What GEO is
GEO stands for Generative Engine Optimization: optimising for generative engines. It is the set of technical, content and reputation actions that make it more likely an AI assistant will mention your brand, recommend it or link to your site when it answers a question.
It often appears alongside AEO (Answer Engine Optimization). In practice the two are used almost interchangeably: both aim for your content to be the answer, not just another result.
For an ecommerce store, the question that matters is a specific one: when someone asks an assistant "which trail running shoe brand would you recommend?" or "where can I buy speciality coffee beans?", do you show up?
How it differs from SEO
SEO works to win positions on a results page with ten links. GEO works to get into a written answer that often names only three or four brands. There are fewer slots and the user doesn't always click.
The foundations are the same: a fast, crawlable, well-structured website with useful content and authority. That's why a site that ranks well on Google stands a better chance of being cited. What changes is the content format, the weight of external sources and the way you measure.
- Goal: SEO is after rankings and clicks; GEO is after mentions, citations and recommendations.
- Unit of content: SEO works on pages; GEO works on answers and quotable snippets.
- Sources: in GEO, mentions in the media, comparisons, forums and third-party reviews carry a lot of weight.
- Measurement: SEO is measured in Search Console; GEO needs question panels and mention tracking.
How AI chooses who to cite
Assistants combine what they learnt in training with real-time searches. When they search, they read pages, extract snippets and write. In that process they favour content they can read effortlessly and that answers directly.
Some factors depend on your website and others on what is said about you elsewhere. Both count.
- Access: the assistants' crawlers must be able to get in (robots.txt) and read the content without relying on JavaScript.
- Direct answers: clear definitions up front, FAQs and comparisons with explicit criteria.
- Structured data: consistent organisation, product, review and FAQ schema across the whole site.
- Proprietary data: your own figures, cases and methodology that nobody else can provide.
- Third-party mentions: media, rankings, directories, forums and marketplaces where your brand is talked about.
- Entity consistency: the same brand name, description and details everywhere you appear.
What to do in an ecommerce store
Start with the pages that already sell: categories and product pages. Each product page should explain who the product is for, what problem it solves and how it differs, with complete attributes and visible reviews. That is exactly the information an assistant needs to make a recommendation.
Then create content that answers pre-purchase questions: buying guides, honest comparisons ("A vs B: which to choose") and answers to questions about sizing, use or compatibility. Put the answer in the first paragraph, not hidden at the end.
Review your product feeds too. Assistants with shopping features read structured catalogues: a clean feed, with descriptive titles, GTIN, price, stock and attributes, is the way in.
How to measure it
Measurement starts with a question panel: the questions your customers ask at each stage of the purchase, by category and by market. They are put to each assistant regularly, recording whether you appear, where in the answer, in what tone and which sources are cited.
From that you calculate your share of voice against the competition and find out which external sources the models use to talk about your sector. Those sources, in turn, are the action plan: where you need to be mentioned.
In web analytics, traffic coming from the assistants can be segmented by referrer (chatgpt.com, perplexity.ai, gemini.google.com…) to see how it converts compared with other channels.
Frequently asked questions
Does GEO replace SEO?
No. It relies on the same technical and content foundations. A site that ranks well on Google stands a better chance of being cited by an AI, and what you do for GEO usually improves your SEO as well.
How long does it take to see results?
Technical and content changes to your site can show up in answers that use real-time search within a few weeks. Anything that depends on model training and third-party mentions takes longer.
Can you pay to appear in ChatGPT?
Organic answers can't be bought. Some assistants do offer advertising formats, which are managed separately as a paid media channel.
Which tools can you use to measure GEO?
AI visibility tools that put question panels to the assistants and record mentions and citations, combined with web analytics to measure the traffic and sales that come from them.
Retention Manager at Webimpacto. Works with brands that sell online so their customers come back to buy again: apps, loyalty, conversion and repeat purchase measured in sales.