What is generative engine optimization?
The term comes from a 2023 research paper, later published at KDD 2024.1 It describes generative engines as systems that answer by gathering several sources and summarising them with a language model.
So the goal shifts. In classic search you want a high link. In an AI answer you want to be one of the few brands the answer names, ideally with your page as a cited source.
You will see other names for the same idea:
How they differ is covered in AEO vs GEO.
How AI engines build an answer
Most engines that search the web follow the same rough path. Google says AI Overviews and AI Mode may use a query fan-out: several related searches across subtopics run behind one question.2
g2.com/best-crm-small-teams
reddit.com/r/sales
capterra.com/crm-softwareEngines use their own crawlers to find pages: OpenAI's OAI-SearchBot, PerplexityBot and Anthropic's Claude-SearchBot.345 Google's AI features draw on the normal Search index.2
Answers are written fresh each time. The same question can name different brands on different days, which matters when you measure.
Why GEO matters
A results page shows ten links. An AI answer often names only a handful of brands and gives a reason for each. If you are not named, the buyer may never see your link.
The answer also frames you. “Strong if you want email tracking” is a very different pitch from “a cheaper option”. GEO is about being named, and named for the right reason.
How to do GEO: six steps
There is no secret switch. The work looks like good marketing, aimed at the questions buyers now ask AI.
Start from buyer questions
List the questions buyers ask AI about your category: “best X for Y”, “X vs Y”, “alternatives to Y”. Use your own offer, buyers and rivals.
See what engines say today
Ask each engine those questions. Note who is named, in what order, and which pages are cited.
Make sure engines can read you
Keep search bots allowed in robots.txt. For Google's AI features, Googlebot is the control.2 Check yours with the AI crawler checker.
Publish pages that answer directly
Lead with the answer. State facts plainly: price, who it's for, limits, comparisons. The GEO paper reports that its methods can boost visibility by up to 40% in generative engine responses, with cited sources, quotations and statistics among the helpful changes, while keyword stuffing did not help.1
Show up where engines read
Engines cite review sites, communities and comparison articles. Find the ones that name rivals but not you, and earn a fair mention.
Measure, then repeat
Re-ask the same questions on a schedule. Keep what moved the numbers; fix the next gap.
How to measure GEO
Measure across many questions and all engines, on a schedule. One answer on one day tells you little.
| Metric | What it tells you |
|---|---|
| Named rate | Share of answers that name your brand. |
| Position | Where you appear when named. |
| Share of voice | Your mentions against rivals in the same answers. |
| Sources cited | Which pages engines read, and whether they name you. |
| Trend | How each number moves after you publish or change something. |
Search Console helps with clicks, but it does not split them out. Google counts traffic from AI Overviews and AI Mode inside the normal “Web” search type.2 Since June 2026 a separate generative AI performance report shows impressions in AI Overviews and AI Mode, but not clicks. That is why answer-level tracking matters; it is what AI visibility tracking in AY Rank does.
What GEO is not
Sources
- GEO: Generative Engine Optimization · Aggarwal et al., arXiv 2311.09735 (KDD 2024)Abstract: “GEO can boost visibility by up to 40% in generative engine responses.” Checked 30 Oct 2026.
- AI features and your website · Google Search CentralLast updated 10 Dec 2025. Checked 30 Oct 2026.
- Overview of OpenAI crawlers · OpenAIChecked 29 Oct 2026.
- Perplexity crawlers · PerplexityChecked 29 Oct 2026.
- Anthropic's crawlers · Claude Help CenterChecked 29 Oct 2026.
- The /llms.txt file · Jeremy HowardChecked 29 Oct 2026.