GEO (Generative Engine Optimization): How to Adapt to AI Search and Outpace Competitors

For years, we’ve been optimizing content for Google, focusing on keywords, structure, and technical signals. But with the rise of generative AI, everything has changed.

Now users are turning more and more to models like ChatGPT and Gemini. They’re not looking for websites, they’re looking for answers. This shift has given rise to a new direction: Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) is the art of optimizing content for generative search models that deliver instant, AI-generated responses.

In Promodo’s new article, we explain how GEO works, how it differs from traditional SEO, and why it’s worth paying attention to right now.

What is Generative Engine Optimization (GEO)?
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Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) is the process of optimizing content for generative AI models like Google Gemini or ChatGPT — systems that craft their own answers to user queries based on vast amounts of analyzed information.

Unlike traditional SEO, which focuses on ranking pages in search results, GEO is about how your content is understood, summarized, and transformed into direct responses within AI interfaces. Most of these answers appear for informational queries.

This is where your business strategy should shift today: it’s no longer about writing for search engines — it’s about creating content that AI models can recognize, interpret, and use in their generated answers.

Even if a user doesn’t click through to your site, being quoted or referenced by AI (like Google’s model) as a source still benefits you. It positions your brand as an authority in the user’s eyes — and that credibility can directly influence their purchase decision.
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Note: GEO has nothing to do with geographic optimization — it’s not the same as Local SEO.

Key Principles of Generative Engine Optimization

Generative models don’t read web pages the way humans do. They look for clearly structured, concise statements that can be easily integrated into an AI-generated response. That’s why every paragraph should be informative, compact, and self-contained — so it can be used out of context as part of an answer.

Optimizing for “Direct Answers” and Summaries

The following formats work best:

• FAQ sections with short, precise answers to common questions
• Checklists that incorporate user keywords and search queries
• Comparison tables for products, services, or systems
• Brief definitions that can be easily inserted into an AI-generated response

Focus on E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness)

How to prove your expertise:

• Improve your “About Us” page: include awards, achievements, payment options, delivery, and return policies.
• Show transparency: add details about product manufacturing, quality control, and customer service.
• Collect external reviews: feedback on third-party platforms has more weight than testimonials on your own site.
• Build credibility through your blog: cite reputable external sources, include author bios, and display update dates for each article.
• Create a Wikipedia page for your company: it’s a strong trust signal both for AI models and traditional SEO.

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Topic Depth and Semantic Connections

LLMs don’t process keywords — they process context. While traditional SEO focuses on exact keyword matching, AI search values related topics and logical relationships between them.

Generative search aims to build answers that reflect multiple perspectives. That’s why it chooses sources that appear comprehensive and authoritative within their niche.

How to approach this:

• Focus on contextual relevance and topic breadth. Your content should explore the subject in depth, address all related questions, and restate key ideas in different ways. Optimizing content for LLMs, this isn’t “keyword stuffing” — it’s a sign that the topic is meaningful and well explained.
  
  
• Think in content clusters, not single pages. If you have one article, consider expanding it into a series that covers all subtopics. This increases the chances that AI models will treat your website as a primary source.
  
  
• Use structured data (Schema Markup). It helps AI understand page content and include it in generated responses — especially for FAQs, reviews, products, and local business information.
  
  
• Keep your content fresh. Regularly add new data, examples, and research, note update dates, and expand articles with related insights. For LLMs, this signals that your content is current, relevant, and trustworthy.
  

How to Optimize Your Website for GEO: Practical Steps

Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) doesn’t replace classical SEO — it builds on top of it.

Promodo’s internal research shows that LLMs primarily pull information from the TOP 10 search results. They look deeper only when the top pages lack sufficient information — which happens rarely.

That means if your key pages rank within the top 10, they already have a strong chance to appear in AI-generated results. However, if your site consistently ranks 20th or lower, it’s a clear sign of deeper SEO issues, and those will also block your GEO potential.

Important: your website must be indexed in Bing. To monitor and optimize visibility in this search engine, and ensure your content appears in ChatGPT’s results, connect your site to Bing Webmaster Tools.

Recent reports and data leaks confirm this: after Google denied OpenAI access to its search data, ChatGPT tried to retrieve it through Google’s API. Due to this competition with Gemini, ChatGPT now sources information from Bing instead of Google.

1. Technical Foundation

Your website must be accessible to AI crawlers and load quickly.

• Ensure proper indexing (especially through Bing Webmaster Tools — otherwise, your pages won’t appear in ChatGPT results).
  
  
• Optimize page speed and make sure your core content renders correctly.
  
  
• Use structured data (Schema Markup) and clean, human-readable URLs so AI systems can better understand your site’s structure.

2. E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness)

AI search is highly sensitive to trust and credibility factors. Your content must look expert and verifiable.

• Include detailed information about authors, awards, and company achievements.
• Clearly describe delivery, payment, and return policies — these are also signals of quality.
• Use transparent, credible external sources in your content.
• Explain customer service and complaint-handling processes, ideally in a FAQ format.

3. Audit Your Existing Content

Evaluate your materials through the lens of AI search:

• Do your texts provide clear, concise answers? Can the information be easily summarized or quoted?
• Use AI-powered tools (like AI Content Helper by Ahrefs) for research and optimization.
• Create ranked lists and review articles — they often appear in generative answers.
• Add structured data (How-To, FAQ Schema, Product Schema) to increase your chances of being cited by AI.

4. External Optimization

• Publish PR articles and expert commentary on authoritative platforms
• Gather external reviews — AI systems often include them in generated responses.
• Build high-quality backlinks strategically to strengthen authority (focus on quality, not quantity).
• Use tools like Ahrefs Brand Radar or seoClarity to monitor your visibility in AI search and track GEO for SEO results.

The Future of Search and the Role of GEO in SEO

To appear in AI recommendations, you need to adapt to its logic. In the near future, GEO will become as essential as SEO optimization is for Google today.

Does LLM traffic actually convert better?

• Amsive (a six-month analysis of 54 websites in GA4) found that conversion rates from LLM sessions (4.87%) are nearly identical to organic traffic (4.6%), with no statistically significant difference.
• SALT.agency (May 2025) recorded lower engagement from LLM traffic, except in healthcare and career niches, where user interest remained high.

The numbers are still evolving, but the trend is clear: AI search already drives traffic that businesses can monetize.
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Get your website ready for AI search today!

Request a SEO audit and discover how to make your content visible in generative results.

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FAQ

How does GEO differ from traditional SEO?

GEO optimizes content for generative models that create answers to user queries, while traditional SEO focuses on ranking pages in search results.

Can websites lose traffic because of Generative Engine Optimization?

Yes, informational websites (except for original sources) might experience a decline. However, for eCommerce, there’s no threat — in fact, it’s another channel for attracting traffic.

How to start implementing GEO?

The first step is to conduct a GEO audit to assess your website’s current state — to check whether the basic requirements are met and to identify which queries make LLMs recommend competitors instead of your site. After that, focus on adapting your content to the logic of AI ranking and user needs.

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