What is GEO, and why your business needs it now
Customers now ask ChatGPT and Gemini, not only Google. Here is how to make sure AI answers mention your business.
For twenty years, being found online meant ranking on Google. That is still important. But more and more customers now ask an AI assistant instead: "Which is the best HR software in Gujarat?" or "Who builds custom ERP integrations in Vadodara?"
The assistant gives one answer, often with two or three names. If your business is not one of them, you are not in the conversation at all. Generative engine optimisation, or GEO, is the work of changing that.
How AI assistants decide what to say
Tools such as ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity build their answers from content they can find and trust. They favour sources that:
- State clear facts: what you do, where, for whom, and with what results
- Are consistent across your website, your business listings and other sites that mention you
- Answer real questions directly, in plain language
- Are easy for machines to read, with clean structure and structured data
SEO and GEO: what is the difference?
| SEO | GEO | |
|---|---|---|
| Goal | Rank in a list of links | Be named in the AI answer |
| Main signals | Keywords, links, page speed | Clear facts, consistency, trusted mentions |
| Content style | Pages built around keywords | Direct answers to real questions |
The two work together. A fast, well-structured website helps both.
Five things you can do this month
- Write a plain, factual "About" page: what you do, where, for whom
- Add a frequently asked questions section that answers what customers really ask
- Make your name, address and phone number identical everywhere online
- Publish case studies with real numbers
- Add structured data to your website so machines can read your key facts
Try this: ask ChatGPT or Gemini who the best provider of your service is in your city. If your business is missing from the answer, that is your GEO gap.
We run GEO alongside SEO for our clients. Book a free audit and we will check how AI assistants describe your business today.