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What is GEO?

GEO (Generative Engine Optimization), sometimes also AEO (Answer Engine Optimization), describes measures that get AI-based systems such as ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews or Claude to draw on a website as the basis of their answers.

The difference from classic SEO

SEO optimises for a results list that people click. GEO optimises for a language model building the content into a formulated answer — often with a source, often without a click. The technical basics overlap heavily; the goals differ.

First prerequisite: be fetchable

AI crawlers such as GPTBot, ClaudeBot or PerplexityBot must be allowed to load the page. This often fails on a robots.txt rule or a WAF that turns bots away with a blanket 403. citeglass checks both side by side.

Second prerequisite: be readable without JavaScript

Most AI crawlers run no or only limited JavaScript. If the content is only assembled in the browser, the machine sees an empty page. Server-side rendering or prerendering solves this.

Third prerequisite: be structured understandably

A clear heading hierarchy, structured data (JSON-LD), meaningful titles and an optional llms.txt help the model judge topic, context and citability.

Fourth prerequisite: appear trustworthy

Named authors, a legal notice, an Organization schema with sameAs links and a visible date are signals AI systems consider when choosing sources — analogous to Google's E-E-A-T concept.

What GEO cannot do

No technical check guarantees that a model will cite you by name. That also depends on content quality, topic and competition. GEO makes sure you're in the running at all.

Check your own site

citeglass shows in about 30 seconds where your website is unreadable for AI systems — free and without login.

Read on

• GEO vs. SEO
• Controlling AI crawlers in robots.txt
• Structured data for AI systems

General information, not legal advice. GEO is a young field — recommendations may change.