What is GEO? GEO, short for Generative Engine Optimization, is the work on a brand's visibility in the answers of AI engines such as ChatGPT, Gemini and Google's AI Overviews. The goal is that when someone asks a relevant question, the brand is mentioned, described correctly, and, when the engine shows sources, also appears as a source you can click. In practice it combines content that answers questions directly, technical infrastructure that allows the engines to read the site, and mentions in sources the engines trust.
In brief
- תשובה במקום רשימה. An AI engine summarizes several sources into one answer, so there are fewer places to appear and how the brand is described matters more.
- הבסיס הוא SEO טוב. Google states that there are no additional requirements to appear in AI Overviews beyond a page being indexed and eligible to appear in search.
- תוכן עם ראיות נוטה לעבוד טוב יותר. An academic experiment found that adding quotations, statistics and sources increased visibility in the answers of generative engines, while keyword stuffing did not help.
- מודדים שאלות, לא רק מילים. GEO is measured by what the engines answer to a fixed list of questions, over time.
What is GEO and how does it work?
GEO is a field whose goal is to increase the chance that a brand's content will serve as a source in an AI engine's answer, and that the brand will be presented in it accurately. The term was coined in academic research by Aggarwal and colleagues, published on arXiv at the end of 2023 and presented at the KDD conference in 2024.
A generative engine is a system that receives a question and composes an answer in natural language. The answer can rely on what the model learned in training, on a web search the engine performs at the time of the question, or on a combination of the two. Unlike a classic results page, the user doesn't choose between ten links. They get a summary, and sometimes a few links to the sources the summary relies on.
The implication for brands is simple. Alongside the question of where you rank, there is now the question of whether you are mentioned at all, in what context, and alongside which competitors. A brand can rank well on Google and still be absent from ChatGPT's answer to the same question, and vice versa.
What is the difference between SEO and GEO?
SEO deals with ranking pages in a list of results, and GEO deals with how the brand appears and is described within a summarized answer. Both rest on the same foundation of quality content and an accessible site, but they measure success differently.
SEO, or organic search optimization, is a process that aims to improve the position of the site's pages in regular search results. GEO adds a layer to it: it examines what happens after the engine has already gathered the sources, and how it builds an answer from them.
| Topic | SEO | GEO |
|---|---|---|
| Where you appear | A list of results with links | Within an AI engine's summarized answer |
| Unit of measurement | A page's ranking for a keyword | Mention, description and citation of the brand for a question |
| What the user sees | The title and snippet of each result | The engine's wording, and sometimes source links |
| Sources of influence | Mainly the site and links to it | The site, articles, reviews, professional sites and forums |
| The type of content that works | A page that matches search intent | Paragraphs that stand on their own, with data and sources |
| Main measurement tools | Search Console, rank trackers | Regular tracking of engine answers to a list of questions |
| Pace of change | Algorithm changes from time to time | Answers that vary even between similar questions |
The important point in the table is the sources-of-influence row. In GEO, what is written about you off the site can also influence the answer, alongside what is written on it.
How do AI engines choose which sources to show?
When AI engines search the web, they gather several relevant sources and build an answer from them, so a page that isn't accessible to their crawler will struggle to enter search-based answers. Not every answer involves a search, and each engine does it a little differently.
Google: AI Overviews and AI Mode
AI Overviews are summaries Google generates with AI and shows on some results pages, and AI Mode is a search interface in which the whole answer is built as a conversation. In both cases, links to the pages the answer relies on are usually shown alongside the text.
Google explains in its guide for site owners that to appear in its AI features, a page needs to be indexed and eligible to appear in search with a snippet. According to Google, there is no need for special AI files or dedicated structured markup. Both features may use a technique Google calls query fan-out: running several related searches on subtopics, to find a wider variety of supporting pages.
The practical implication is that a page that covers a specific subtopic well can appear in the answer, even if it doesn't rank first for the general question.
ChatGPT: search through partners and a dedicated crawler
OpenAI explains that when a question needs up-to-date information, ChatGPT turns to web search. It breaks the question into several focused queries, sends them to search providers, and if the first results aren't enough, keeps searching. The company also makes clear that there is no way to guarantee appearing in an answer.
For a site to be able to appear in ChatGPT's search answers, OpenAI recommends allowing access to the OAI-SearchBot crawler. This crawler is separate from GPTBot, which is used for training models. You can block GPTBot and still appear in search, so it's worth checking the robots.txt file and CDN settings before concluding that the engine isn't showing the site.
What does research say about optimizing for AI engines?
The original GEO research found, under experimental conditions, that changes to a page's wording and content can increase its visibility in a generative engine's answers by up to about 40%. The researchers built a question set from a variety of fields, and tested nine methods for rewriting content.
The leading methods were adding quotations from relevant sources and adding statistics, followed by improving the fluency of the text and adding references to sources. Keyword stuffing, an old technique, produced a weaker result than the original page on the main metric. The researchers also found that effectiveness varies between fields, so there is no single formula that fits every category.
The findings should be read with caution. This was an experiment on a research dataset, not a promise of results in a specific commercial engine. Still, the direction matches Google's guidance on helpful content: content that relies on evidence, is clearly written and shows real experience is content that is easier to cite.
How is GEO/AEO done in practice?
GEO work starts with measuring the current state, continues with fixing the infrastructure and content, and goes on with building authority off the site. It's an ongoing process, not a one-off project.
- בונים רשימת שאלות. Write a few dozen questions the audience actually asks in the category, including comparison questions and "what's best for…" questions.
- בודקים מה המנועים עונים היום. Run the questions in ChatGPT, Gemini and Google search, and record who is mentioned, how and based on which sources.
- מוודאים נגישות טכנית. Check that Googlebot and OAI-SearchBot aren't blocked, that important content is written as text and not only in images, and that the pages load properly.
- כותבים תוכן שעונה ראשון. Every page opens with a direct answer, defines terms in one sentence, and is divided into paragraphs that make sense even when quoted on their own.
- מוסיפים ראיות. Data with sources, quotations, comparison tables and details only someone who knows the field would know.
- בונים סמכות חיצונית. Mentions in articles, professional sites, reviews and guides, because these are among the sources the engines rely on when describing a brand.
- חוזרים על המדידה. Run the same questions every month, and compare what changed.
Note that the second step also matters for identifying errors. An AI engine may describe an old product, a price that has changed or a service that no longer exists. When the answer relies on search, the fix starts with updating the sources the engine finds. When it relies on what the model learned in training, the change is slower and depends on the model itself being updated.
What is AEO, and is optimizing for ChatGPT a separate field?
AEO, or Answer Engine Optimization, is a term that partly overlaps with GEO. It focuses on optimizing content to serve as a direct answer to a question, including in direct answers in regular search results, while GEO focuses on answers composed by generative engines. In the market, the terms GEO, AEO and AI organic search are often used interchangeably, although they are not entirely identical.
Optimizing for ChatGPT is not a separate field either. ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity all rely, at least in some answers, on web search and external sources, so the principles are similar: an accessible site, clear content with evidence, and presence in reliable sources. What does differ between the engines is the crawlers, the search providers and how sources are shown, and this affects the technical checks.
Our recommendation is not to build a separate plan for each engine. It's better to have one plan that combines SEO and GEO, with separate measurement for each engine.
It's important to distinguish between GEO and paid advertising within AI engines. Since September 2026, ChatGPT's advertising system has also been open to advertisers in Israel. The ads are shown separately from the answer and labeled as sponsored, so they can complement the brand's presence, but they don't change what the engine answers. GEO deals with the answer itself, andPaid Campaign Management deals with the exposure alongside it.
How do you measure visibility and traffic from AI engines?
GEO is measured on two levels: what the engines say about the brand, and how much traffic actually comes from them. Neither is enough on its own.
The first level is answer tracking. For each question on the list, check whether the brand was mentioned, whether its description is accurate, whether a link to the site appeared, and which competitors were mentioned alongside it. Because AI engine answers vary even between similar phrasings, it's worth running each question several times and looking at the trend.
The second level is traffic. Google notes that clicks from its AI features are counted in Search Console's performance report, under the "Web" search type, together with regular search. In Google Analytics 4, a channel called AI Assistant was added to the default channel group, bringing together arrivals from sources such as ChatGPT, Gemini and Copilot. According to Google's documentation, the channel does not include AI Overviews and AI Mode, so traffic from them is counted together with organic search. For this reason answer tracking remains the main metric for visibility.
How we approach this at CONNECT
At CONNECT, part of the Bruckner Yaar Levi advertising group, we build GEO and SEO as one plan. We start with a list of questions the brand's audience asks, and check how ChatGPT and Gemini present it today, using our AI visibility monitoringtool. From this check comes a clear map: where the brand is missing, where it is described incorrectly, and which sources shape the answer.
From there we move to the work itself: technical fixes, rewriting key pages so the answer appears right at the start, new content for questions that have no answer, and building mentions in the sources the engines rely on. The result is measured every month against the same list of questions, so it's clear what changed and why.
Frequently asked questions
What is GEO in digital marketing?
GEO is a field in digital marketing that deals with a brand's visibility in the answers of AI engines, such as ChatGPT, Gemini and Google's AI Overviews. The goal is for the brand to be mentioned when the audience asks relevant questions, to be described accurately, and, when sources are shown, for its site to appear among them. The work includes content that answers questions directly, technical infrastructure accessible to crawlers and building mentions in reliable sources.
Does GEO replace SEO?
No. GEO relies on SEO and doesn't replace it. Google notes that to appear in AI Overviews a page needs to be indexed and eligible to appear in search, and that there are no additional requirements beyond that. In other words, a site with SEO problems may also struggle in AI engines. The difference is in measurement and in the type of content: GEO checks mentions and descriptions in answers, and favors paragraphs that stand on their own and rely on evidence.
Do you need a special file or structured markup to appear in AI Overviews?
According to Google's guidelines, no. Google explicitly writes that there is no need for dedicated AI files or special schema markup to appear in its AI features. What does matter is allowing crawling, keeping important content as text, maintaining internal links and making sure the structured markup on the site matches what is actually written on the page.
How do you know what ChatGPT says about your brand?
The practical way is to build a fixed list of questions the audience asks in the category, and run them regularly in ChatGPT and other engines. In each run, record whether the brand was mentioned, how it was described, which sources were cited and which competitors appeared. Since answers vary even between similar phrasings, it's worth running each question several times and looking at the trend over months.
How long does it take to see results from optimizing for AI engines?
There's no fixed timeline. Technical fixes, such as opening access to a crawler that was blocked, can have an effect after the engine recrawls the site, and Google notes that recrawling can take from a few days to a few weeks. Building authority through mentions in articles and professional sites is a longer process. So it's worth measuring a monthly trend rather than expecting an immediate change.
Do you need a separate plan for each AI engine?
Not necessarily. The engines rely largely on the same foundations: clear, well-founded content, a sound site and presence in reliable sources. So it's better to build one plan that combines SEO and GEO/AEO, and measure visibility in each engine separately to identify where adjustment is needed.
ראו גם: AI Search Optimization (GEO/AEO) · Organic Search (SEO) · טעויות SEO באתרים גדולים · AI בשיווק: מה באמת עובד · Technology & Tools
Sources: Google Search Central: AI features and your website · Google Search Central: Creating helpful, reliable, people-first content · OpenAI Help Center: ChatGPT search · OpenAI: Overview of OpenAI crawlers · Aggarwal et al., GEO: Generative Engine Optimization (arXiv)
רוצים לדעת מה מנועי AI אומרים היום על המותג שלכם? השאירו פרטים.