What is GEO? How to get your business cited by ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews

For twenty years, getting found online meant one thing: ranking on page one of Google. That still matters. But a growing share of searches now end with an answer, not a list of links. Google shows an AI Overview at the top of the page. ChatGPT, Perplexity, Microsoft Copilot and Gemini answer questions directly, often citing two to five sources.

If your business is one of those sources, you're recommended at the exact moment someone is deciding. If you're not, you may never be seen at all. That's the problem Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO), also spelled optimization, solves.

What GEO actually means

GEO is the practice of making your content easy for AI systems to find, understand, trust and quote. The term was popularised by a 2023 research paper from Princeton University and partner institutions, which tested how different content changes affected visibility inside AI-generated answers. One of its clearest findings: content that included citations, quotations from credible sources and relevant statistics was noticeably more likely to be surfaced.

In plain terms, GEO asks a different question from traditional SEO. Not "how do I rank for this keyword?" but "when someone asks an AI about my area of expertise, why would it choose my business as a source?"

SEO vs AEO vs GEO

The three overlap, and a good strategy covers all of them.

The good news: the foundations are the same. Fast, well-structured websites with genuinely useful, expert content do well across all three.

Google AI Mode: the fastest-growing part of search

Google AI Mode is a conversational search experience inside Google. Instead of a page of links, it gives a detailed AI-written answer with links to sources, and lets people ask follow-up questions. It launched in the US in 2025 and expanded to around 180 countries in English, including New Zealand and the UK. Searches for "google ai mode" have grown faster than almost any other search term over the past year.

Google explains that AI Mode uses a "query fan-out" technique: it breaks a question into several smaller searches, runs them at the same time and combines the results into one answer. That means your page can be cited for a sub-question even if it doesn't rank for the main search. Clear, specific answers to the detailed questions buyers ask become even more valuable. Our guide to Google AI Overviews and AI Mode goes deeper.

How AI tools choose which sources to cite

Each AI product works a little differently, but most follow a similar pattern when they answer a question that needs current or specific information:

1. They search. The AI runs its own searches against a web index, much like a person would.
2. They read the most relevant pages. Pages that are fast, accessible and clearly structured are easier to read and extract from.
3. They weigh trust. Content from recognisable experts and businesses with consistent, verifiable information is favoured over anonymous or thin pages.
4. They write an answer and cite sources. Pages that state a clear, quotable answer to the question are the ones that get linked.

That gives you four levers: be findable, be readable, be trusted and be quotable.

8 steps to get your business cited

1. Answer the real questions your customers ask

List the questions you hear on sales calls and in emails, and give each a clear answer on your site. Use the question as a heading, then answer it directly in the first sentence or two before adding detail. AI tools love a clean, self-contained answer they can quote.

2. Show who's behind the content

Put a real name, photo and credentials on your articles and service pages. Link to your LinkedIn profile and an About page that explains your experience. This is E-E-A-T in action: Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness and Trust. Our guide to E-E-A-T for small businesses covers it in detail.

3. Add evidence, not just opinions

Back up claims with numbers, examples and sources. Share your own data where you can: results from your projects, survey findings or before-and-after comparisons. Original information gives AI tools a reason to cite you rather than a competitor saying the same thing.

4. Structure pages so they're easy to extract from

Use descriptive headings, short paragraphs, bullet lists, numbered steps and comparison tables. A wall of text is hard for people and machines to use.

5. Add schema markup

Structured data tells search engines exactly what your page is about. At minimum, add Organization (or LocalBusiness), Person for key authors, Service for what you sell, Article for blog posts and FAQPage where you answer common questions.

6. Keep your business details consistent everywhere

AI systems build a picture of your business from many sources. Make sure your name, address, phone number, services and description match across your website, Google Business Profile, LinkedIn, Facebook and business directories. Inconsistent details weaken trust.

7. Earn mentions on sites AI already trusts

Being quoted in industry publications, local news, podcasts, association directories and review platforms all strengthens your authority. One mention on a respected site can be worth more than dozens of low-quality links.

8. Make sure AI crawlers can actually reach you

Check your robots.txt file isn't blocking AI crawlers such as GPTBot, OAI-SearchBot, PerplexityBot, ClaudeBot and Google-Extended, unless you've decided to. Some hosting and security settings block them by default. Submit your sitemap to Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools too; Microsoft Copilot is built on Bing's index. Adding an llms.txt file, a short plain-text summary of your site at yoursite.com/llms.txt for AI tools, is an emerging practice that takes minutes.

How to measure GEO

GEO is newer than SEO, so measurement is less mature, but you can track progress:

• Test prompts monthly. Ask ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google the questions your buyers ask, such as "best web designer in Auckland for small business". Note whether you're mentioned or cited.
• Watch AI referrals in analytics. Look for visits from chatgpt.com, perplexity.ai, copilot.microsoft.com and gemini.google.com.
• Keep tracking classic SEO. Rankings, impressions and clicks in Google Search Console remain strong indicators, because AI tools draw heavily on pages that already rank.
• Count enquiries that mention AI. Add "ChatGPT or another AI tool" as an option in your "How did you hear about us?" question.

Common GEO mistakes

• Publishing mass AI-written content. Generic, unedited AI text adds nothing new, so there's little reason for AI tools to cite it.
• Hiding the experts. Anonymous content signals low trust.
• Blocking AI crawlers by accident through robots.txt or security settings.
• Chasing tricks. There's no secret code that forces a citation. Useful, trustworthy, well-structured content is the strategy.

Your GEO quick-start checklist

1. Write down the ten questions customers ask most, and answer each on your site.
2. Add author names, photos and bios to your key pages.
3. Add Organization, Service and FAQ schema.
4. Check robots.txt allows the AI crawlers you want.
5. Make your Google Business Profile and directory listings consistent.
6. Test five buyer questions in ChatGPT and Perplexity, and repeat monthly.

Want to know where you stand right now? Our free SEO/AI check scores your content, authority and technical GEO in under three minutes and gives you a personalised action plan.