GEO explained simply: getting cited when the AI answers

GEO — Generative Engine Optimization — is the set of methods aimed at getting a brand cited and recommended by AI assistants: ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, Gemini. Where SEO tries to place a page in a list of ten results, GEO tries to get a name into a written answer that mentions only three.

That is the whole difference, and it is a harsh one.

One answer, not a results page

On Google, seventh is still a position. The link exists, it is clickable, some traffic gets through.

When a buyer asks an AI "which supplier of rare parts for classic BMWs would you recommend?", they do not get ten links. They get a paragraph naming two or three businesses and citing four sources. There is no seventh place. There is no second page. You are in the answer, or you do not exist for that buyer.

Two different things to measure

One confusion comes up every time. Being cited as a source and being recommended are not the same thing, and they are not fixed the same way.

• Cited as a source: the AI went and read your site to build its answer, and mentions it in its references. Good for your technical credibility, but the buyer does not necessarily see you.
• Recommended: your name appears in the body of the answer, as an option worth considering. That is what triggers a visit, a brand search, a purchase.

A site can be read by every AI and never recommended by any. The reverse happens too: brands the models mention from memory, without ever visiting their site. Measuring the two separately is the baseline.

Why ranking well on Google is not enough

AI assistants do not stop at the top ten results. They read forums, Reddit threads, comparison sites, video transcripts, trade media articles — plenty of content nobody optimises, and that you do not control.

The direct consequence: your presence in answers is largely decided outside your own site. A site ranking first for its keywords can be entirely absent from recommendations if, in its market, the conversation happens somewhere else.

What GEO changes in practice

Three levers, in the order of impact we observe:

1. Be present where AIs read. Identify the domains actually cited in your market — often three or four forums and comparison sites — and exist there honestly.
2. Be easy to quote. Clear, self-contained, verifiable statements. A model will happily reuse a sentence that stands on its own; it ignores a marketing paragraph that circles the point.
3. Be identifiable. A name, a scope, a speciality stated without ambiguity. Models recommend what they can describe.

The starting point: knowing where you stand

None of these levers can be steered blind, and your analytics will not help: a recommendation that leaves you out generates no visit, therefore no line in your stats. You lose without seeing it.

The only way to know is to ask the questions and count. That is exactly what our audit does: 40 real questions, 3 assistants, 3 passes, 360 measurements.