SEO optimises your content to rank on search engines like Google; GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) optimises it to be cited by AI answer engines like ChatGPT, Google's AI overviews and Perplexity. In 2026, getting found means doing both — and the good news is they reinforce each other.
What's changed
More people now ask an AI assistant a question and get a synthesised answer, instead of clicking through ten blue links. If your business isn't part of what the AI cites, you're invisible to that growing audience — even if you rank well on traditional search.
How AI engines choose sources
Answer engines favour content that is clear, factual, well-structured and authoritative. They reward pages that answer a question directly, use clean headings and structured data, and come from a source they can trust.
Practical steps for both SEO and GEO
- Answer questions directly — lead with a clear, quotable answer, then expand.
- Structure content — descriptive headings, short paragraphs, lists and tables.
- Add structured data — schema markup (Article, FAQ, LocalBusiness) helps both Google and AI understand your content.
- Build authority — accurate, expert, regularly updated content earns trust and citations.
- Publish an llms.txt — a simple file that tells AI systems who you are and what you offer.
- Keep it fresh — current information is more likely to be surfaced.
Get found everywhere
SEO and GEO aren't competing strategies — they're one modern visibility strategy. See our media & marketing services — we help GCC brands rank on Google and get cited in AI search.
Frequently asked questions
Does GEO replace SEO?
No — it extends it. The technical foundations are shared: crawlable pages, clean structure, accurate structured data and genuine subject authority serve both. What differs is emphasis. AI engines favour content that answers a question directly and factually in a form that can be quoted, which rewards clear Q&A structure more than keyword density ever did.
How do we know if an AI engine is citing us?
Imperfectly, which is the honest answer. Referral traffic from AI assistants appears in analytics but under-reports badly, since many users read the answer without clicking. The practical approach is to test your own high-intent questions in the major assistants periodically and record whether you are named, then track that over time.
Should we block AI crawlers?
Only if you have a specific reason to. Blocking them removes you from the answers your buyers are reading, which for most B2B businesses is a poor trade. Publishers with paid content weigh this differently. If you want to be cited, the crawlers need to be able to reach you, which is why we allow them explicitly in robots.txt.