GEO vs SEO: What Actually Changes, and What the Evidence Says

SEO gets a website ranked in search results; GEO (generative engine optimisation) gets a business named and quoted inside AI answers from ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude and Google's AI Overviews. GEO is not a replacement for SEO. It is SEO plus three extra jobs: making sure non-Google AI crawlers can read your site, writing in a shape that survives being quoted, and building presence on the off-site sources AI assistants rely on.

GEO vs SEO at a glance

What does Google say about optimising for AI Overviews?

Google says there are no extra requirements to appear in AI Overviews or AI Mode. A page needs to be indexed and eligible to show with a snippet, the same as normal search, and Google says you do not need new AI text files or special markup (Google Search Central). For Google's own AI features, then, GEO starts and largely ends with good SEO.

So why does GEO need separate attention?

GEO needs separate attention because ChatGPT, Claude and Perplexity do not use Google's crawler. A 2024 study of real crawler traffic by Vercel and MERJ found that none of the major AI crawlers, including OpenAI's GPTBot and Anthropic's ClaudeBot, run JavaScript (Vercel). Google renders scripts; these crawlers see only the raw HTML. A page whose prices, FAQs or service details load through JavaScript can rank well in Google and still be blank to every other AI assistant.

Which AI crawlers should you let in?

Most AI companies run more than one crawler, and they do different jobs, so blocking the wrong one can remove a business from AI answers by accident. OpenAI, for example, documents that GPTBot collects content that may be used to train its models, while OAI-SearchBot is the crawler that decides whether a site can appear in ChatGPT search, and each setting is independent of the other (OpenAI). A business that wants to be cited but not used for training can block GPTBot and still allow OAI-SearchBot.

What makes a page easy for an AI assistant to quote?

An AI assistant quotes sentences, not pages, so the pages that get cited are written in self-contained sentences that still make sense alone. In practice that means five habits:

1. Put the answer in the first 100 words, before any background.

2. Name the business, the service and the place inside the sentence, not only in the heading. "Koseti builds Laravel applications in Middlesbrough" survives being quoted; "we build them here" does not.

3. Use question-shaped headings, with the answer directly underneath.

4. Attach a number, a price range, a timescale or a named source to every key claim.

5. Use comparison tables for anything that compares, because both AI systems and screen readers parse them cleanly.

What does a GEO rewrite look like in practice?

A GEO rewrite turns a sentence that only makes sense in context into one that answers a question on its own. Here is a typical opening from a service page, before and after:

Before: "We're passionate about helping businesses like yours grow online. Our team has years of experience and we'd love to chat about your project."

After: "Koseti is a Middlesbrough web studio that builds Laravel applications and websites for UK small businesses. A focused Laravel tool typically costs £3,500 to £8,000 and takes 8 to 12 weeks, with the full source code handed over at the end."

The first version gives an AI assistant nothing to quote: no business name, no service, no place, no number. The second answers four questions a buyer might ask (who, what, where and how much) in two sentences, and every one of those facts survives being lifted out of the page. The same rewrite usually helps human readers too, because it tells them in seconds whether they are in the right place.

Which GEO tactics have no evidence behind them?

The two most-sold GEO tactics with no evidence behind them are llms.txt files and adding schema markup as an AI fix. An Ahrefs study of 137,210 domains found that 97% of published llms.txt files received no requests at all in May 2026 (Ahrefs). Google has said it does not need special files or markup to include a page in AI features. Correct schema is still good hygiene for search engines; it just is not a lever for AI citations on its own.

What does GEO change on a real website?

On a real website, GEO usually changes four things:

• Server rendering. Every answer that matters is moved into the HTML the server sends, so crawlers that do not run JavaScript can read it.

• Answer-first rewrites. The ten to twenty pages that answer buying questions are rewritten so the answer comes first, in quotable sentences.

• Comparison and evidence content. New pages compare options, set out prices and name their sources.

• Off-site presence. Directory profiles, reviews and list placements are built and linked back, so assistants recognise the business across sources.

Has this worked for a real business?

Koseti wrote and built the site for Voco, an AI front office for UK businesses, answer-first throughout: question-shaped headings, a plain-English definition of the product category, sourced comparison tables and an "ask an AI assistant about Voco" section. Between June and September 2026, Voco's monthly search clicks quadrupled.

How do you measure GEO?

GEO is measured with a fixed prompt panel: around 20 questions your buyers would ask an assistant, run every month in ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude and Google AI Mode. Each answer is logged as cited with a link, mentioned without a link, or absent. Search Console now adds a generative AI report showing how often your pages appear in Google's AI features. Single "AI visibility scores" from tools are not a substitute, because they cannot show which questions you win.

Do I need a GEO agency, or just better SEO?

If your SEO is already strong and your site is server-rendered, most of the gains come from rewriting key pages answer-first and building off-site presence, which a good SEO agency should already offer. Koseti includes GEO in every SEO retainer for that reason. If your site relies heavily on JavaScript, start with a GEO audit to see what AI crawlers can actually read.

A 30-day GEO starter plan

A small business can make most of the high-value GEO changes in a month, in this order:

1. Week 1: check access. Open your key pages with JavaScript switched off, or use view-source, and confirm the prices, services and answers are in the HTML. Check robots.txt and your CDN's bot settings for anything blocking OAI-SearchBot, ClaudeBot or PerplexityBot.

2. Week 2: rewrite five pages. Take the five pages that answer buying questions, usually the homepage and main service pages, and rewrite their first 100 words so they name the business, the service, the place and a number.

3. Week 3: publish one comparison. Write the comparison your buyers already make in their heads, such as your service against the obvious alternative, with a table and real price ranges.

4. Week 4: set the baseline. Write your 20-question prompt panel, run it in ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude and Google AI Mode, and record the results alongside Search Console's generative AI report. Repeat it monthly.

Frequently asked questions

Is GEO the same as AEO?

Mostly. Answer engine optimisation (AEO) and GEO describe the same goal: being the source an AI answer draws on. GEO is the more common term for AI assistants; AEO was used first for featured snippets and voice search.

Does GEO replace SEO?

No. Google's AI features draw on the same index as normal search, so GEO depends on SEO. It adds work for non-Google assistants on top.

Should I block AI crawlers?

Only if you do not want to appear in AI answers. Blocking GPTBot, ClaudeBot or PerplexityBot removes your site from those assistants' sources.

Will an llms.txt file help?

Almost certainly not today. Studies of server logs show AI crawlers rarely request it. Spend the time on server rendering and answer-first pages instead.

How long does GEO take?

Technical fixes can change what AI crawlers see within weeks; citations usually build over two to six months as pages are re-crawled.