Knowledge

What is GEO?

GEO, or Generative Engine Optimisation, refers to optimising a brand’s presence in responses generated by AI models. It relates to whether the model mentions the brand when someone asks about a category, rather than the position a webpage holds in a search engine’s results.

Last updated: 7 September 2026 · reading time: approximately 6 minutes

Definition

Where did this concept come from?

For twenty years, the question was: how do you rank highly in search results? The answer was SEO. For the past few years, a second scenario has been on the rise: a person asks a model a question and receives a ready-made answer that mentions the names of several companies. They don’t click on any links, because they don’t need to.

GEO describes the work involved in ensuring that the brand appears in precisely these kinds of results. The name can be misleading, as it is not about optimising the model itself, but rather about what the model finds out about the brand.

In practice, it encompasses three things at once: content on your own domain, brand mentions outside it, and the technical ability to link to your website. The third element is sometimes described separately as AEO.

GEO in a nutshell

We’re working to ensure that the AI model has the information it needs to reinforce your brand when someone asks about your category.

DiagnosisThe model knows that you exist and what you do

RecommendationThe model mentions you when asked about the category

Citation rateThe model is capable of extracting a response from you

Full name: Generative Engine Optimisation. The term came into common use around 2023.

Mechanism

How the model selects brands for its responses

The model does not have a list of recommended companies. It constructs its response based on what it finds, so a brand with no online presence has no way of appearing in the results.

User's question

Who does it? [service] w [city] and who can you trust?

Model response

1Company Ahas reviews
2Company Bin the ranking
3Company C

The model specifies selection criteria. These, too, come from somewhere.

01Asks about the category No brand name, as requested by the customer.

02Looking for the basics In training and in live feeds: websites, rankings, reviews.

03Selects names Those that he can back up with evidence. Usually three to five.

04Adds criteria It offers advice on what to look out for when making a choice.

The second step is the most important. The model needs validation, and the easiest way to find it is outside your own domain: in reviews, rankings and industry publications. Your own website shows that you exist. External sources show that you’re worth mentioning.

Three areas

What actually affects visibility in AI

The work is divided into three areas, and only the first of these is entirely your responsibility.

Content on your own domainDo you do it yourselves?Subpages dedicated to topics people ask about, with the answer in the first paragraph and specific details rather than just keywords. This builds brand awareness: the search engine knows you exist and what you do.

Signals from outside the domainIt depends on othersReviews, rankings, industry publications, directories, public appearances. These are what build a recommendation – that is, a situation where the influencer actually mentions you, rather than just being aware of you. This is the hardest and most time-consuming part.

Permission to quoteTechnologyWebsite structure, company details, and access for bots. Without these, even good content can be unreadable to the model.

The most common mistake is to focus solely on the first area. A company writes articles for half a year, its brand awareness grows, yet it still receives no recommendations. We discuss this in the article knows it, but doesn’t recommend it.

Practical experience

Where to start

Four steps you can carry out yourself, without any tools and without an agency.

Step 1Measure the initial condition Ask the models questions from your own category, without mentioning the brand name. Make a note of who gets it wrong.

Step 2Find the barriers Find out what the models have no way of verifying: reviews, citations, inclusion in rankings.

Step 3Do two things, not ten Start with the ones that cover the largest proportion of search queries in your category.

Step 4Measure again A month later, using the same set of questions. Without a second measurement, it is impossible to know whether anything worked.

We explain how to ask models questions so that the results make sense in this article how to find out what AI says about a company. The way Aelo does this is described in methodology.

To be honest

What GEO won’t do

A great many promises have been made surrounding this concept, so it is worth dispelling four of them straight away.

It is not possible to „position” a brand within the modelThere is no single panel or parameter that boosts the brand’s rating in the responses. The only thing that can be done is to increase the number and quality of the signals on which the model is based.

No one checks the answersThe same query can produce a slightly different result, and the models change with every update. That is why it is the trend that counts, not a single measurement.

A diagnosis is not yet a recommendationA model may be aware of a brand and still choose not to recommend it. These are two different jobs and two different terms.

You won’t see the results within a weekSignals from outside one’s own domain take months to build up, and models need time to pick them up.

FAQ

Questions about GEO

The questions that are most commonly asked when people first come across this term.

What is GEO?

GEO, which stands for Generative Engine Optimisation, is the optimisation of a brand’s presence in responses generated by AI models. It is about whether the model mentions the brand when someone asks about a category.

How does GEO differ from SEO?

SEO relates to a website’s position in search results and is measured from the moment a link is clicked. GEO refers to a situation where a person finds the answer they’re looking for and doesn’t click anywhere. We explain this in detail in the article SEO, GEO and AEO.

Does GEO replace SEO?

No. These are two parallel systems that measure different things. Search engine rankings are still important, and a website that ranks highly in search results usually has an easier start in these models.

Is it possible to check your GEO yourself?

Yes, on a small scale. You ask the models questions from your own category without mentioning the brand name, and make a note of who gets it wrong. We explain how to do this effectively in the article how to find out what AI says about a company.

How long does it take for the work on GEO to bear fruit?

Models notice changes on their own website more quickly, whilst signals from outside it take months to build up. We discuss this in the article Why aren’t the changes visible straight away?.

Does GEO apply only to large companies?

No. The mechanism is the same regardless of size, and in narrow local categories it can be easier, as there are fewer brands to choose from.

What should I do if the model doesn’t know my company at all?

Start with the indicators that help to confirm this: reviews, listings in directories and mentions in publications outside your own domain. We describe this in the article when AI doesn’t know your business.

What is an AEO, and is it the same thing?

AEO is a narrower concept: preparing content in such a way that the model can extract a ready-made answer from it. It falls within the scope of GEO as its technical and editorial component. What is an AEO?.

Check whether the models mention your brand

You start with 250 AeloCoins, without a card. That’s enough to run a measurement and test the modules. Once you’ve used them up, you switch to a paid plan. Measurements work straight away, and a full report on your brand is included from the Starter plan onwards. You’ll see who’s coming up short in your category.

Create an account

What is GEO?

Where did this concept come from?

How the model selects brands for its responses

What actually affects visibility in AI

Where to start

What GEO won’t do

Questions about GEO

Check whether the models mention your brand

Product

Knowledge

Company

Sign up for the start Aelo