AI search
What is generative engine optimisation, and does your business need it?
Generative engine optimisation, or GEO, is the work of getting your business named in AI-written answers. Those are the answers people get from ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, Copilot and Google's AI Overviews and AI Mode.
It has other names too. You may hear AI search optimisation, answer engine optimisation or LLM SEO. LLM stands for large language model, the technology behind these tools. They all mean much the same thing.
This post explains what GEO is, how it differs from normal SEO, and what a service business should do about it.
Where the name comes from
The term comes from a 2023 research paper. The researchers tested how changes to a web page affected how often AI answers used it as a source.
"Generative engine" means a tool that writes its own answer, rather than handing you a list of links. GEO is about being one of the sources that answer is built from.
How an AI answer picks a business
Say someone asks, "Who's a good boiler engineer in Stockport?" Most AI tools with search do roughly the same four things.
They break the question down
The tool may run several smaller searches. It might look for boiler engineers in Stockport, reviews, prices and who's Gas Safe registered.
They search the web
Each smaller search returns pages. If your pages don't rank or can't be found, you're out at this step.
They read the pages
The tool pulls out the facts that answer the question, like the service, the area, the price and the reviews. Plain statements are easy to use. Sales talk gives it little to work with.
They write the answer
The answer is built from the sources the tool trusts most. A few businesses get named, often with a link.
GEO is about doing well at each of those steps, especially the last two.
How GEO differs from SEO
SEO is about ranking your pages in search results. GEO is about having your business named in the answer.
They overlap a lot. Most AI tools start by searching the web, so a page that can't be found can't be quoted. Google says the same SEO basics apply to its AI features as to normal search.
The difference is in how the page is written. A page can rank well and still never be quoted, if the answer is buried or vague. GEO puts the answer first and makes the facts easy to lift out.
What GEO work looks like
For a service business, the work usually comes down to six things.
- A list of the questions customers ask, by service and by town
- A page for each important question, with the answer in the first line or two
- Your business name, service and area stated plainly next to the facts
- Facts people can check, such as areas covered, prices and opening hours
- The same details on your website, Google Business Profile, reviews and listings
- Tracking where you appear in AI answers, then rewriting pages that don't
What to be wary of
GEO is new, so some of what's sold under the name doesn't hold up.
- Promises of guaranteed AI rankings. Nobody controls what an AI tool says.
- Special files or code sold as a shortcut into AI answers. Google says no special files or schema are needed for its AI features.
- Pages written for machines instead of people. If a customer wouldn't find the page useful, an AI tool is unlikely to either.
- Reports that only count mentions. A mention matters most when it's for a search that brings you work.
Does a service business need GEO yet?
More people now ask an AI tool to recommend a local business. Some of those questions would once have been Google searches.
You don't need a separate GEO project to deal with that. You need your SEO to be written so AI tools can use it. For most service businesses, that means better pages, not more pages.
A good starting point is to ask the tools yourself. Type the questions your customers would ask, and see who gets named. If it isn't you, look at what those businesses' pages say that yours don't.
How we approach it
Our AI search work builds on SEO. We list the questions that matter, write pages that answer them clearly, and keep your details the same everywhere.
We track AI visibility for your tracked keywords each month, so you can see where you're named and where you're not. Your free SEO audit is the place to start.