A buyer asks ChatGPT, “Which agencies in the UK can integrate NetSuite with Shopify?” The answer names four firms and links to their pages. If you are not one of them, you never got a chance to pitch. Generative engine optimization is how you get onto that list.
GEO is less mysterious than it sounds. In practice, it comes down to four jobs: let AI search crawlers in, publish pages worth quoting, get mentioned on other sites, and check the results every month.
This guide shows you how to do each one. If you want definitions first, read our comparison of SEO vs AEO vs GEO. This post skips the theory and focuses on the steps.
What generative engine optimization means in practice
Traditional SEO tries to rank a page. GEO tries to get your business cited, quoted or recommended inside an answer written by an AI assistant.
Those answers draw on two sources. The first is live search results that the assistant fetches when someone asks a question. The second is what the model already learned from the wider web. You can influence both, but in different ways.
Live search is the faster lever. If the assistant can’t fetch your page, it can’t cite it. Meanwhile, the model’s general knowledge of your brand comes mostly from what other sites say about you. That part takes longer.
How AI assistants choose which sources to cite
Each platform finds sources in its own way. Here is what the official documentation says:
| Platform | How it finds pages | What you control |
|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT search | Its own crawler, OAI-SearchBot | Allow OAI-SearchBot. OpenAI says sites that block it won’t appear in ChatGPT search answers. |
| Perplexity | Its own crawler, PerplexityBot | Allow PerplexityBot. Perplexity recommends this for appearing in its results. |
| Google AI Overviews and AI Mode | Google’s normal search index | Be indexed and eligible for a snippet. Google says there are no extra technical requirements. |
Which crawler and index ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews use to find sources for generative engine optimization How each AI platform finds the pages it cites.
One detail trips up a lot of sites. OpenAI runs two separate crawlers. GPTBot collects content for model training. OAI-SearchBot fetches pages for ChatGPT search. You can block one and allow the other. Many robots.txt guides only mention GPTBot, so sites block training and accidentally block search too, or allow GPTBot and assume ChatGPT search is covered.
Step 1: Make sure AI search crawlers can reach your site
This is the cheapest step and the one most often broken. Check three places.
Your robots.txt file
If your robots.txt has no rules for AI crawlers, they are allowed by default. If you want to block AI training but stay visible in AI search, use separate rules:
User-agent: OAI-SearchBot
Allow: /
User-agent: PerplexityBot
Allow: /
User-agent: GPTBot
Disallow: /Only add the Disallow line if you don’t want your content used for training. Either way, keep the search crawlers allowed. OpenAI notes that changes can take about 24 hours to take effect.
Your firewall or CDN
Robots.txt is only half the story. Firewalls and CDNs can block AI crawlers before they ever read the file. Cloudflare, for example, has offered one-click AI bot blocking since 2024. In July 2026 it split its controls into Search, Agent and Training categories, according to its bots changelog.
So if you use Cloudflare, open the AI crawler settings and confirm that Search crawlers are allowed. Then check your security plugin too. Wordfence and similar tools can rate-limit unfamiliar bots.
- Cloudflare AI crawler settings with AI search crawlers allowed and training crawlers blockedCheck your
- CDN settings: AI search crawlers allowed, training crawlers optional.
Google Search Console
For Google, your pages just need to be indexed and eligible for a snippet. Google also added a setting under Settings > Search generative AI in Search Console. It is on by default, but excluding your site there removes it from AI Overviews and AI Mode. Check that nobody switched it off.
Step 2: Publish pages AI assistants want to quote
Once crawlers can reach you, the question becomes whether your page is worth citing. Good generative engine optimization starts with the content itself. Two kinds of evidence help here.
First, there is research. In a study by researchers from Princeton and IIT Delhi, presented at KDD 2024, the team tested how content changes affected visibility in AI-generated answers. Adding statistics, quotations from credible sources and citations to sources performed best, with relative improvements of around 30% to 40% on their main visibility measure. Classic keyword stuffing did not work well.
Second, there is Google’s own advice. Its guide to generative AI features asks for “non-commodity” content. In other words, write something that isn’t already on a hundred other sites. For a B2B service business, that usually means:
- Answer the question in the first two or three sentences under each heading, then add detail.
- Use specific numbers with a named source, rather than vague claims.
- Show first-hand work, such as anonymised project results, real cost ranges and screenshots.
- Quote named people, including your own team, with their role.
- Keep facts current and show the updated date.
A page that says costs vary gives an AI assistant nothing to quote. On the other hand, a page that says “most projects we quote fall between £8,000 and £15,000, mainly because of integrations” is easy to cite.
Step 3: Get mentioned on other websites
This is the part of generative engine optimization that most businesses underestimate. Your own site tells AI assistants what you say about yourself. Other sites tell them whether anyone else agrees.
The data points the same way. Ahrefs studied 75,000 brands and found that branded web mentions correlate strongly with visibility in ChatGPT, AI Mode and AI Overviews. YouTube mentions correlated most strongly of all. By contrast, backlinks showed a much weaker link. Ahrefs is clear that this is correlation, not proof of cause.
Separately, Muck Rack’s May 2026 analysis of more than 25 million links cited by ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini found that earned media made up 84% of citations. Paid and advertorial content made up just 0.3%.
For a smaller firm, practical ways to earn mentions include:
- Client reviews on Clutch, G2 or Google, with the service named in the review.
- Partner and technology directories, such as integration or reseller listings.
- Useful answers on Reddit, Quora and LinkedIn, posted under a real name.
- Short YouTube walkthroughs of real problems you solve.
- Guest articles and podcast appearances in your clients’ industry media.
- Original data, such as a small survey, that others want to reference.
Step 4: Keep your business facts consistent everywhere
AI assistants piece together what your business does from many sources. If your website, LinkedIn page and directory listings describe you differently, the picture gets blurry.
Write one short description of what you do, who you serve and where. Then use it on your About page, LinkedIn, Google Business Profile and every directory listing. Add Organization schema to your site that matches the visible text on the page. Google is explicit that structured data should match what users can see.
Also check what AI assistants already say about you. Ask ChatGPT and Perplexity, “What does [your company] do?” If the answer is wrong, find out which sources it cites and correct them first.
Step 5: Test and log your AI citations every month
You can’t improve what you don’t measure. Fortunately, a basic test takes about an hour a month.
- Write 10 to 20 buyer questions. Use the questions prospects actually ask on sales calls, such as “best NetSuite partner for a small business UK”.
- Run each one in Google AI Mode, ChatGPT with search and Perplexity. Use a logged-out or private window to limit personalisation.
- Record the results in a simple log.
- Repeat monthly with the same questions, so you can see trends.
Here is a simple log format:
| Date | Question | Platform | Were we cited? | Who was cited instead | Which of our pages |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 Nov 2026 | Best NetSuite Shopify integration partner UK | Perplexity | No | Three partner sites, one Reddit thread | n/a |
A simple monthly citation log.
AI answers change from one run to the next. So treat a single result as a sample, not a ranking. Patterns over three or four months matter more.
If you want to scale this up, GEO tools such as Ahrefs Brand Radar, Semrush’s AI visibility features and Profound track mentions across many prompts. For Google, Search Console already includes AI Overviews and AI Mode traffic in its web search reports.
What doesn’t help with generative engine optimization
Some popular tactics have little evidence behind them. Google’s guide lists several things you don’t need to do for its AI features, including creating an llms.txt file and splitting content into small “chunks”.
Other tactics to avoid:
- Keyword stuffing. The Princeton study found it performed poorly in AI answers.
- Mass-producing AI pages. Google’s spam policies treat scaled, low-value content as spam, whoever writes it.
- FAQ schema without matching content. Markup should describe what is actually on the page.
- Paying for “AI rankings”. No one can guarantee a citation, because the platforms don’t sell them.
A 30-day GEO plan for B2B service businesses
If you are starting from zero, this order works well:
- Week 1: Check robots.txt, Cloudflare and Search Console settings. Run your first citation test and save the results.
- Week 2: Rewrite your three most important service pages so each one answers buyer questions directly, with real numbers.
- Week 3: Fix your business description across LinkedIn, Google Business Profile and directories. Ask three recent clients for detailed reviews.
- Week 4: Publish one piece of first-hand content, such as a cost breakdown or project write-up. Then rerun the citation test.
After that, repeat the test monthly and keep building mentions. Generative engine optimization is slow at first. However, each mention and each quotable page keeps working for months.
Frequently asked questions
What is generative engine optimization?
Generative engine optimization (GEO) is the practice of making your business more likely to be cited, quoted or recommended in AI-generated answers from tools such as ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews. It covers crawler access, quotable content, mentions on other sites and regular testing.
How do I get my business to appear in ChatGPT answers?
Allow OAI-SearchBot in your robots.txt and firewall, so ChatGPT search can fetch your pages. Then publish specific, first-hand content and earn mentions on reviews, directories and industry sites. Finally, test buyer questions in ChatGPT every month to track progress.
Is GEO different from SEO?
GEO builds on SEO rather than replacing it. Google’s AI features use its normal search index, so SEO basics still apply. GEO adds a stronger focus on quotable content and third-party mentions. Our SEO vs AEO vs GEO guide explains the differences in detail.
How long does generative engine optimization take?
Technical fixes, such as unblocking crawlers, take effect within about a day for ChatGPT search, although new citations can take longer. Content changes often take a few weeks. Building third-party mentions usually takes three to six months before the effect shows up consistently.
What are the best GEO tools?
Ahrefs Brand Radar, Semrush’s AI visibility features and Profound track brand mentions across AI platforms. For a small business, a monthly manual test in a spreadsheet is enough to start. Google Search Console covers traffic from AI Overviews and AI Mode.
What are the best GEO tools?
Ahrefs Brand Radar, Semrush’s AI visibility features and Profound track brand mentions across AI platforms. For a small business, a monthly manual test in a spreadsheet is enough to start. Google Search Console covers traffic from AI Overviews and AI Mode.
Find out where you stand in AI search
Most businesses have never checked whether AI assistants can reach their site, let alone what they say about it. That is the first thing worth knowing.
We offer an SEO, AEO and GEO visibility audit. We will check crawler access, run your buyer questions across Google AI Mode, ChatGPT and Perplexity, and show you which pages and mentions to fix first. Book a strategy call or read more about our SEO, AEO and GEO services.