More and more people are skipping Google entirely. Instead of typing “best web designer near me” and scrolling results, they ask ChatGPT, “who should I hire to build my business website?” — and they trust the answer.
That shift has a name: GEO — Generative Engine Optimisation. It’s the practice of making sure AI tools mention your business when someone asks. Here’s what it actually means and how to get ahead of it early.
SEO vs GEO — what’s the difference?
Traditional SEO is about ranking in a list of blue links on Google. You want to be position one so people click through to your site.
GEO is about being cited inside the answer itself. When someone asks ChatGPT or Perplexity a question, the AI writes a paragraph and often names specific businesses, tools or sources. GEO is the work of becoming one of those named sources.
The key difference: with SEO you’re competing for a click. With GEO you’re competing to be part of the recommendation — often before the person has even visited a single website.
How do AI tools decide who to mention?
There’s no single ranking number, but the patterns are clear. AI tools tend to cite businesses that are:
- Clearly described in plain language — your site spells out exactly what you do, for whom, and where.
- Consistent across the web — your name, services and location match wherever they appear.
- Structured and machine-readable — clean HTML, proper headings, and structured data the AI can parse easily.
- Genuinely useful — you’ve published content that actually answers the questions people ask.
In other words, a lot of GEO is just good fundamentals done deliberately, with AI readers in mind rather than only human ones.
Practical things that help
You don’t need to chase every new trick. A few high-impact moves cover most of it:
1. Make your offer unmistakable
If a human has to guess what you do, an AI definitely will. Say it plainly: services, who you help, and where you’re based. Vague, clever copy is the enemy of being understood.
2. Add an llms.txt file
This is a simple text file that summarises your business specifically for AI crawlers — services, pricing, location, contact. Think of it as a cheat sheet that tells AI tools exactly how to describe you. It’s quick to add and increasingly worth having.
3. Use clean, structured content
AI tools struggle with bloated, script-heavy pages. A fast, well-structured site with proper headings and structured data is far easier for them to read and quote accurately.
4. Publish answers to real questions
Every genuinely helpful article you write is another chance to be cited. Write the things your customers actually ask — pricing, comparisons, “how do I choose” — in clear, direct language.
Should you worry about this now?
You shouldn’t drop everything for GEO — Google still drives the majority of traffic, and good SEO and GEO overlap heavily. But the businesses being recommended by AI in two years are the ones laying the groundwork now, while it’s still uncrowded.
The good news is that most of GEO is the same thing that makes a website genuinely good: clear messaging, fast and clean code, and content that helps. Do those well and you’re already most of the way there.
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