GEO (generative engine optimisation): how to get your brand into AI answers
Generative engine optimisation (GEO) is the practice of making your website easy for AI assistants like ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews to understand, trust and quote. It rewards clear direct answers, specific facts with sources, consistent business details across the web, structured data and genuine mentions of your brand on other sites.
How AI answers pick sources
AI assistants summarise information from pages they can crawl and trust. They prefer content that answers the question directly near the top, uses specific numbers and names, and is consistent with what other reputable sites say about you.
SEO vs GEO
| Traditional SEO | GEO | |
|---|---|---|
| Goal | Rank a page in search results | Be quoted or recommended inside AI answers |
| Key content | Keyword-targeted pages | Direct answers, facts, comparisons, FAQs |
| Proof | Backlinks | Mentions, citations and consistent facts across the web |
| Technical | Speed, crawlability, schema | Same, plus allowing AI crawlers and an llms.txt summary |
A GEO checklist for brands
- Start every important page with a two or three sentence answer.
- Use question-style headings that match how people ask.
- Add numbers with sources, like the data tables on this blog.
- Use FAQ, Organization, LocalBusiness and Article schema.
- Let AI crawlers in through robots.txt and publish an llms.txt summary.
- Keep your name, services and location identical on Google, social profiles and directories.
- Earn mentions in local news, partner sites and lists.
What we did on scail.in
Every SCAIL article opens with a quick answer, ends with key takeaways and FAQs, cites its data and is summarised in our llms.txt file. It is the same approach we use for clients.
Key takeaways
- GEO is about being quotable: clear answers, facts and sources.
- Consistency across the web builds AI trust.
- Schema, crawler access and llms.txt make your site easy to read.
Frequently asked questions
Is GEO replacing SEO?
No. GEO builds on SEO. Pages that rank and are well structured are also the ones AI tools tend to read and quote.
What is llms.txt?
A plain-text file at the root of a website that summarises who you are, what you offer and your key pages, written to help AI assistants understand the site quickly.
Want this for your brand?
Call or WhatsApp +91 97112 07437, or tell us about your brand.