GEO (Generative Engine Optimization)

Definition

GEO, or Generative Engine Optimization, is the process of optimizing a site and brand for engines that generate a response rather than displaying a list of links. The term comes from a research paper published in late 2023 by researchers from Princeton and IIT Delhi (Aggarwal et al., "GEO: Generative Engine Optimization," presented at the KDD 2024 conference).

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How it works

A generative engine relies on sources to construct its response, then cites some of them. GEO works on three levers: clear, sourced content that AI can use, a technically readable site (structured data, llms.txt), and a brand presence on third-party sources that AIs consult. In tests from the Princeton study, adding citations, statistics, and sources increased content visibility in generated responses by up to 40%.

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Why it matters for your site

Your buyers are asking their questions directly to AIs. ChatGPT claimed 800 million weekly users in October 2025 (OpenAI, DevDay 2025). If your brand doesn't appear in these responses, you don't exist in a growing portion of search traffic.

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The We-R perspective

GEO doesn't replace SEO; it expands it. A page that is invisible on Google is unlikely to be cited by an AI, because many AIs rely on web search results. We therefore work on both simultaneously, with weekly monitoring of citations.

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Learn more

See also: llms.txt, AI Overview, AI Citation, AI Share of Voice. And to put it into practice: GEO, AEO, AIO: what's the difference? or our SEO & GEO consulting services.

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Sources: Aggarwal et al., "GEO: Generative Engine Optimization," arXiv 2311.09735 (2023), KDD 2024 · OpenAI, DevDay 2025.

Last updated: October 2026.