What is GEO (Generative Engine Optimization)?

Published 23 October 2026 · STRINTECH d.o.o.

GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) is optimization for generative search engines, the tools that write an answer themselves from several sources. The goal is for AI to mention, cite and recommend you when someone asks about your kind of service.

Where the term GEO comes from

The term spread after 2023, when researchers from Princeton, Georgia Tech, the Allen Institute for AI and IIT Delhi published the paper "GEO: Generative Engine Optimization". They tested which changes to a text make a generative engine more likely to use it in an answer.

Texts that cited sources, included quotes and gave concrete numbers did best. Repeating keywords, the old SEO trick, didn't help.

How a generative engine picks its sources

ChatGPT search, Perplexity, Gemini and Google AI Overviews search the web first, then write an answer from the pages they find. Which pages they pick depends on:

• whether the AI crawler is allowed to and able to read the page (robots.txt, speed, text without JavaScript)
• whether the page is in the index the tool relies on, for example Bing, which ChatGPT search partly relies on
• how clear, specific and well supported the answer is
• what other sources say about you: reviews, directories, media, your Google profile
• whether your business details are the same everywhere

What a business can do for GEO

• Allow AI crawlers in robots.txt: OAI-SearchBot and GPTBot (OpenAI), PerplexityBot, Google-Extended and ClaudeBot.
• Add llms.txt, a short description of your business and services written for language models.
• Write pages with facts: prices, experience, number of projects, certifications, with a source where you can.
• Add your site to Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools and submit a sitemap.
• Keep your Google Business Profile and Bing Places listing up to date and be present in local directories.
• Publish articles that answer real customer questions.

No tricks, no guarantees

There is no button that guarantees ChatGPT will recommend you. Generative engines pick sources they trust and can read. GEO is the work of making your website and your business that kind of source, and keeping it that way as AI tools change.

How Aysel helps

Aysel runs your website through more than 40 checks that affect GEO and AEO, from robots.txt and schema markup to the content of your inner pages. The score is free, and the 9.90 KM report also shows what ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Google AI actually say about you.

FAQ

What is the difference between GEO and AI SEO?

In practice they mean the same thing: getting AI tools to find and recommend you. GEO is the more technical name from research, and AI SEO is the phrase businesses use more often.

Should I block AI crawlers?

Not if you want AI assistants to recommend you. A blocked crawler can't read your site, so AI only knows what other pages say about you. You can allow search crawlers and block training crawlers, for example allow OAI-SearchBot and block GPTBot.