You need an llms.txt file | Google says it doesn't use AI text files for Search |
| Special schema gets you into AI Overviews | Google says there's no special schema to add |
| Split content into small chunks for AI | Google says there's no requirement to |
| There are published GEO ranking factors | No AI search provider publishes ranking factors; percentages quoted by vendors are their own estimates |
Common questions
What is generative engine optimisation?
Making your pages likely to be found and cited when AI search tools such as Google's AI Overviews, ChatGPT search and Perplexity write an answer.
Is GEO replacing SEO?
No. Google says its AI features use the same index and need no special optimisation, so GEO builds on SEO rather than replacing it.
How do I get my site into Google AI Overviews?
Make sure your pages are indexed and eligible for a snippet, answer questions clearly, and back claims with sources. Google says nothing more special is required.
Do I need an llms.txt file?
Not for Google: it says Search doesn't use AI text files. Some other tools may read one, but it isn't a requirement.
How does ChatGPT search find websites?
Through OpenAI's OAI-SearchBot crawler. OpenAI says sites that opt out of OAI-SearchBot won't be shown in ChatGPT search answers.
How can I measure AI search visibility?
Search Console's Generative AI report for Google's AI features, analytics referrals from AI tools, and regular manual checks of your key questions.
Where to next
If you would rather have someone do this than read about it, the commercial page for this work is Technical SEO services.
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