14 Answers to Common Questions about Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) in 2025
In recent months, Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) has been gaining attention, often positioned as the next evolution beyond traditional Search Engine Optimization (SEO). For some clients, this presents an exciting opportunity to rethink and restructure their digital content. For others, it can feel overwhelming, raising more questions than answers. As AI-powered search tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Gemini change how people discover content online, clients increasingly ask: What is GEO, and how can we prepare our sites for it?
The following handy Q&A guide aims to demystify Generative Engine Optimization (GEO), explain why it matters, and provide practical steps your team can take to get started.
Q: What is GEO and how is it different from SEO?
A: GEO stands for Generative Engine Optimization. While SEO (Search Engine Optimization) focuses on getting your content to rank in traditional search engines like Google (via keywords, backlinks, and site performance), GEO focuses on getting your content mentioned, referenced, summarized, or cited in AI-generated answers from tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity.
Think of SEO as getting your content listed, whereas GEO is about making your brand and its content the answer.
Q: Why should my organization care about GEO?
A: AI platforms are rapidly becoming the first stop for users looking for answers, especially younger audiences and professionals. If an answer appears via Gemini on the top of a Google search, fewer people may scroll further down the page to look for other sources. They got the answer they needed from just one search. If your content isn’t optimized for these tools, you’re missing out on certain traffic data, visibility, and an opportunity to build trust.
In 2025, ChatGPT alone sees over 4.5 billion visits per month, and Perplexity handles nearly 500 million monthly queries.
Q: How is GEO impacting my site’s analytics?
A: Likely a lot. Generative engines often summarize content without requiring a click. That means you may see fewer impressions and clicks, even if your content is powering the AI’s answer. Most websites are seeing direct traffic declining across the board. With that said, users who do click through to sites are often engaging more deeply, leading to longer session durations and higher conversion rates.
Because of this, it’s crucial to learn these new patterns and recognize them within your site’s analytics by setting up new reports.
Q: How do AI engines choose which content to cite?
A: AI tools evaluate a number of factors, with the most important being:
- Authority: Are you a trusted source? Do you have backlinks, credentials, or media citations?
- Structure: Do you use schema markup, headings, and clear Q&A formatting?
- Freshness: Is your content updated regularly?
- Relevance: Does your content align with how users ask questions in natural language?
Each tool has its own algorithm, but clear, factual, structured content with recent updates from trusted sources performs best.
Q: What kind of content works best for GEO?
A: Content that answers questions directly, especially with a conversational tone, tends to work well. Additionally, you want your content to explain not just the what, but also the why and how, since generative engines often expand on user intent. Content structures that perform well for GEO include:
- Q&A sections
- “Top” or “Best” lists (Examples: Top Restaurants in Providence, Rhode Island or Best fall events in California)
- Evergreen guides that are updated annually
- Content that is organized for machines and humans (aka clear headings, mobile-friendly, structured data and metadata)
Q: How can we tell if our content is being featured in AI tools?
A: While most AI platforms don’t yet provide native analytics, you can track GEO success through:
- GA4 segmentation: Filter referral traffic by sources like chat.openai.com or perplexity.ai
- Landing page patterns: AI-driven referrals often land users deep into your site (e.g., specific blogs, not just the homepage)
- Google Search Console: Look for queries with high impressions but low click-through rates, these may indicate your content is being shown in AI Overviews
- Manual Testing: In an incognito window, search for the types of queries you want your site’s content to appear for and see what answers are returned. These might be simple questions like “What does [your organization] do?” or more in-depth research questions that your popular articles have addressed.
- Third Party Tools: As the field continues to develop, more third party tools are becoming available or adapting their analytics to provide insight into GEO success. SEMrush in particular is a tool that we recommend for clients interested in uncovering more data.
Q: Is there a way to make our site more “AI-friendly”?
A: Yes! Here are key GEO best practices:
- Use schema markup: Help AI models understand your content’s structure and intent. You can use schema.org to help guide you through improving your site’s markup.
- Write in a Q&A or conversational format: More people are asking full questions or prompts in ChatGPT—rather than just listing keywords. Match your content with how users phrase queries in AI tools.
- Optimize your About page: Make sure that your About page is thoughtfully written to answer who you are, what you do, and why. ChatGPT, for example, pulls from these pages to assess trustworthiness and authority.
- Refresh content: Update existing articles with new data and a clear structure (aka headings, bullets, FAQ sections, summaries). Note: You don’t need to create new URLs, just refresh the content to make sure it is relevant and current for today.
- Include citations and data points: Wherever possible, add data and sources. These increase your authority and credibility.
Q: Do we need to optimize differently for each AI tool?
A: The core strategies (trustworthiness, schema, natural language, performant) apply across all platforms, but there are nuances:
- Gemini: Heavily tied to Google’s ecosystem. Focus on crawlability and Core Web Vitals.
- Perplexity: Prefers cited, factual content and uses real-time web data.
- ChatGPT: Draws from authoritative sources like Wikipedia, news outlets, and Reddit. Strong personalization and structured content help here.
Q: Can we block AI tools from using our content?
A: Yes, but be thoughtful about what you are blocking. Adding a file like robots.txt can block AI crawlers, but doing so may reduce your visibility and lead to attribution from AI tools. It could also block legitimate crawlers and thus negatively impact both SEO and GEO, so be thoughtful about how you compose and format that file.
Note: If your brand has legal or content ownership concerns, we can help you assess what should or shouldn’t be available for AI training or citation.
Q: Do AI Tools honor authenticated access?
A: Yes, but remain mindful. Models like ChatGPT can’t “log in” or bypass authentication. If full research content is only available behind a user login, it won’t be included in training data or scraped summaries. But still pay attention to how content is displayed. If your research is behind a login or subscription paywall, ensure that:
- No full-text content is available to crawlers
- Abstracts or summaries shown publicly are limited in detail
Q: What is llms.txt and should I add it to my site?
A: llms.txt is a proposed convention for websites to provide a lightweight, machine- & human-readable summary (in Markdown) of the “important” parts of the site, to help large language models (LLMs) more easily crawl, interpret, and use content. More sites are starting to add it to their sites to help guide which pages AI should pay attention to. However, it is not yet a universally supported or enforced standard. Many LLMs or AI platforms do not currently yet automatically look for or honor llms.txt. As of now, you can think of it as a nice-to-have, not a requirement.
Q: How often should we update content for GEO?
A: Best practice recommends updating at least once a year for evergreen content. Prioritize updates for:
- Posts using phrases like “top,” “best,” or “recommended”
- Pages that receive seasonal traffic or include stats
- Key content that’s losing impressions or traffic in Google Search Console
Even simple updates like reordering information, adding new facts, or improving layout can go a long way with AI engines.
Q: Is GEO just another passing trend?
A: Not at all. GEO is a direct response to how AI is changing digital search and content discovery. Platforms like Google are rethinking their search experience through tools like Gemini, as more people turn to these tools for answers. GEO is how brands stay visible in this new AI landscape.
Q: What’s the first step we should take for GEO Optimization?
A: Start with a content and schema audit of your top-performing pages. From there, apply structured markup, rewrite headlines for clarity, add Q&A sections where applicable, and refresh key posts. A phased approach focused on high-value content will have the biggest immediate impact.
Need help figuring out what content to prioritize for GEO? Our team at Oomph can assess your current visibility and build a roadmap tailored to AI performance.
For more insights into GEO optimization, read…
