A client called me, annoyed. He'd asked ChatGPT about companies in his industry in his area. He got a list of five names. His company wasn't on it, even though he's ranked in the top 3 on Google for the same terms for years. He asked me: "Konrad, what's going on, do I have to start SEO from scratch now?"
He doesn't. But he does need to add something almost nobody was thinking about a year ago. Because people increasingly ask a chatbot instead of Google. And that chatbot has completely different rules for deciding who to show.
What's the difference between GEO and classic SEO?
GEO, or Generative Engine Optimization, is optimizing content for AI models like ChatGPT, Perplexity, or Google AI Overviews, instead of just for a classic search engine. The difference is simple: SEO fights for a click on a link in a results list, GEO fights for the AI to actually cite your site as the source of an answer.
It's not a replacement for SEO. It's an extra layer on the same content. One doesn't exclude the other, but it requires thinking about how you write differently.
How does AI actually choose who to cite?
Language models don't evaluate a page the way Google does. They don't mainly count inbound links and domain age. They look for chunks of text that can be pulled out of context and delivered as a ready-made answer.
That means a page with a long, flowing paragraph full of flourishes loses out to a short, specific sentence that is itself a complete answer. AI prefers to cite a definition over a story.
Structure matters too. Headings phrased as questions, a clear split into sections, bullet lists. All of that makes it easier for the model to pull out a specific chunk and match it to a specific user question.
What should you actually change on your site to get cited by AI?
You don't need to rebuild the whole site. You need to change how you write a few key fragments.
- Headings as questions: the kind people actually ask a chatbot, not artificial keyword phrases
- The first sentence under such a heading is a standalone, specific answer that can be pulled out of context and still make sense
- One sentence with a clear definition of the key term, along the lines of "X is...", instead of a rambling introduction
- An FAQ section at the end of the article, with short, precise answers
- Structured data (schema.org) on the page, so the machine can more easily recognize what a given piece of content is
Notice this doesn't conflict with writing for people. Quite the opposite. A specific, honest answer to a real question is exactly what both a human and an AI model are looking for.
Does classic SEO still matter?
Yes, without a doubt. Inbound links, a good URL structure, page speed, domain authority. All of that still affects whether AI even finds your site while crawling the web. Models often rely on the same signals a search engine uses, before they ever start reading the content.
GEO doesn't replace that work. It adds on top of it a requirement that the content be written in a way that's easy to quote. A site without SEO fundamentals won't get found regardless of how well you format your paragraphs.
How do you check whether AI even finds your site?
The simplest test: just ask. Open ChatGPT or Perplexity and type a question your site should answer. See who shows up in the answer and whether there's even a source link there.
The second method is Google Analytics 4. Check your traffic sources and look for referrers from domains like chatgpt.com or perplexity.ai. If you see any traffic there, that means the model is already citing you and people are actually clicking through.
Don't expect a revelation right away. This is still an early stage for this channel. But ignoring it now means catching up later, once the competition has already figured it out. It's also worth repeating the same question every so often, because model answers shift along with their knowledge of the web, and not being in the answer today doesn't mean the same will be true in six months.
AI isn't looking for the best-ranked page. It's looking for the most specific answer. Those are two different things, and it's worth writing for both at once.
I started writing articles for this blog exactly this way: questions as headings, a direct answer in the first sentence. Not because it's a trendy trick. Because it's simply more comfortable to read, for a human and a machine at the same time.
Frequently asked questions
Does GEO replace SEO?
No. GEO is an additional layer of content optimization for AI models, not a replacement for work on links, page speed, or site structure.
Do you need separate content for AI and for people?
No, one well-written article can serve both goals. A specific answer to a real question works well in both cases.
How long does it take to see results from GEO?
There's no established timeframe yet, since this is a young field. AI models update their knowledge and how they crawl the web at different rates depending on the provider.
Should small local businesses even bother with this?
It's worth starting with small changes, like adding a Q&A section to existing pages. It's a low-cost thing to implement, and more people are asking chatbots instead of a search engine, including about businesses in their area.
Is structured data (schema.org) necessary?
It's not mandatory, but it makes it easier for machines to unambiguously recognize the content on a page, so it's worth adding wherever possible, especially around questions and answers.