What Is GEO (Generative Engine Optimization)?

GEO stands for generative engine optimization, a term researchers introduced specifically for optimizing content to be cited inside AI generated answers, as opposed to ranking on a traditional results page.

It is narrower than SEO in scope but newer in method. Early research on GEO found that adding citations, statistics, and quotes to a page measurably increased how often generative engines referenced it in their answers.

In practice GEO overlaps heavily with AEO and LLM SEO. All three push toward the same output: clear, well sourced, directly answered content that a model can lift and trust.

That overlap is why software for AI search visibility builds pages that satisfy all three at once.