Add Google's AI Overviews and Perplexity, and a growing share of the world's search activity now runs through an AI-generated answer rather than a page of results.
Here's what generative engine optimisation (GEO) means, why it matters, and where to start.
GEO stands for Generative Engine Optimisation. It means writing and structuring content so tools like ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews and Perplexity can find it, understand it correctly, and cite it as part of an answer.
SEO earns a ranking and a click. GEO earns a mention inside someone else's answer. Ask ChatGPT how to choose a headless CMS, and there's a good chance the answer names three or four vendors, each with a short reason why. Being named in that shortlist is what GEO is built to achieve.
We've covered how GEO relates to SEO in more depth elsewhere, including why SEO remains very much alive alongside it. Read SEO vs GEO: Key Differences & How to Optimise for Both for that comparison. What follows here covers what to do next.
GEO builds on the same discipline as SEO. The following principles will help to ground your content for stronger GEO.
1. Structure content so it's easy to lift
Lead with a direct answer, use clear headings, and break complex topics into short, well-labelled sections. AI tools are built to extract and summarise, so the more clearly a page is organised, the more likely they are to use it.
2. Add proper markup
Schema and structured data, such as Organisation, Article and FAQPage markup, give AI tools a precise, machine-readable description of what a page covers. That precision earns more accurate citations.
3. Strengthen trust signals
Named authors with real credentials, clear sourcing, and visible publish and update dates all build the kind of confidence that gets content cited. This cluster of signals is often shortened to E-E-A-T (experience, expertise, authoritativeness and trust), and it now carries weight for GEO as well as SEO.
4. Refresh content on a regular cycle
Pages that are reviewed and updated regularly earn more citations than pages left untouched for years.
5. Track AI visibility alongside organic traffic
This is new ground for most reporting. Add a habit of checking referral traffic from AI platforms, and periodically asking the same questions your clients would ask, to see where your organisation appears.
GEO needs the same review cycle as SEO: check, adjust, check again.
At Mando Group, SEO and GEO sit inside the Performance workstream of our Optimisation Services, alongside experimentation, conversion rate optimisation and personalisation. Every programme opens with an SEO & GEO Audit Report in the first 90 days, giving digital teams a clear, evidenced starting point for deciding what to prioritise.
We think that's the right way to approach GEO: as part of a connected programme of work, with a named owner and a clear way to measure progress.