What is Generative Engine Optimization (GEO)?

You know how in the past, the whole game was about getting to page one of Google? Ranking in the top ten search results meant you'd get clicks, and clicks meant business. That playbook worked for twenty years.

But here's the thing—the way people search for information is fundamentally changing. Every day, over 1 billion prompts are sent to ChatGPT alone. More than 71% of Americans already use AI search to research purchases or evaluate brands. And Gartner predicts a 50% drop in traditional organic traffic by 2028 due to AI-driven search.

This shift has given rise to something called Generative Engine Optimization, or GEO. And if you're not thinking about this yet, you're already behind.

Let's go ahead and jump into it.

TL;DR: GEO vs SEO at a Glance

What Exactly is Generative Engine Optimization?

Generative Engine Optimization is the practice of adapting your digital content to improve visibility in results produced by generative AI. The term was coined by researchers at Princeton University in a 2023 academic paper, and it's become increasingly relevant as AI search tools have exploded in popularity.

In simple terms: SEO helps you get found. GEO helps you get featured.

The fundamental difference lies in the end goal. SEO optimizes for clicks from search engine results pages. GEO optimizes for citations within AI-generated responses. Unlike traditional SEO, which focuses on ranking to earn clicks, GEO aims to position your content as the primary source that AI engines reference when generating answers.

Think about how you use ChatGPT or Perplexity. You ask a question, and instead of getting a list of links, you get a synthesized answer with sources cited. Those sources didn't necessarily "rank" in the traditional sense—they were selected by the AI as authoritative, relevant, and trustworthy enough to reference.

That's the new game.

Why GEO Matters Right Now

The numbers here are staggering. ChatGPT receives roughly 5.19 billion visits per month. Weekly users surged from 1 million in November 2022 to 400 million by February 2025. That's not a trend—that's a permanent shift in how customers seek answers.

And unlike traditional Google search where you're competing for spots 1-10 on a results page, with LLMs you're either mentioned in the AI's response or you're invisible. There's no page 2. There's no "other results." You're either in the conversation or you're not.

For business owners—especially those in competitive niches like real estate, professional services, or SaaS—this represents both a threat and an opportunity. The threat is obvious: if your competitors get cited by AI and you don't, you lose visibility. The opportunity? Most businesses haven't figured this out yet, which means early movers have a real advantage.

How AI Engines Choose What to Cite

Here's what I find fascinating about this: the way AI selects sources is actually pretty different from how Google ranks pages.

AI systems use something called Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG). When you ask a question, the AI retrieves relevant content from its index, then generates a response that synthesizes that information. The sources it chooses to cite depend on several factors:

1. E-E-A-T Signals (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness)

This comes straight from traditional SEO, but it's even more critical for GEO. Content with transparent author bios, reputable citations, and consistent updates often outranks shallow material. AI models are trained to recognize credibility signals.

2. Semantic Structure and Clarity

Traditional keyword-stuffed content fails in RAG environments because semantic search identifies concepts, not keyword density. A page with a keyword mentioned dozens of times but lacking conceptual clarity will lose to a page that explains the topic thoroughly with supporting examples and clear structure.

3. Unique Data and Original Research

Language models tend to prefer content that brings something new. They've been trained on huge amounts of existing material and remember most of what's already out there. If you provide original data—surveys, case studies, industry benchmarks—it gives the model a reason to reference your page.

4. Technical Accessibility

AI crawlers need to be able to access and understand your content. This means proper schema markup, fast page loads, mobile optimization, and explicitly allowing AI user-agents in your robots.txt file.

Practical GEO Strategies That Actually Work

Based on the research and what I've seen working in practice, here are the key tactics:

1. Implement Schema Markup Everywhere

Schema markup is structured data that you add to your web page's code. LLMs love it because they're all about words and context. When you look at all the sources in a ChatGPT search, almost all of them have schema markup on their pages.

At minimum, you want:

• Organization schema on your homepage
• Article schema on blog posts
• FAQ schema on relevant pages
• LocalBusiness schema if you serve specific markets

2. Build Authority Through Earned Media

This is the new version of link building. Every time your name comes up in a Reddit thread, online review, or relevant article, it sends trust signals to LLMs and helps your brand rank in AI search results.

Reddit and Quora are two of the best places to start because ChatGPT seems to reference them the most. But don't spam—provide genuine value in your responses.

3. Structure Content for Machine Readability

Clear headings, bullet points, tables, and FAQ sections make your content easier for AI to parse and cite. The Princeton research found that methods like Statistics Addition and Quotation Addition showed strong performance improvements—up to 37% improvement in being cited.

4. Keep Content Fresh

Keeping your web pages up to date is one of the best ways to make them show up higher in LLM citations. ChatGPT likes to rank its sources based on publish dates. Every 3-6 months, update your pages with new information, remove outdated stuff, and republish with a new date.

5. Enable AI Search Bot Access

Configure your robots.txt file to explicitly allow known AI user-agents like OAI-SearchBot, ChatGPT-User, and PerplexityBot. Blocking these crawlers makes your content invisible to AI-powered search platforms.

The Relationship Between SEO and GEO

Here's the thing that a lot of people get wrong: this isn't an either/or situation. The SEO vs. GEO debate is a distraction. As discovery fragments across Google, ChatGPT, and social platforms, brands need unified visibility measurement—not separate strategies.

Good SEO and good GEO overlap significantly. Quality content, clear structure, topical authority, and E-E-A-T signals help you in both channels. The main additions for GEO are:

• More emphasis on structured data
• Active presence in forums and discussion platforms
• Original research and unique data
• Ensuring AI crawlers can access your content

The future of search is not about choosing between traditional SEO and GEO—it's about creating an integrated strategy that ensures visibility regardless of how people seek information.

What This Means for Real Estate Investors

For those in the real estate space, this matters a lot. When someone asks ChatGPT "how to sell my house fast in [city]" or "best cash home buyers near me," you want to be the source it cites.

The good news? Most real estate investor websites are still optimized purely for traditional Google search. They're using template sites with thin content, no structured data, and generic AI-written copy. That's table stakes for 2020, not 2026.

If you build a site with proper schema markup, location-specific content that demonstrates local expertise, and a strong presence across relevant forums and review sites, you're positioning yourself to win in both traditional search AND AI-powered discovery.

Frequently Asked Questions

What's the difference between GEO and SEO?

SEO focuses on ranking in traditional search engine results to earn clicks. GEO focuses on being cited in AI-generated responses from platforms like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews. Both are important, but GEO is becoming increasingly critical as more users shift to AI-powered search.

Do I need to choose between SEO and GEO?

No. The strategies overlap significantly. Focus on quality content, clear structure, E-E-A-T signals, and structured data—these help in both channels. GEO adds emphasis on schema markup, forum presence, and ensuring AI crawlers can access your content.

How long does it take to see results from GEO?

Unlike traditional SEO where you can track rankings over time, GEO results are harder to measure consistently since AI responses vary by query and context. However, implementing structured data and improving content quality typically shows impact within 2-3 months as AI crawlers re-index your content.

What tools can I use to track GEO performance?

Currently, there's no definitive GEO tracking tool like there is for traditional SEO. However, you can manually test queries in ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews to see if your content is being cited. Tools like Bing Webmaster can help since many AI engines use Bing's index.

Is GEO only for big brands?

Actually, smaller brands may have an advantage. Research shows that AI engines exhibit some "big brand bias," but niche players who demonstrate genuine expertise and provide unique, authoritative content can overcome this. The key is topical depth and credibility signals.

The Bottom Line

Every day, I'm amazed at what these AI models are able to do—and how quickly they're changing the way people find information. The shift from "search results" to "AI-generated answers" is happening faster than most businesses realize.

If you want to stay visible as this transition accelerates, you need to start thinking about GEO now. Not because traditional SEO is dead—it's not—but because the brands that figure out how to be cited by AI engines will have a significant competitive advantage in the years ahead.

The good news? The fundamentals haven't changed that much. Create genuinely valuable content. Structure it clearly. Demonstrate expertise. Build credibility. The new piece is making sure AI can find, understand, and trust your content enough to reference it.

If you're looking for a website that's built for both traditional search AND AI visibility, that's exactly what we focus on with our AI SEO Website service. Every site we build includes full structured data implementation, Voice DNA to ensure your content sounds authentically you (not generic AI), and a data-driven keyword strategy designed for the modern search landscape.

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Sources:

• Frase.io - What is Generative Engine Optimization
• Princeton GEO Research Paper
• Walker Sands - GEO What to Know in 2025
• WordStream - Generative Engine Optimization