What is GEO (Generative Engine Optimization): The New SEO Discipline in the AI Era

Until recently, SEO had a single goal: appearing in Google's top results. But search behavior is changing. A growing share of users no longer start their search on Google — they ask ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, or Perplexity directly. And these models respond with direct recommendations, without showing ten results: they name specific brands, tools, and services. If your brand doesn't appear in those answers, you are invisible to that segment of users.

What is Generative Engine Optimization (GEO)?

GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) is the set of techniques aimed at getting your brand, product, or service mentioned in the responses generated by language models (LLMs). Unlike classic SEO, which seeks to rank a URL in a search ranking, GEO aims to have AI cite you as an answer to relevant questions in your industry.

The term was popularized by researchers from Princeton and Georgia Tech in a 2023 paper, and in 2024 and 2025 it has become one of the fastest-growing disciplines in digital marketing. Companies like Semrush, Ahrefs, and Moz have already launched specific features to monitor AI visibility.

Why AI models mention some brands and not others

LLMs learn from large volumes of internet text: articles, forums, reviews, technical documentation, social media. The likelihood that a model will mention your brand depends on how often it appears in that training corpus and in what context: if most references are positive and authoritative, the model will associate your brand with quality and relevance.

• •Editorial presence: third-party articles mentioning you (specialized blogs, industry media, reviews).
• •Topical authority: if your website is recognized as an expert source on a topic, models learn that association.
• •Structured data: schema markup helps models identify entities unambiguously.
• •Citations and unlinked mentions: brand mentions in plain text also count in the training corpus.
• •Presence on indexable platforms: G2, Capterra, Reddit, Quora — sources that LLMs frequently use.

Differences between SEO and GEO

GEO does not replace SEO — it complements it

A common mistake is seeing GEO and SEO as competing strategies. In reality they reinforce each other: quality content that ranks well in Google also feeds the LLM training corpus. Good content strategy, correct structured data, and solid editorial presence benefit both disciplines.

What does change with GEO is the focus: it's no longer enough to appear at number one on Google if, when someone asks ChatGPT "which SEO tool should I use?", your brand isn't mentioned. Both discovery surfaces matter.

How to measure your AI visibility today

The first step is to understand where you stand. iRankly's AI Visibility Monitor lets you check whether your brand appears in model responses when relevant questions in your industry are asked. Enter your brand, some questions your potential customers would ask, and get an instant analysis.

First steps in a GEO strategy

1. 1.Measure your starting point: use the AI Visibility Monitor to find out if your brand already appears in relevant responses.
2. 2.Identify the key questions: what do your potential customers ask AI? Focus content on answering those questions exhaustively.
3. 3.Get mentions in industry media: articles, comparisons, reviews on platforms like G2, Capterra, or Trustpilot.
4. 4.Strengthen your topical authority: publish expert content that positions your brand as a reference on the topic.
5. 5.Implement schema markup: helps models identify your brand as a well-defined entity.
6. 6.Monitor periodically: models are retrained and responses change. Set up monthly reviews.