What Is AEO and GEO? How to Get Your Business Cited by AI Search

Short answer: AEO (answer engine optimisation) means structuring your content so search engines can lift a direct answer from it. GEO (generative engine optimisation) means making your business easy for AI tools such as Google AI Overviews, ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity to understand and cite. Nobody can guarantee a citation, but you can remove the obstacles.

How is this different from SEO?

SEO aims to rank your pages in a list of results. AEO and GEO aim to make your page the source of the answer. They build on SEO, so a site that is hard to crawl or slow to load is a weak starting point for either.

What AI systems look for

• A clear, direct answer near the top of the page
• Facts that stay consistent everywhere: name, address, services and contact details
• Signs of trust such as reviews, case studies and mentions on reputable sites
• Pages that crawlers can reach and read

Practical steps

1. Answer the question in the first two sentences of the page.
2. Add a FAQ section that uses the real questions customers ask.
3. Add structured data such as Organization, LocalBusiness, FAQ and Article.
4. Keep your business details identical on your website, Google Business Profile and directories.
5. If you want to be cited, check that your robots.txt does not block the crawlers you want.
6. Publish specific, original content such as case studies and your own data, not generic text.
7. Earn mentions on reputable directories, publications and industry sites.

You may also see an llms.txt file suggested. It is a proposed convention, and major platforms have not confirmed it as a ranking factor, so treat it as optional.

How to check progress

Ask the main AI tools the questions your customers ask and note whether your business appears. Watch referral traffic from AI tools in your analytics, and review the generative AI reporting in Google Search Console.

Frequently asked questions

Is AEO replacing SEO?

No. It extends SEO, and the technical and content basics still apply.

Can you guarantee that ChatGPT will mention my business?

No. Anyone who promises that is overstating what they control.

Learn more about our AEO and GEO services, technical SEO and content marketing, or read our FAQ.

Related guides

• How Long Does SEO Take to Work?
• Local SEO for Ankleshwar and GIDC Businesses
• Google Ads or SEO First?

Need help with this? Talk to Uplink Technology. We are a digital and AI agency based in GIDC Ankleshwar, Gujarat.