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Glossary · AI search

generative engine optimization

Also called GEO

Reviewed 31 Oct 2026 By Madiha Fatima 4 min read Check it yourself: yes, free

4 min
Definition

Generative engine optimization is the work of getting your business named, cited or recommended inside AI-generated answers, the way search engine optimization gets it listed in search results. The engines are tools such as ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and Google's AI answers. The work is mostly making your pages clear, factual and easy for those systems to quote.

GEO, AEO and "AI SEO" are three names for much the same job. Most of it is ordinary SEO done properly, plus a few habits: answer the question in the first lines, state facts that can be checked, put a real person's name on the page and keep the business's details identical everywhere.

Short version: SEO for the answer, not just the listing.
Why it matters for your business

Being recommended
is the new being found.

When someone asks an AI assistant which family law firm to call, the answer is a shortlist of two or three names with a sentence of reasoning. There is no second page and no ad slot. For a firm that depends on new enquiries, being in that sentence or out of it is the whole game, and more people ask this way every month.

The pitch you will hear is a GEO retainer sold on top of SEO as a separate line. Ask what the deliverables are. If they are schema, clear service pages, an author bio, consistent listings and citation tracking, that is SEO with better reporting, and it should be priced as such. Our price list shows where it sits in ours.

Be clear about what nobody controls. The tools rebuild their answers every time, they weigh third-party mentions and reviews heavily and they change their sources without notice. GEO raises the odds. It cannot promise a mention, and anyone who promises one is selling the word, not the work.

Example

Two family law firms,
one gets named.

The firm that gets named

A firm with a page per practice area that opens with a two-sentence answer to the common question, a solicitor's name and photo on each, a fees page in plain words, a Google Business Profile with recent reviews and the same name, address and phone number on every directory. Local press mentions link to it by name.

The firm that does not

A firm with a handsome homepage, a "Services" page that lists areas in one paragraph, no named people, no fees page and a profile with three reviews from two years ago. Ask an AI assistant "which family law firm in the city handles child arrangements and what do they charge", and the first firm is quoted in its own words. The second is not found, because there is nothing specific to find.

How to check it on your site

Five checks, no tools to pay for.

Tick each one as you go. 0 of 5 checked on your site.

  1. Ask the assistants the buyer's question

    In a fresh chat in ChatGPT, Perplexity and Gemini, ask the question a customer would ask before choosing you, with your city. A good result names you and links a page of yours. Note who is named instead and keep the answers in a document so you can compare next month.

  2. Check whether your pages answer anything

    Open your main service page. Can a stranger find who you are, what you do, where and for whom in the first screen? If the top of the page is a slogan and a photo, there is nothing for an engine to quote.

  3. Look for a person

    Is there a named author or owner with a short bio on your service pages and articles? Engines lean on pages that belong to someone. Anonymous pages are quoted far less.

  4. Compare your details across the web

    Search your business name in quotes. The name, address and phone should match everywhere, from your Google Business Profile to the directories. Mismatches make engines less sure you are one business.

  5. Run the free checker

    The AI visibility checker asks the main tools about a business and shows how it is described. Run it once now and once a quarter.

Related terms

Usually in the same sentence.

Read next

Where this shows up in practice.

AI search GEO, AEO, AIO: three acronyms, one job

Why the three names describe the same work and which parts of it actually move the needle.

 Pricing & transparency What GEO actually costs

What a fair GEO scope contains and how it should sit next to ordinary SEO on a proposal.

 AI search Get recommended by ChatGPT

The practical steps, in order, for a small business that wants to be named.
Related service

GEO is not a separate product here. It is built into the SEO & AI search service: the content, schema and authority work, with monthly checks of how the AI tools describe you. Prices are on the price list, not on a call.

See the SEO & AI search service
Reviewed by Madiha Fatima, founder of 99creatix

Every entry in this glossary is written and checked by the person who runs the agency, reviewed at least once a quarter and dated. Last reviewed 31 October 2026.

Spotted an error or a term we are missing? Tell us and it is fixed within the week.

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