GEO and AI search optimisation: how to be found and cited by AI search.

What GEO is and how it relates to SEO

GEO (generative engine optimisation), also called AI search optimisation, is the work of making your content easy for AI search tools, such as ChatGPT search, Perplexity, Claude and Google’s AI Overviews, to find, understand and cite. SEO (search engine optimisation) aims to rank pages in a list of results. GEO aims to be one of the sources an AI answer draws on, with your business described correctly.

The two overlap heavily. Google’s guidance says that, from Google Search’s perspective, optimising for generative AI search is still SEO, because its AI features rely on its core ranking and quality systems. So GEO does not replace SEO. It adds attention to clear answers, consistent facts and whether AI crawlers can reach your site.

How AI search tools find and cite sources

Most AI search tools answer a question by running searches, reading a handful of pages and writing a summary that links to the pages used. Google describes two techniques: retrieval-augmented generation, which grounds answers in pages retrieved from its index, and query fan-out, which runs several related searches at once. OpenAI, Anthropic and Perplexity run their own search crawlers for the same purpose.

So your pages must be reachable and indexable, the answer must be easy to lift out, and the facts about your business must agree wherever the tool looks, because conflicting details make a correct citation less likely.

Let the right AI crawlers in

Start with access. AI vendors publish their crawler names, and most separate search crawlers, which let your pages appear and be linked in answers, from training crawlers, which collect content for model training. OpenAI states that its settings are independent, so you can allow OAI-SearchBot while disallowing GPTBot.

Check yourdomain.com/robots.txt, then any bot protection in your hosting, CDN or firewall, which can block crawlers that robots.txt allows; Perplexity’s documentation explains how to let its crawlers through a web application firewall. Google’s AI features draw on its normal Search index, so a page must be indexed in Google Search to appear in them.

Make your pages easy to read and quote

AI tools can only quote what they can read. Google processes JavaScript, but you cannot assume every crawler does, so put important content in the HTML your server sends, not only in scripts, images or PDFs. Then check each key page against this list:

• Static HTMLProducts, services, locations, certifications and contact details appear as text in the page source.
• Answer firstThe first sentence under each heading answers the question it raises, in words a buyer would use.
• Real FAQsQuestions phrased the way customers ask them, with short answers that make sense on their own.
• Specific factsMinimum order quantities, lead times, standards met and markets served: detail a generic page cannot copy.
• Structured dataschema.org markup such as Organization, Article and FAQPage that matches the visible text.

Structured data is code that labels facts for machines: Organization for your legal name, logo, address and official profiles; Article for guides; FAQPage for question-and-answer sections. Google says it is not required for its AI features and there is no special markup for them, but it remains useful for SEO. Treat it as accurate labelling, not a shortcut.

Keep your business details consistent, in every language

AI tools draw on what is said about you across the web, not only on your own site. If your business name, address, products or credentials differ between your website, business listings, industry directories, LinkedIn and marketplace profiles, the tool has to guess which is right.

• Use one exact business name and address format everywhere, matching your registered details.
• Keep Google Business Profile and other listings current; Google notes they can help you appear in AI responses.
• Align LinkedIn, trade directories and marketplace profiles with your About and Contact pages.
• Earn genuine mentions from customers, associations and media; Google warns that chasing inauthentic mentions is not as helpful as it might seem.

For exporters, consistency includes language. Buyers in China, Korea or the Middle East may ask an AI tool in their own language, and a properly translated page with the same facts as your English page gives it a source to cite. Our Global Foundation service builds multilingual export websites with SEO and GEO in mind.

llms.txt: a proposal, not a standard

llms.txt is a proposed convention, first published by Jeremy Howard in September 2024: a Markdown file at /llms.txt that summarises a site and links to its most useful pages, so AI agents can find clean information quickly. It is not an adopted web standard. Google says Google Search does not use llms.txt and that it neither helps nor harms visibility there, though keeping one for other systems is fine.

How to check results

Measure GEO by asking AI tools the questions your buyers ask and recording whether you are cited, and how accurately. Repeat on a schedule, because answers change.

1. List real buyer questionsCollect 20 to 30 from enquiries, sales calls and quotes, such as “Who makes food-grade stainless tanks in Victoria?”
2. Ask several toolsRun each question in the AI tools your buyers use, in each language you sell in, and save the answers and links.
3. Record accuracy, not just mentionsNote whether you are cited, whether the details are right and who is cited instead.
4. Check your own dataUse Google Search Console, including its generative AI performance report, and look for AI referrals in your analytics.
5. Fix and repeatImprove the pages behind wrong or missing answers, then re-run the same questions monthly or quarterly.

Expect this to take time: crawlers revisit pages on their own schedules, and no one can guarantee that an AI tool will cite your business. Be wary of any provider that promises citations or rankings; Google makes the same point about third-party tools that claim inside knowledge.

Our SEO and GEO lead generation service writes content around the questions your buyers actually ask.