The short answer: GEO (generative engine optimisation) is the work of making your business clear, credible and easy to quote for AI assistants. SEO is the work of ranking in search results. You need both, they share the same foundation, and the second one does not replace the first.
For years, being found meant ranking on a page of search results. That still matters. But more people now ask a question and receive a written answer from an AI assistant such as ChatGPT, Gemini or Perplexity, without ever visiting a results page.
When that happens, the question is not only whether you rank. It is whether the assistant knows about your business, understands what you do and is willing to mention you in its answer.
What changes
A search result sends a person to a list of links. An AI answer summarises and often names a few businesses directly. So the work shifts from only earning a click to also being understood and trusted by a system that reads and summarises content on a person's behalf.
This is sometimes called generative engine optimisation, or GEO. It is not a replacement for SEO. It sits on top of the same foundation: clear, useful, well-structured content that people and machines can both read.
GEO and SEO side by side
The two disciplines overlap more than they differ. Here is where they meet and where they part ways.
Where they are the same
- Both reward pages that answer a real question clearly and completely.
- Both depend on a site that is fast, accessible and easy to crawl.
- Both benefit from signs of real authority: clients, experience, citations and references from other sites.
Where they differ
- The goal. SEO aims for a position on a results page and a click. GEO aims to be understood well enough to be mentioned inside an answer, sometimes with a link and sometimes without one.
- The reader. SEO is written for a person who will arrive on your page. GEO is also written for a system that will summarise your page for someone who may never visit.
- The signals. Rankings use links and many other signals. Assistants lean on what is clear, consistent and corroborated across the web.
- The measure. SEO has familiar numbers: positions, clicks, traffic. GEO is checked more by asking assistants real questions and reading what they say about you.
What to do about it
- Say what you do plainly. A clear, direct description of your business, your services and who they are for, written in the language your customers use.
- Answer real questions. Write pages that answer the actual questions your customers ask, in the order they ask them, with direct answers first.
- Keep your facts consistent. Your name, services, locations and details should match across your website and your profiles.
- Structure the page. Descriptive headings, short sections, definitions and structured data help systems understand what each part is about.
- Show authority. Clients, experience, quotes from leadership and being referenced elsewhere all help establish that you are a real, credible source.
If you want this done as part of a wider programme, it is what our generative engine optimization and SEO service covers.
Do not drop the SEO basics
Good technical foundations and useful content help you in both places. A site that is fast, clear and easy to crawl is easier for search engines and for AI systems to understand. GEO builds on that foundation. It does not replace it.
The basics worth keeping in order:
- Every page has one clear purpose, one main heading and a descriptive title.
- Your sitemap and robots file are present and correct, and you are not blocking the crawlers you want to be read by.
- Pages load quickly on a phone and work for people using assistive technology.
- Pages link to each other in a way that shows how your topics fit together.
How to check how assistants describe you
You do not need special software to start. Pick a handful of questions your customers would genuinely ask, for example "who are the best providers of X in my city" or "how do I choose a provider of Y", and ask them in several assistants. Write down what each one says about you and about your competitors.
Look for three things: whether you are mentioned at all, whether the description of your business is accurate, and which sources the assistant seems to rely on. Repeat the exercise every month or so. The answers will change, which is itself useful information.
Three situations and what to do
A local service business
People ask assistants for providers near them. Make sure your name, address, services and opening details are identical on your site and every listing, and that each service has its own page with a short, direct description.
A business that sells to other businesses
Buyers ask comparison and "how do I choose" questions. Publish clear guides on those questions, name the types of client you serve and show your experience. A buyer who has read your guide before the call is already halfway to trusting you.
An online store
Assistants answer product questions. Give every product a plain description, specifications that are easy to extract and honest answers to the questions buyers ask most, such as sizing, delivery and returns.
An honest caution
Nobody can promise that an AI assistant will recommend your business. These systems change often, and they do not publish how they choose what to say. The sensible approach is to make your content as clear and credible as you can, to check how assistants describe your business from time to time and to treat what you learn as a signal, not a guarantee.
Be wary of anyone who sells guaranteed placement in AI answers. The honest promise is to make you easier to understand and quote, and to be open about what is still unknown.
Common mistakes
- Treating it as a trick. There is no setting that switches an assistant on. Clear, credible content is the work.
- Letting facts drift. A different address on one profile or an old service on another makes you harder to describe correctly.
- Blocking crawlers by accident. A single line in a robots file or a plugin default can hide a whole site.
- Writing for machines only. People still read your pages. If it reads badly, it is not helping anyone.
- Measuring once. One check tells you little. Repeat it every month and watch the pattern.
Related reading
A practical start this quarter
Choose your five most important services, make sure each has a page that answers the main questions about it directly and then ask a few assistants the questions your customers would ask. What they say about you, and what they leave out, is your first set of priorities.
If you would like help turning that into a plan, start a conversation with us. We will begin with how you are described today.