By the Rank in Chat team ยท Updated 27 October 2026
Short answer
GEO, short for generative engine optimisation, is the work of making a business easy for AI assistants such as ChatGPT and Google's Gemini to find, understand and mention accurately when people ask them for recommendations.
In practice it's mostly the same groundwork as good local marketing: clear information, consistent details and genuine reviews, then checking what the assistants actually say.
What GEO usually involves for a small business
- Find out where you stand. Ask the assistants the questions your customers ask and note whether you're named, where, and who's named instead.
- Make your own information clear. Plain service pages, your areas, hours and contact details in text, and answers to real customer questions.
- Make your details agree everywhere. The same name, address, phone and services on your website, Google Business Profile and directories.
- Earn mentions elsewhere. Genuine reviews, listings with relevant bodies and local press or partner sites that describe what you do.
- Re-check over time. Ask the same questions again after a few weeks and compare the pattern, not single answers.
The honest limits
GEO is a young field and the assistants change often, so be wary of anyone claiming a secret formula or exact rules for how a particular assistant ranks businesses. Those internals aren't public. What's reliable is checking the real answers, fixing the information you control, and checking again.
Where the name comes from
"Generative" refers to generative AI: tools that write an answer rather than showing a list of links. The term borrows from SEO, which people have used for years to describe work that helps a website appear in search results. As more people ask AI assistants directly, owners want to know whether those written answers include them.
Does a small business need to "do GEO"?
Not as a separate project, usually. If your website explains what you do and where, your listings agree and you collect genuine reviews, you're doing most of it already. The useful extra step is to look at what the assistants actually say about you, which is what our free check does for ChatGPT and Gemini. If they're already naming you correctly, you may not need anything else. See what to do after your check.
See where you stand first. It's free.
We ask ChatGPT and Google's Gemini the kind of questions your customers ask, then email you whether you were named, roughly where, and who was suggested instead. A person reviews your check before we send it, usually within 2 working days.
Get my free checkQuestions people ask
Is GEO the same as SEO?
They overlap a lot. Both reward clear, accurate, well-linked information. SEO is about appearing in search results; GEO is about being mentioned in the answers AI assistants write. Our comparison page goes through the differences.
Are there other names for it?
Yes. You'll also see AEO (answer engine optimisation), AI SEO, LLM optimisation and 'AI visibility'. They describe roughly the same goal. We tend to say AI visibility because it's plainer.
Can GEO guarantee a recommendation?
No. Nobody outside the AI companies controls their assistants' answers. Good GEO makes you easier to find and describe accurately; it can't promise a particular placement.