GEO: How to Get Your Business Cited by ChatGPT and AI Overviews
Generative Engine Optimisation is what SEO becomes when the answer, not the link, is the destination.
The short answer
To get cited by AI answer engines, structure content as direct question-and-answer blocks, lead each page with a one-paragraph definitive answer, publish original data and comparison tables, mark up FAQPage and Article schema, and make author expertise verifiable. AI engines extract self-contained, factual passages — not marketing prose.
What GEO is
Generative Engine Optimisation is the practice of structuring content so large language models can extract, trust and cite it when answering a user's question — in ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Perplexity, Copilot, Claude or Gemini.
Write self-contained answers
An extractable passage answers the question completely without needing the paragraph before it. Lead with the answer, then support it. This is the opposite of the build-up-to-a-conclusion style that works in essays.
Structures that get quoted
Across the pages we track, five formats are cited far more often than plain prose.
- ✓Direct Q&A blocks with the question as a heading
- ✓One-sentence definitions of terms and services
- ✓Comparison tables with clear criteria
- ✓Numbered step-by-step processes
- ✓Original data, prices and case-study numbers
Prove who is speaking
Answer engines weigh source credibility. Named authors with real credentials, an organisation with verifiable contact details, published policies and genuine testimonials all raise the odds of being cited rather than skipped.
GEO does not replace SEO
Crawlability, speed and authority still decide whether your content is in the candidate set at all. GEO decides whether it gets picked once it is.
Frequently asked
Is GEO different from SEO?
They overlap heavily. SEO gets you into the index; GEO makes your content the passage an AI chooses to quote. Both rely on structure, clarity, schema and credibility.
Can I track AI citations?
Partially. Referral traffic from AI assistants is visible in analytics, and prompt-based monitoring can check whether your brand appears for target questions over time.