You’ve heard of SEO. Now meet its successor for the AI era: GEO – Generative Engine Optimisation. As more people get their answers directly from AI tools instead of a list of blue links, the goal is shifting from “rank on the page” to “be included in the answer.” GEO is the discipline of making that happen.
What is GEO?
GEO is the practice of optimising your content and brand so that generative AI engines – ChatGPT, Google’s AI Overviews, Perplexity, Gemini – pull you into the answers they generate. Where traditional SEO aims for a clickable ranking, GEO aims to make your business part of the response itself.
Why GEO matters now
- AI assistants increasingly answer questions without sending users to a website at all.
- Those answers often mention only a handful of sources – being one of them is hugely valuable.
- Most South African businesses haven’t optimised for this yet, so early movers gain a real edge.
How to do GEO well
Write quotable, structured content
AI engines favour content that directly answers a question in clear, self-contained statements. Lead with the answer, use headings and lists, and avoid burying the point under fluff.
Build authority and citations
Generative engines lean on sources they consider trustworthy. Quality backlinks, real reviews and consistent mentions across the web all increase the odds of being cited.
Use structured data and an llms.txt file
Schema markup helps AI understand exactly what you offer, and a simple llms.txt file gives AI crawlers a clean map of your key pages.
GEO and SEO work together
GEO doesn’t replace SEO – it extends it. The same foundations that rank you on Google (clear content, authority, structure) also make you citable by AI. Done together, you’re discoverable everywhere your customers look. This is closely related to AEO (Answer Engine Optimisation) – two sides of the same shift.
Curious whether AI currently includes your business in its answers? Get a free audit and we’ll show you where you stand.
Ready to get found by AI, not just Google?
See where your business stands today with a free AI Visibility Audit, or explore our AI Search Visibility (GEO) and SEO services. Prefer to talk? Get in touch and we will map out your next move.