Definition
What this term means
The practice of optimising digital content specifically for AI-powered search engines and generative models, rather than for traditional search engine results pages. GEO involves structuring content so that AI systems can accurately retrieve, understand, and cite it when generating answers, covering everything from entity clarity and structured data to freshness signals and source authority.
Why it matters
The business impact
As search shifts from link-based results to AI-generated answers, traditional SEO alone is no longer sufficient. GEO ensures your brand appears in the AI-generated responses that users increasingly rely on across platforms like ChatGPT, Google's AI Overviews, Perplexity, and Microsoft Copilot. Brands that invest early in GEO gain a compounding advantage as AI adoption accelerates.
Used in context
How you might use this term
“After implementing a GEO strategy, including schema markup, entity-rich content, and structured FAQ sections, a legal services firm saw their brand cited in 3x more AI-generated responses within 12 weeks, driving qualified enquiries without additional ad spend.”
Related terms
Explore connected concepts
RAG
An AI architecture that combines real-time information retrieval with language generation. Instead of relying solely on pre-trained knowledge, RAG systems search external sources, such as websites, databases, or knowledge bases, to find relevant information before composing their response. This is the technology behind AI search tools like Perplexity and Google's AI Overviews.
Structured Data
Machine-readable code embedded in web pages that explicitly defines entities, attributes, and relationships using a standardised vocabulary. JSON-LD (JavaScript Object Notation for Linked Data) is the preferred format. It sits in a script tag on the page and tells AI systems exactly what the page is about: the organisation behind it, the author's credentials, the product details, the article's topic, and more.
Model Citation
An instance where an AI model references, quotes, or links to a specific source when generating its response. Model citations can appear as inline references, linked source lists, or attributed quotes, and they represent the AI equivalent of earning a backlink in traditional SEO. Platforms like Perplexity and Google's AI Overviews prominently display citations.