The search landscape is going through a seismic shift as AI-powered platforms such as ChatGPT, Gemini, Google’s AI overview, Perplexity, etc, transform how people search for queries. Nowadays, traditional SEO is not enough; there is a Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO), which emerged as an important framework that ensures your content appears in AI-generated search results.
In this blog, we will explain the jargon surrounding GEO, explain its terms and what things you need to do to rank on top in AI-driven search through effective AI search optimization and generative search strategies.
So, let’s get started!
Understand Generative Engine Optimisation
GEO, or Generative Engine Optimisation, refers to the emerging practice of optimising content for AI answers to rank highly in AI large language model outputs, including but not limited to ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, as well as all other AI search tools. It’s essentially the next evolution of SEO, but for AI engines rather than traditional search engines; a true AI-first SEO strategy.
What Makes GEO Different from SEO?
While SEO focuses on ranking in Google’s blue links, GEO is about getting your content cited, referenced, or synthesised into the AI-generated answers that increasingly appear at the top of search results or within the AI chat interfaces. As more people use AI tools to find information through large language model referrals, being a part of these AI-generated responses becomes crucial for AI content discoverability and visibility.
Why GEO Matters Now?
AI search is rapidly disrupting how people find their information. Tools such as Google’s AI Overviews, Perplexity, ChatGPT’s search feature, and Bing’s AI Chat are now synthesising information from multiple sources into single responses. The AI overviews’ impact is important, and if your content isn’t optimised for these systems using AI search engine optimization techniques, you could become invisible, even if you have strong traditional SEO. This is why knowing AI search ranking factors is now critical for maintaining visibility.
Core Principles of Generative Engine Optimisation
Clarity and structure are key. AI models like content that’s well-organised, with clear hierarchies, headings, and logical flow. Think of writing to AI models as writing to the most literal reader who appreciates precision.
More performant is the authoritative and cited information. Including sources, data, statistics, and expert quotes makes your content more likely to be trusted and referenced by AI systems, improving AI-generated result visibility.
Thorough coverage trumps superficial content. AI engines more often pull from sources that deeply cover topics with nuance and substance than thin, keyword-stuffed pages. This is essential for ranking in AI summaries.
The instructions by natural language and question-answer formats meet the way that people query information from AI. Content framed around common questions seems more frequently pulled into AI responses, making content optimization for LLMs a crucial practice.
How Generative Engines Work?
As we discussed above, what GEO is, its core principles and generative search strategies, now it’s time to know about how it actually works:
Well, generative models use huge datasets to create responses as per the users’ entered prompts. They do not rank content traditionally but prioritise the most relevant, credible and valid data.
Let me give you an example:
If you ask ChatGPT, like one of the best shoes for trekking, it will give you content that contains direct product comparisons. Please review the image below:
Despite using keyword density or backlinks, generative AI models focus on contextual relevance, user intent and the ability to complete the user’s questions through semantic SEO for AI engines. The way AI evaluate content is very different from normal search engines like Google.
Furthermore, if I ask ChatGPT more questions about the sole and durability before purchasing trekking shoes, it will use this context to provide more tailored recommendations:
Moreover, if you follow up with additional questions about aspects such as sole durability before deciding on trekking shoes, ChatGPT will use this context to provide a more tailored response.
The Key Difference – GEO vs SEO
SEO, AI Overviews, and GEO are three terms dominating conversations about organic search, but they’re not interchangeable. Each has distinct goals and requires different tactics.
SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) is what we’ve been doing for years—making sure your content shows up when people search Google. You want those top spots on the results page.
AI Overviews (what Google used to call SGE) are those summaries that now appear at the top of search results. They pull bits from different websites and give searchers a quick answer without clicking anything to zero-click AI traffic challenges.
GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) is the new kid on the block. It’s about getting your content referenced when someone asks ChatGPT, Claude, or Perplexity a question. You’re not chasing rankings here—you want to be the source these AI tools actually cite and trust through entity-based SEO for AI search.
Where GEO and SEO Overlap?
Both are chasing the same basic goal: get your content seen. Doesn’t matter if that’s on Google’s first page or in an AI’s response—visibility is visibility.
- Good content wins in both worlds. If what you’re writing is shallow, outdated, or unreliable, neither Google nor AI systems will give you the time of day. Quality isn’t optional.
- Keywords still count. Yes, even for GEO. You need to use the terms and phrases people actually search for and ask about. This hasn’t changed.
- Technical stuff matters everywhere. Your site needs to load fast, have clean code, use proper headings, and include structured data. AI tools crawl the web just like search engines do, so technical hygiene helps both.
- Links haven’t died. Backlinks from reputable sites tell both Google and AI systems that you know what you’re talking about. Authority still comes from who’s linking to you.
Where GEO Breaks Away from SEO?
The biggest split? What happens after someone finds you?
With SEO, you’re trying to get the click. Your title needs to grab attention. Your meta description needs to make people curious enough to visit. Traffic to your site is the whole point.
With GEO, the AI might answer the question completely using your content, and the searcher never visits your site at all. You get cited, maybe you get brand awareness, but you might not get the visitor. It’s a weird trade-off.
How people interact with your content is different, too.
In traditional search, someone sees ten blue links and picks one. With AI answers, they get one synthesised response that pulls from multiple sources. You’re competing to be included in that synthesis, not to be the only result someone clicks.
What counts as “authority” has expanded.
Sure, backlinks still help with SEO. But now brand mentions matter even when they’re not linked. Being listed in directories, databases, and aggregators that AI systems scan can be just as valuable. It’s broader than classic link building.
The type of questions you’re answering matters more with GEO.
SEO covers everything—people looking for information, trying to buy something, searching for a specific website. GEO works best for informational queries. Someone asking “how does X work?” or “what are the benefits of Y?” Those are GEO sweet spots.
You measure success differently.
With SEO, you track rankings, clicks, bounce rates, and conversions. With GEO, you’re looking at how often you get cited, whether your brand name appears in AI responses, and if you’re being positioned as an authoritative source. These are softer metrics that don’t always connect to immediate traffic.
The way you write changes.
SEO content often holds something back—you tease information to make people click through. GEO content does the opposite. You give complete answers that AI can confidently pull from. You write quotable, clear statements. You’re not trying to create a curiosity gap; you’re trying to be the definitive answer.
The shift from SEO to GEO isn’t just technical—it’s philosophical. Instead of fighting for clicks, you’re fighting to become the trusted source that AI systems default to when they need information in your niche through LLM-driven SEO techniques.
Tips To Rank In Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO)
Need help in your business recommended more often generative AI models? We at Supreme Technologies spent a lot of time hypothesising, testing across different niches and industries to learn how to optimise for generative engines. Below are some theories on how to make it happen:
Optimise for web search:
As we know, most of the AI tools perform web search in the background to provide the search query results. Simply means GEO is built on traditional SEO, and you need to rank in traditional search engines to be chosen by generative models for ranking in AI summaries.
Optimise for AI overviews:
Google’s AI overviews collect the content from web searches to provide the most relevant and genuine answers. So, this is why your business needs to be featured in relevant searches where an AI overview is available.
Optimise Your Prompts:
This is one of the most important things that you should keep in mind while asking queries to AI tools as part of your generative search strategies. Be clear and direct with your questions or content. Write prompts that AI tools can understand clearly. You can use several types of prompts, like asking questions, giving a situation, providing proper information, instructions, etc., to get the most relatable answer as per your queries.
Use Keywords:
Do not do keyword stuffing. Simply include relevant keywords that enable AI to see the purpose and value of your content. Plus, you can use latent semantic indexing (LSI) keywords to enhance content accuracy.
Make sure to get mentioned across the web:
The more you make your brand online and mention your content online, the higher the chances that generative models will pick it up:
Build Authenticity:
Quality content should always be well-researched and factually accurate. To build your credibility, support your claims with reliable sources, and ensure that your writing is either authored or reviewed by an expert in the field. This approach aligns with the principles of E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness). If you’re sharing original data, include the raw data itself instead of just summarising your findings. By doing so, you’ll enable broader analysis and integration with other datasets, enhancing your geographic reach.
Practical GEO Strategies
Format your content with a clear semantic structure using proper HTML headings, lists, and tables. Include fact-based statements that are easily extractable and citable. Add statistics, dates, and specific data points that AI can reference for better ranking in AI summaries.
Consider adding FAQs where questions and answers are directly addressed. Use an authoritative tone. If making claims, cite sources of your own. Keep paragraphs to concepts that can be cleanly extracted into a singular thought or idea.
The field is still in a state of rapid evolution, but the fundamental insight is this: optimise to be the best, most reliable source an AI would ever want to cite when answering questions about your domain through comprehensive GEO optimisation and an AI-first SEO strategy.
Does Implementing GEO Actually Work?
Yes, implementing GEO (Generative Engine Optimisation) does appear to work, according to recent research and real-world case studies, though it’s still an emerging field.
Evidence That GEO Works
Research found that certain optimisation methods consistently outperformed baseline content across metrics, with top-performing tactics including adding statistics, quotations, and technical terms. Notably, simple methods like keyword stuffing didn’t work well.
A mid-sized online fashion retailer that implemented GEO best practices saw 32% growth in AI-referred sessions within three months, with visitors spending 2.3 minutes longer on-site than Google users. Additionally, research from Contently shows that teams optimising content for question-focused AI responses using specialised GEO tools saw a 65% increase in featured-snippet wins.
What Makes GEO Effective?
Different strategies work better for different content types:
- Science and Technology: Technical term additions and authoritative style adjustments proved particularly effective.
- Arts and Humanities: Incorporating quotations and references to well-regarded sources helped increase content visibility.
- Business and Finance: The inclusion of statistics and data-driven insights significantly improved visibility.
Important Considerations:
However, there are challenges. A 2025 study by Ahrefs reveals that AI overviews reduce the average click-through rate of top-ranking sites by 34.5%. This simply means that while your content may be cited by AI, users might not actually visit your website.
The consensus among experts is that GEO should complement, not replace, traditional SEO strategies. Since the field is still evolving and AI algorithms continue to change, successful implementation requires ongoing experimentation and adaptation based on your specific industry and audience.
Conclusion
The rise of generative AI has fundamentally changed how people discover information online. As AI-powered search tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google’s AI Overviews continue to dominate user behaviour, Generative Engine Optimisation is no longer optional; it’s essential for maintaining digital visibility through effective AI search engine optimisation.
The good news? GEO isn’t about abandoning everything you know about SEO. Instead, it’s an evolution that builds on traditional optimisation principles while adapting to how AI systems consume, evaluate, and cite content.
Here’s what you need to remember:
Traditional SEO gets you ranked; GEO gets you cited and trusted by AI systems that millions of users rely on for instant answers. Both matter, and both should be part of your content strategy.
Quality and authority have never been more important. AI models prioritise well-structured, factually accurate, and thoroughly researched content that demonstrates genuine expertise. Surface-level keyword stuffing won’t cut it anymore.
The way you measure success is shifting. Beyond clicks and rankings, you need to track brand mentions, citation frequency, and how often your content appears in AI-generated responses.
Start implementing GEO tactics today, optimise your content structure, add authoritative citations, use clear question-and-answer formats, and ensure your technical SEO foundation is solid. As the research shows, these strategies deliver real results, with businesses seeing significant increases in AI-referred traffic and brand visibility.
The search landscape will continue to evolve, but one thing is certain: brands that adapt to generative AI now will have a decisive advantage over those who wait. Don’t let your content become invisible in the age of AI search.
Ready to optimise your content for generative engines?
Start by auditing your existing content against the GEO principles outlined in this guide, implementing entity-based SEO for AI search and LLM-driven SEO techniques, and begin implementing the strategies that align with your industry and audience. The future of search visibility depends on it.
I hope you found this blog informative. Stay tuned for more blogs, too!