GEO stands for generative engine optimization: work intended to make a brand or its content more useful and discoverable in generated AI answers. It is not a separate switch that guarantees a recommendation.
SEO and GEO answer different measurement questions
Traditional SEO often asks whether a page appears in search results and attracts relevant visitors. AI visibility asks whether an answer mentions your brand, recommends it or cites your page. The two overlap, but one does not prove the other.
| Question | Evidence to inspect |
|---|---|
| Does my page appear in Google? | Search Console impressions, queries and pages |
| Does an AI answer recommend my brand? | Saved answers to defined prompts |
| Does AI send visitors to my website? | Recognisable referral traffic and conversions |
A mention without a clickable source may create awareness without an identifiable visit. A citation can support an answer without recommending the company behind that page.
Start with useful, accessible information
Google states that its existing SEO practices remain relevant to AI Overviews and AI Mode. There is no additional special markup or AI text file required for those experiences. That statement concerns Google Search, not a guarantee about every provider. Read Google’s AI features guidance.
For a marketer, a useful starting point is clear product information, answers to genuine customer questions and evidence that supports your claims. Make important pages accessible and connect related pages with useful internal links. Avoid writing pages whose only contribution is repeating a target phrase.
Measure before declaring an improvement
Choose a stable set of customer questions and collect answers with a documented model and mode. Keep mentions, recommendations and citations separate. When you change content, note the date and compare subsequent measurements without assuming the content change caused the difference.
Learn how to measure AI visibility and choose a useful prompt set.