GEO — generative engine optimization — is the work of getting your business mentioned in AI-generated answers. SEO is the work of ranking in search results. They overlap heavily, and the differences are smaller than the people selling GEO would like you to believe.
The honest comparison
| SEO | GEO | |
|---|---|---|
| Goal | Rank in search results | Be cited in AI answers |
| Measured by | Rankings, traffic, enquiries | Whether you get named — and the sample is unstable |
| Gated by authority | Heavily | Much less — small sites do get cited |
| Sends traffic | Yes | Rarely — cited sources see roughly 1% click rates |
| Main lever | Content plus links | Content structure, directories, reviews |
What actually differs
Three things are genuinely different, and they are worth doing:
- Directories matter more than links. Tested across three AI engines, answers to “best agency in X” were assembled almost entirely from directory databases — review counts, client mix, project sizes. A business absent from them is uncitable regardless of site quality.
- Structure beats keyword placement. Direct answers stated up front, questions as headings, comparison tables, specific numbers. AI quotes what is quotable.
- Authority gates you less. Small domains genuinely win AI citations where they cannot yet win rankings — which makes GEO a rare place a newer site can compete now.
What is oversold
GEO as a separate service with separate fees. Most of what works is good SEO practice — clear structure, direct answers, real specifics, a credible entity across the web. And the traffic reality is sobering: cited sources see about a 1% click rate, so being quoted is a visibility and credibility asset rather than a traffic channel. Anyone selling GEO as a traffic strategy is overstating it.
What to actually do
- Answer the question in the first paragraph of every page
- Use the buyer’s question verbatim as your headings
- Publish comparison content with disclosed criteria
- Get into the directories your category is judged by, and get reviews on them
- Publish an llms.txt and allow AI crawlers
Related: what SEO is, what SEO services include, our SEO services.
GEO and AI search — questions answered straight
What is GEO in marketing?
Generative engine optimization — work aimed at getting your business mentioned in AI-generated answers from tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google’s AI results, rather than ranking in the classic list of links.
Is GEO different from SEO?
Partly. The content work overlaps almost entirely. What genuinely differs is that directories and reviews matter more, answer structure matters more, and domain authority gates you far less.
Does GEO bring traffic?
Rarely, directly. Cited sources see roughly a 1% click rate, so it functions as visibility and credibility rather than a traffic channel. Treat anyone selling it as a traffic strategy with caution.
Should I pay for a separate GEO service?
Usually not. Most of what works is good SEO practice done well. If a GEO proposal does not mention directories, reviews and answer structure, it is probably repackaging things you should already be doing.
How do I get cited by ChatGPT or Perplexity?
Be in the sources they read. For service businesses that means directory profiles with reviews, plus content that answers questions directly and is easy to quote. Testing shows these answers are assembled largely from directories.
Can a small website get cited by AI?
Yes — genuinely. Small domains show up in AI citations for question-type queries where they could not rank in search yet. It is one of the few areas where a newer site can compete immediately.
What is llms.txt?
A plain-text file at your domain root that maps your site for AI crawlers — what you do and which pages answer what. It is an emerging convention, cheap to publish, and harmless if ignored.
How do I measure GEO?
Run a fixed set of prompts across engines and record whether you are named. Single results are unreliable, so repeat them and track direction over months rather than reading anything into one answer.
Does schema markup help with AI answers?
It helps machines parse your content unambiguously, and FAQ-structured content in particular tends to be quotable. It is worth doing and it is not a magic switch.
Will AI replace search engines?
It is changing where answers appear rather than removing the need to be findable. The practical response is the same either way: publish content that genuinely answers what people ask.