GEO

GEO stands for Generative Engine Optimization: optimising your online presence so that generative AI systems know, understand and mention your business in their answers. Whereas classic SEO is about a good position in a list of search results, GEO is about whether ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity or Google AI Overviews name your business or use your page as a source when someone asks a relevant question.

It's a young discipline. There's no official manual, and the systems change quickly. Still, clear principles are emerging, and many of them build on what good SEO has demanded for years.

How does GEO differ from SEO?

• An answer instead of a list: an AI assistant gives one summarised answer, often with a handful of sources. Your goal is to appear in it.
• Questions instead of keywords: users ask longer, conversational questions, often with context such as budget or region. A prompt like that is something different from a short keyword.
• Mentions count: even without a link, a mention of your brand name in an AI answer can be valuable.
• Measuring is different: there's no fixed position, because answers vary per question, per user and per moment.

GEO doesn't replace SEO. AI systems that search the web often rely on pages that also rank well in classic search engines. A strong SEO foundation therefore remains the starting point.

What is GEO about?

1. Clarity about who you are: your business needs to be recognisable as an entity, with consistent details on your site and elsewhere.
2. Content that answers questions: pages with clear, specific answers are easier to use as a source.
3. Trustworthiness: expertise, reviews and mentions on other sites strengthen your credibility.
4. Technical accessibility: AI crawlers must be able to reach and read your pages.
5. Monitoring: regularly testing how AI tools talk about your business and your competitors.

Why does GEO matter for an SME?

More and more people no longer ask their question in a search bar but to an AI assistant. Think of "which accountant in London works with small construction businesses?" or "roughly how much does a new bathroom cost in the UK?". If you're mentioned in that answer, you're put directly in front of an interested customer. If you're missing, you may not even be considered. That makes AI visibility a new focus point, alongside your classic rankings.

An example: an interior designer in Bristol

An interior designer from Bristol notices that potential clients increasingly say they found her "through ChatGPT". She decides to build her website in a more targeted way: a page per service with a clear explanation of her approach, timing and price ranges, an extensive portfolio page with projects by area and consistent business details on every platform. She also asks happy clients for a review. That makes it easier for AI systems to describe and recommend her correctly.

Getting started with GEO

Start with a baseline: which questions are relevant to your business, and what do AI tools say about them today? Then you can make targeted improvements. You can also look at the related concept of AEO. The Spacebird platform combines SEO and GEO, so you can track your visibility in classic and AI search environments in one place.