What is GEO? A practical guide to getting ChatGPT and Gemini to recommend your business

Your customers don’t only search on Google anymore. Many ask ChatGPT, Gemini or Perplexity directly — “What’s the best dental clinic in Dubai?” or “Which platform should I use for my store in Saudi Arabia?” — and get one written answer instead of ten links. Google itself now shows AI Overviews above the results.

The key question for any business owner now: is your business mentioned in those answers? That’s where GEO comes in.

What is GEO?

GEO stands for Generative Engine Optimization. The goal is for AI models to understand your business clearly and trust your information, so they mention you or cite your website when answering questions in your field.

GEO vs. SEO

	SEO	GEO
Where you appear	The list of search results	Inside the written answer itself
Goal	A high ranking and a click	A mention, citation or recommendation
What matters most	Relevance, links, technical experience	Entity clarity, trust, direct quotable answers
Measurement	Rankings and clicks in Search Console	Referrals from AI platforms and brand mentions

The good news: GEO doesn’t replace SEO — it builds on it. AI engines rely heavily on search results and indexed web content. A site Google can’t reach or understand won’t be understood by them either.

How do AI engines choose their sources?

Nobody outside these companies knows the full details, but experience and observation point to clear factors:

• Access: can the crawler read the content? Many of these crawlers don’t run JavaScript, so content that isn’t in the HTML may never be seen.
• Clarity: is it clear who you are, what you offer, where and for whom?
• Direct answers: does the page contain an explicit, concise answer that can be quoted?
• Trust: is your business mentioned elsewhere (directories, articles, reviews, professional platforms)? Is your information consistent everywhere?
• Freshness: is the content up to date with a clear date?

8 practical steps to start today

1. Make sure crawlers can get in

Check robots.txt and make sure you’re not blocking crawlers like GPTBot, Google-Extended or PerplexityBot unless you have a clear reason. And make sure your core content is in the HTML, not loaded only by JavaScript.

2. Define your business as a clear “entity”

A strong About page that states your name, specialty, location, experience, team and contact details. Use the same name, description and address on your website, Google Business Profile, LinkedIn and professional directories. Inconsistency confuses models.

3. Add structured data (schema)

Schema such as Organization, LocalBusiness, Person, Product and FAQPage explains your page to machines in unambiguous terms. It helps both classic search and AI.

4. Write “answer first”

Start each section with a direct answer in one or two sentences, then explain. Use headings phrased as the questions your customers actually ask, and lists and tables for comparisons. It’s easier to read for people and easier to quote for machines.

5. Add what nobody else has

Real numbers from your experience, case studies, clear prices, client reviews and real photos. Generic content that exists everywhere gives no reason to quote you specifically.

6. Build presence beyond your website

Mentions in trusted sites in your field, Google reviews, and professional activity on LinkedIn are all signals that help models treat you as a known source in your field.

7. Consider an llms.txt file

llms.txt is a recent proposal for a text file at the root of your site that summarizes for language models what your site is and its key pages. It isn’t an official standard adopted by every engine yet, but it’s easy to add, harmless, and may help some tools understand your site quickly. This website has one.

8. Measure

In Google Analytics 4, watch referrals from domains like chatgpt.com, perplexity.ai and gemini.google.com. And regularly ask these engines the questions your customers ask, and note whether and how your business is mentioned.

A practical example

A dental clinic wants to be recommended when someone asks about “dental implants in New Cairo”. What does it need?

• A dedicated implants page that opens with a clear answer: what it is, who it suits, how long it takes and the approximate price range.
• Real FAQs with short answers, marked up with FAQPage schema.
• Dentist schema with address and opening hours.
• Real reviews on Google Business Profile under the same name and address as the website.
• Before/after case studies.

That’s exactly how I built the website for TRÍO Clinic.

Bottom line

GEO isn’t new magic — it’s the natural extension of good SEO: a technically accessible site, a clearly defined business, content that answers directly and adds real value, and trusted presence beyond your website. Those who start now will have a clear advantage as more search moves to AI.

Want to know how ChatGPT and Google see your business today? Book a free consultation and I’ll review it with you.