Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO) is the practice of structuring your website and content so that AI systems — Claude, ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews — can find, understand, and cite your business when they answer user questions.
Why GEO matters now
Search is changing. Instead of listing ten blue links, AI systems now answer questions directly and cite their sources. If your business is not one of those sources, you are invisible to a growing share of potential customers.
The core principles
Structured data is the foundation. Schema markup tells AI systems exactly what your business is, what it offers, where it is, and how to contact you — in a format machines can parse perfectly.
Entity clarity means making it unambiguous what your business is. Are you a plumber or a plumbing supplier? A wedding venue or a wedding planner? AI systems need to disambiguate entities to cite them confidently.
Content that answers questions is what gets cited. AI systems extract answers from pages that clearly address user questions. If your content is vague or buried, it will not be selected.
Trust signals — reviews, credentials, consistent business information across the web — give AI systems the confidence to recommend you.
How to start
- Audit your structured data. Is your schema correct, complete, and validated?
- Check entity clarity. Is it obvious what your business does?
- Review your content. Does it answer the questions your customers actually ask?
- Build trust signals. Reviews, consistent NAP data, professional credentials.
GEO is not a one-time task. It is an ongoing discipline that compounds over time. The businesses that start now will have a significant advantage as AI search continues to grow.