Short answer: GEO stands for generative engine optimization: ensuring that AI assistants such as ChatGPT, Gemini, and Copilot mention and recommend your business.
More and more customers are asking an AI for advice before they start searching on Google. For those customers, if you aren’t mentioned there, you don’t exist — there is no second page where you might still appear, because an AI provides an answer instead of a list.
How it differs from SEO:
- You don’t win a position; you get cited. This requires answers that can be understood independently from the rest of the page.
- Facts carry more weight than adjectives. “Response within two business days” is citable; “fast service” is not.
- What others say about you matters. Mentions and reviews outside of your own site help determine whether an assistant trusts you.
And the foundation remains the same: a fast, clean site with content that truly answers the question. GEO does not replace SEO; it builds upon it.