"What Is Generative Engine Optimisation? Some fancy new SEO?" Nope.
"What Is Generative Engine Optimisation? Some fancy new SEO?" Nope.
A practical explanation of how brands show up in AI-generated answers.
How brands get mentioned in ChatGPT, Gemini & Perplexity (and why most brands are currently invisible)
Search has changed.
People don’t just type keywords anymore; they ask full questions and expect complete answers. And increasingly, those answers come from AI systems, not search results pages.
So what is generative engine optimisation, and what does the generative engine optimisation definition actually mean? Let's break it down.
What is generative engine optimisation?
What is generative engine optimisation?
Generative engine optimisation (GEO) is the process of structuring content, entities and authority signals so generative AI systems can accurately interpret, synthesise and cite them when producing answers.
In practical terms, it helps your brand appear inside AI-generated responses, rather than competing only for traditional rankings.
Instead of optimising for clicks, generative engine optimisation focuses on being selected as a source.
That’s the core idea. We like to think about it as another layer on top of SEO.
What does generative engine optimisation mean in practice?
What does generative engine optimisation mean in practice?
How decipher. helps you show up.
Our playbook for cultural visibility in AI search.
Think of it this way: generative AI systems don’t return lists of links. They build answers. To do that, they:
Interpret question
Evaluate which source is reliable
Extract relevant information
Combine it into a single response
Cite or reference selected sources
Generative engine optimisation ensures your content can be clearly interpreted, safely quoted, and confidently referenced. If an AI assistant can’t reliably use your content to answer a question, it won’t include it.
Generative engine optimisation vs traditional SEO
Generative engine optimisation vs traditional SEO
Examples of cultural content we optimise.
What cultural content looks like when it’s AI-ready.
When people search for 'GEO SEO meaning', they're often asking whether these are competing strategies. They're not, the meaning of GEO in an SEO context is complementary: GEO builds on SEO foundations whilst optimising for AI citation.
So, they’re not enemies. They optimise for different moments in the same journey.
Traditional SEO focuses on:
keyword rankings
page visibility
driving traffic
Generative engine optimisation focuses on entity clarity, citation and mention frequency, and inclusion in AI-generated answers. The key difference is that SEO competes for position, whereas GEO competes for selection. In generative search, there is no “page one”. There is one answer and a small set of sources behind it.
Why Generative Engine Optimisation matters now.
Why Generative Engine Optimisation matters now.
Why Generative Engine Optimisation matters now.
ChatGPT alone manages 2.5 billion user prompts every day and reaches over 800 million to 900 million weekly active users. It’s safe to say that more and more people are asking AI assistants for explanations and recommendations. What’s interesting is that they also trust their assistants’ summarised answers enough to never actually click through to websites at all.
Which is why AI systems are very selective and only cite what they understand and trust.
Now more than ever, it’s important to think of your brand as an asset and define a content strategy that helps you win in AI Search, which will only grow in time.
And if you’re not convinced yet, know that it only takes 2 - 4 months to appear in AI search no matter the complexity of your website just by optimising.
Most brands need both. Traditional SEO drives direct traffic and maintains visibility in conventional search results. AI search optimisation ensures brands appear when users ask AI systems for recommendations, explanations or comparisons.
The two disciplines share technical foundations (site speed, mobile optimisation, structured data) but diverge in content strategy and authority building.
→ Learn more: AI Search vs SEO
What GEO actually optimises for.
What GEO actually optimises for.
What GEO actually optimises for.
At a practical level, generative engine optimisation focuses on four things AI systems consistently rely on.
1. Clear entities
AI needs to understand what something is before it can reference it. That means: - Unambiguous definitions - Consistent descriptions - Clear positioning within a category
If a brand can’t be summarised cleanly, it won’t be cited confidently.
2. Contextual relevance
AI matches sources to specific questions, not general authority. You might be relevant for one query and invisible for another. That’s normal and it’s why precision matters more than volume.
3. Extractable content
AI prefers content it can:
parse easily
summarise accurately
reuse without guessing
Clear structure beats clever wording every time.
4. Demonstrated authority
AI avoids risk. It looks for specific claims, experience-backed insight and consistency across trusted sources. Authority isn’t declared. It’s recognised.
Does generative engine optimisation replace SEO?
Does generative engine optimisation replace SEO?
Does generative engine optimisation replace SEO?
No, and anyone telling you that is overselling.
SEO helps people find content and GEO helps AI systems use it. Strong SEO foundations support generative engine optimisation, but GEO goes further by optimising for how AI systems consume, evaluate and reuse information.
Modern visibility requires both.
When should brands care about GEO?
When should brands care about GEO?
When should brands care about GEO?
Generative engine optimisation matters most when:
Users ask complex or advisory questions
Trust and expertise influence decisions
Zero-click behaviour is common
AI tools are part of the research process
If your audience uses AI to think, compare, or decide, GEO is already affecting your visibility, whether you’ve planned for it or not.
The summary.
The summary.
The summary.
Generative Engine Optimisation is about making sure your brand is:
understood
trusted
and usable
by AI systems that increasingly shape how people discover information. In a world where answers are generated, visibility belongs to the sources AI chooses to reference.
If you’re not one of them, you’re not part of the answer.
AI search optimisation isn’t just another digital marketing task on your list. It’s crucial in building your business because, at its core, it’s about becoming a reliable source of truth.
The brands that dominate AI search are focused on:
clarity over cleverness
usefulness over volume
authority over hacks
And it shows.
FAQ
FAQ
What is GEO?
So, what is the generative engine optimisation definition?
What does generative engine optimisation mean in practice?
What does GEO SEO meaning refer to?
What kind of content performs best for GEO?
Is GEO the same as AI search optimisation?
Can small brands compete with bigger ones in GEO?
How long does generative engine optimisation take to work?
How do I know if GEO is working?
Does GEO replace traditional SEO?
How is GEO different from SEO?
Why does GEO matter if AI answers don’t always link out?
What is GEO?
So, what is the generative engine optimisation definition?
What does generative engine optimisation mean in practice?
What does GEO SEO meaning refer to?
What kind of content performs best for GEO?
Is GEO the same as AI search optimisation?
Can small brands compete with bigger ones in GEO?
How long does generative engine optimisation take to work?
How do I know if GEO is working?
Does GEO replace traditional SEO?
How is GEO different from SEO?
Why does GEO matter if AI answers don’t always link out?
What is GEO?
So, what is the generative engine optimisation definition?
What does generative engine optimisation mean in practice?
What does GEO SEO meaning refer to?
What kind of content performs best for GEO?
Is GEO the same as AI search optimisation?
Can small brands compete with bigger ones in GEO?
How long does generative engine optimisation take to work?
How do I know if GEO is working?
Does GEO replace traditional SEO?
How is GEO different from SEO?
Why does GEO matter if AI answers don’t always link out?
What is GEO?
So, what is the generative engine optimisation definition?
What does generative engine optimisation mean in practice?
What does GEO SEO meaning refer to?
What kind of content performs best for GEO?
Is GEO the same as AI search optimisation?
Can small brands compete with bigger ones in GEO?
How long does generative engine optimisation take to work?
How do I know if GEO is working?
Does GEO replace traditional SEO?
How is GEO different from SEO?
Why does GEO matter if AI answers don’t always link out?
Ready to dominate AI Search?
AI search isn’t coming. It’s already deciding who gets mentioned. So, you have a choice:
1. Wait and hope AI eventually figures you out 2. Or intentionally build the signals that make you hard to ignore.
