The definition, in one sentence
GEO stands for *Generative Engine Optimization*. It's the set of techniques that make an AI (ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Claude, Grok, or Google's AI summary) understand your content, trust it, and cite it in its answer.
SEO is being well placed in the directory. GEO is being the name the advisor recommends directly when someone asks. Today, that advisor is an AI.
What is it actually for?
More and more people no longer search on Google: they ask an AI directly. "Which employment lawyer in Lyon?", "What invoicing software fits a small business?", "Who can rebuild my website?". The AI answers with a handful of names. GEO is what gets you into that shortlist instead of staying invisible in the answer.
GEO vs. SEO: what's the difference?
- SEO → goal: show up in Google's list of blue links, to earn a click.
- GEO → goal: be cited inside the answer the AI writes, with or without a click.
- What they share: both reward content that's clear, structured, trustworthy and technically clean. GEO doesn't replace SEO, it extends it.
How do you actually do GEO?
In short: make your site readable by AI crawlers (robots.txt, structured data, llms.txt), write pages that answer the real questions your market is asking, and build authority through mentions on third-party sources. The full breakdown lives in our complete guide to GEO in 2026.