Ask ChatGPT, Gemini or Perplexity for a recommendation and you will rarely get a list of ten links. You get a written answer, often naming just a few businesses. GEO is about making sure yours is one of them.

GEO in one sentence

GEO stands for generative engine optimisation. It is the work of making your business easy for AI assistants to find, understand and recommend when they write answers to customer questions. The word “generative” just means the AI writes a fresh answer for you, instead of showing you a list of websites to click on.

How GEO differs from SEO

SEO is about getting your website to show up near the top of Google’s list of results. GEO is about getting your business named in the answer an AI gives.

Here is the difference in practice. Someone types “luxury home architect Cape Town” into Google and sees a list of results to choose from. Another person asks an AI assistant, “Who should I hire to design a high-end home in Constantia?” and gets a short answer naming two or three firms. The first person looks through the list and chooses for themselves. The second person is simply handed a few names, and often contacts one of them straight away. If your business isn’t one of those names given, they never find out you exist.

You still need SEO

GEO does not replace SEO. It builds on it. AI assistants draw on much of the same material that search engines do: your website, your business listings, your reviews and what other sites say about you. If your website is hard for Google to read, it is hard for an AI to read too.

Think of it like building a house. SEO is the foundation, and GEO is what you build on top of it.

What GEO involves

There is no secret trick. GEO comes down to a handful of sensible habits:

• Be specific. Say exactly what you do, who you do it for and where. “Architect specialising in high-end home renovations in the Southern Suburbs” is far easier to recommend than “we create beautiful spaces.”

• Be consistent. Use the same business name, description and contact details on your website, Google profile and every directory.

• Answer real questions. Write pages that respond to what your customers actually ask before they hire you.

• Build proof. Genuine reviews and mentions on other reputable sites show that real people vouch for you.

• Stay accessible. Check that AI tools are allowed to visit your website and can read what is on it.

What GEO is not

GEO is not a hack, and nobody can fully control how AI responds. Answers can change from day to day and from person to person. Be cautious of anyone who guarantees you a place in ChatGPT’s answers. What you can do is make your business clear, consistent and well-evidenced, so that an AI assistant has good reasons to mention you.

A simple way to start

Ask two or three AI assistants a series of questions that your ideal customer might ask. For example, “Who is the best architect for a luxury home renovation in Constantia?” Note whether you appear and whether the details are right. That gives you a baseline to improve on.

To see how all the pieces fit together, read The Complete Guide to AI Optimisation. To understand what happens behind the scenes, read How AI Assistants Choose Which Businesses to Recommend.

Want to know where you stand? We offer a free SEO and GEO audit for you to find out. Request yours here.