What is GEO? How to show up in ChatGPT, Gemini and Google AI Overviews
What GEO is, how ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews choose sources, and how answer-led content, structured data and crawler access help.
GEO (generative engine optimisation) is the work of getting your business described correctly, and cited as a source, in answers from AI assistants such as ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Google’s AI Overviews. Classic SEO aims to rank a page in search results; GEO aims to be part of the answer the user reads.
It builds on SEO instead of replacing it: Google says AI Overviews and AI Mode have no extra requirements beyond normal indexing and snippet eligibility.
Short answer: GEO means shaping your content and site so AI assistants cite you. Answer at the top of each section, share what you know from experience, keep business details identical everywhere, add structured data and let AI crawlers in.
How GEO differs from classic SEO
SEO and GEO share a foundation, a crawlable, fast and trustworthy site, but they measure success differently:
| Topic | Classic SEO | GEO |
|---|---|---|
| Goal | Rank the page high in results | Get the brand mentioned and cited in the answer |
| Unit used | The whole page | The paragraph, list or table that answers the question |
| Success | Rankings and clicks | Mentions, source links and an accurate description |
| Trust | Links and site authority | Those, plus consistent information, reviews and mentions |
Solid SEO covers most of GEO; the usual gaps are writing style and consistency.
How AI assistants choose their sources
Asked for “a spa with a hammam in Beşiktaş”, an assistant usually answers from searches it runs on the spot. Google says AI Overviews and AI Mode may split a question into subtopics and run many related searches (query fan-out). ChatGPT uses its own crawler and partners such as Bing, Perplexity its own index and Gemini Google Search. The assistant then writes from the passages that answer the question directly and cites their pages. Passages get picked when they have:
- A direct answer at the top of the section
- Checkable specifics: neighbourhood, service, who it suits
- Consistency with your site, business profile and other sources
- A clear author and update date
- Text in the HTML and a crawler that isn’t blocked
For local questions, map data, business profiles and reviews weigh most, so for a cafe, spa or clinic GEO starts with the Google Business Profile. The same question can get different answers, so aim for consistent mentions, not a ranking.
Answer-led content based on your own experience
Put the answer at the top
Write subheadings the way customers ask (“Can I come without an appointment?”, “Is there parking?”) and answer right below, with details after. Name the neighbourhood, service and brand rather than “here” or “this service”; the assistant may quote the paragraph on its own.
- Weak: “A unique experience awaits you at our spa.”
- Strong: “Our hammam ritual includes a scrub, a foam massage and time in the relaxation area; it is by appointment, with separate hours for women and men.”
Publish what can’t be found elsewhere
AI has no reason to quote your version of “the benefits of massage” when every site says the same. It cites what exists nowhere else: how you actually work, the questions customers really ask, your own photos and videos. Google favours unique, non-commodity content in AI features, and its spam policies target mass-produced pages. We base this blog on our own work, such as the ASMR ad video for Head Therapy, the venue films for Qualia Spa & Wellness and Aqua Spa, and the websites for O’Wellness and O’Spa.
On health websites, Turkey’s healthcare advertising rules already require an update date and editor details; a visible author and date also tell AI who is speaking. Before publishing, check:
- Is the main question the page answers clear?
- Is the answer in a plain sentence under the heading?
- Is there information, a photo or an example no other site has?
- Are the author and update date visible?
Structured data, FAQs and consistent business details
Structured data marks up a page for machines using schema.org, usually in JSON-LD. A local business needs the LocalBusiness subtype that fits, such as CafeOrCoffeeShop, Restaurant, DaySpa, MedicalClinic or Optician, with your name, address, phone, hours and sameAs links to your social and Google Maps profiles. Blog posts take Article markup and service pages Service markup. Whatever you mark up must be visible on the page and match its text.
Answer customers’ real questions in short paragraphs on the relevant service pages. Google has dropped FAQ rich results, but FAQPage is still valid markup, and the real value is a clear question and answer on the page. On this blog, we publish the closing questions as visible text and as FAQPage markup.
Consistency matters as much. If your name reads “Kafe” on your site and “Cafe” on a map, an old address lingers in a directory or a closed branch shows as open, assistants may get you wrong or leave you out. Use the same short description of who you are, where you are and what you do everywhere, and link your profiles with sameAs.
Crawler access and llms.txt
If the assistant’s crawler can’t reach a page, it can’t cite it. Make sure your robots.txt doesn’t block:
- Googlebot: Google Search, AI Overviews and AI Mode
- OAI-SearchBot: ChatGPT search; OpenAI says blocked sites don’t appear in its search answers
- PerplexityBot: Perplexity’s search index
- Bingbot: Bing and Microsoft Copilot; ChatGPT also draws on Bing for some searches
GPTBot collects training data; blocking it doesn’t affect ChatGPT’s search answers. Google-Extended governs whether your content trains Gemini models and grounds answers in the Gemini app, not Google Search or AI Overviews.
Hosting or CDN bot protection can also block AI crawlers by default. Most AI crawlers don’t run JavaScript, so a service list, address, hours or menu that exists only in a script-loaded widget, an image or a PDF is invisible to them. Keep your sitemap current, add your site to Bing Webmaster Tools and see what a corporate website should have for other basics.
llms.txt is a proposed file at the site root that summarises a brand and its key pages for language models. It isn’t a standard: Google says it doesn’t use it, and there’s no solid evidence it affects AI visibility. Our own site has an llms.txt too, but we treat it as a tidy summary, not a ranking lever.
For a site built on these principles, see our web design and development service; we build fast, mobile-first, SEO-ready websites.
Frequently asked questions
Does GEO replace SEO?
No. AI assistants draw largely on search indexes. GEO adds writing style, consistent brand information and crawler access to a sound SEO base.
Can a small business appear in AI answers?
Yes, especially for local questions like “a quiet breakfast place near me”, where assistants rely on map data, business profiles and reviews. A complete Google Business Profile and a clear website can put a small business in the answer.
How can I tell whether GEO is working?
Ask ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Google your customers’ questions regularly and note whether you’re mentioned and which pages are cited. In analytics, track referrals from chatgpt.com, perplexity.ai and gemini.google.com; ChatGPT tags its links with utm_source=chatgpt.com. Clicks from Google’s AI Overviews sit within Search Console’s web search data.
