Guides / Get cited by AI
Generative engine optimization
Generative engine optimization, GEO, is the work of showing up in answers that a model writes instead of a list of links. In practice it is the same craft as answer engine optimization: a page with a quotable answer and proof.
About 4,400 US searches a month for “generative engine optimization”. Updated October 4, 2026.
Conservative demand, October 2026. The work under both names is the page.
The name
About 4,400 US searches a month are for generative engine optimization, and 763 ask what it is. The glossary definition is at GEO. Vendors and papers popularized GEO; practitioners also say AEO. Arguing the acronym does not change the page you need to publish.
The side-by-side is on AEO vs GEO. The how-to under the other name is on answer engine optimization.
The work
Pick questions with commercial intent, not “what is marketing.” Answer them in the first paragraph. Add the specific: a price range you will stand behind, a step order, a named constraint. Models quote sentences that contain facts. They paraphrase paragraphs that contain adjectives.
A machine-readable companion some sites publish is llms.txt. It is a hint, not a ranking factor you can count on.
Measure mentions and citations separately
A mention is your name in the paragraph. A citation is your page as the source. Mentions feel good and do not send the reader. Citations are the outcome worth tracking, and the tools that try are on AEO tools.
ChatGPT’s citation habits are on how to get cited by ChatGPT.
Questions
Is GEO a new channel?
It is a new place the answer appears. The asset is still a page on your site. There is no GEO ad auction that replaces the page.
Did a research paper define GEO?
The phrase was spread by a widely cited research write-up and then by tool vendors. The technique they tested was making passages easier for a generative engine to quote. That is the part worth keeping.
Should I optimize for GEO or for Google?
For the page. A clear answer helps an AI overview and a human. Keyword stuffing helps neither. Google’s classic results still send visits, so do not delete the SEO.
Keep going
Put it in the account
Connect the ad account. Sprites reads it, drafts the change, and waits for your approval before anything spends.
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