Glossary

GEO — Generative Engine Optimization

GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) is the practice of making your brand correctly mentioned and cited in answers from ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and other LLMs.

GEO = SEO for generated answers, not for SERPs.
Overlaps with AEO and LLM SEO but focuses specifically on generative engines.

Definition

GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) is the practice of making your brand correctly mentioned, cited, and described in answers from generative engines such as ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Claude, YandexGPT and Alice. Unlike classic SEO, the output is not a blue link but a synthesized answer — so the optimization surface is different: llms.txt, schema.org, authoritative backlinks, and training-data-friendly content.

How it works in practice

A GEO program typically has four pillars. First, technical surface: robots.txt for AI bots, llms.txt, schema.org, canonical URLs. Second, content: clear definitions, comparison tables, dated FAQs, author credits. Third, authority signals: citations from reputable domains the models trust. Fourth, measurement: tools like Getllmspy that score LLM-Score, Share of Voice, and Sentiment over time.

Example outcome

A team unblocked GPTBot in robots.txt, rewrote five commercial pages in an answer-first layout, and published three long-form pieces on a major tech media site. After ~60 days they saw 23 mentions in ChatGPT out of 50 test prompts versus zero at baseline, and referral traffic from Perplexity rose ~+340%.

How to read it

GEO is a discipline label, not a single KPI. Success shows up as rising mention quality in dated snapshots, fewer contradictions across models, and stronger citation patterns for your domain.

First steps in GEO

Audit robots.txt for accidental blocks on GPTBot, PerplexityBot, and ClaudeBot — roughly 35% of RU sites still disallow AI crawlers from legacy rules.
Run a free Getllmspy check to capture your current LLM-Score baseline.
Rewrite one hero page answer-first: definition in paragraph one, FAQ at the bottom.
Ship Article + FAQPage JSON-LD on that page and validate structured data.

GEO vs AEO and LLM SEO

AEO targets answer engines broadly, including Google's AI Overviews and Bing Copilot. LLM SEO is closer to a casual synonym. GEO is most often used for standalone generative products (ChatGPT, Perplexity). In practice the tactics overlap 80%.

When to use

When you are writing a strategy deck for leadership.
When you specifically mean ChatGPT/Perplexity/Gemini presence and not SERP rankings.
When you want to separate "classic SEO" budget from "LLM visibility" budget.

AEO (Answer Engine Optimization)LLM SEO LLM-Score RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation)llms.txt

Start your GEO with a visibility baseline