Is AI SEO just repackaged SEO?

70% of AI SEO overlaps with traditional SEO, but the 30% that's different makes all the difference. AI platforms need structured data, clear answers, and entity authority — not just keywords and backlinks.

Can you guarantee we'll appear in ChatGPT?

We guarantee increased citations or full refund. ChatGPT doesn't "rank" sites - it synthesizes from trusted sources. We make you a trusted source.

How long until results?

First citations within 30 days. Meaningful traffic by day 60. Compound growth after 90 days.

What is AI SEO, AEO, and LLM optimization?

AI SEO — also known as AEO (Answer Engine Optimization), GEO SEO, or LLM optimization — is the process of making your content visible and citable in AI-powered search tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google's AI Overview. We ensure these platforms understand, trust, and recommend your business when users ask relevant questions.

Will AI SEO interfere with our regular SEO?

No. In fact, 70% of AI SEO optimization improves your traditional SEO too. Better structured data, clearer content, and improved entity recognition benefit both traditional and AI search.

How do AI platforms decide what sources to trust?

They evaluate domain authority, factual accuracy, content structure, and presence across multiple trusted sources. If you're cited frequently in their training data or high-authority sites, you become a trusted source. We systematically build these trust signals.

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Fabian van Til·4 March 2026·8 min read

What is GEO SEO? GEO vs SEO Explained

GEO SEO (Generative Engine Optimization) is the practice of optimizing content for AI-powered search engines like ChatGPT and Perplexity. Learn how GEO differs from traditional SEO and why it matters.

What is GEO SEO (Generative Engine Optimization)?

GEO SEO, short for Generative Engine Optimization, is the practice of optimizing your website and content so that AI-powered search engines like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI Overview can understand, trust, and recommend your business.

Traditional SEO focuses on ranking in a list of blue links. GEO SEO focuses on getting your brand cited as a source in AI-generated answers. When someone asks ChatGPT "What is the best AI SEO agency?", the goal of GEO is to make your brand appear in that response.

GEO vs SEO: what is the difference?

Traditional SEO and GEO SEO share the same foundation: quality content, solid technical implementation, and authority. They differ in how they achieve visibility.

Traditional SEO

Optimizes for Google's ranking algorithm (PageRank, backlinks, keywords)
Goal: rank on page 1 of search engine results pages (SERPs)
Metrics: keyword rankings, organic traffic, click-through rate
Content format: keyword-optimized pages targeting search intent

GEO SEO (Generative Engine Optimization)

Optimizes for AI language models (LLMs) that synthesize information from multiple sources
Goal: be cited and recommended in AI-generated answers
Metrics: citation share, answer share, brand mentions in AI responses
Content format: entity-rich, factual, structured content that LLMs can easily parse

Put simply: traditional SEO gets you ranked. GEO SEO gets you recommended. With over 200 million people now using ChatGPT weekly, being recommended by AI carries real weight alongside traditional search rankings.

Why GEO SEO matters in 2026

Google AI Overview now appears in over 40% of search queries. ChatGPT reached 200 million weekly active users. Perplexity processes millions of research queries daily. These are not small shifts in how people find information.

These AI platforms do not show a list of websites. They synthesize answers from trusted sources and present them directly. If your brand is not part of that synthesis, a growing share of your audience will never see you.

200M+ weekly active users on ChatGPT alone
40%+ of Google searches now trigger AI Overview
Zero-click searches have surpassed 60% on Google
AI-referred traffic converts at 2-3x higher rates than traditional organic

How GEO SEO works

Whether an LLM cites your content depends on a few things: how well it can identify your brand as an entity, how often trusted sources reference you, and how clearly your content is structured.

1. Entity optimization

LLMs understand the world through entities: people, brands, concepts, and their relationships. GEO SEO requires building a strong entity graph for your brand. This means your brand needs to be consistently mentioned across authoritative sources, with clear attributes that define what you do, where you operate, and why you are authoritative.

2. Citation authority

AI models prioritize sources that are frequently cited by other trusted sources. Building citation authority means getting your brand mentioned (not just linked to) in industry publications, expert roundups, comparison articles, and authoritative directories. It is the AI equivalent of backlinks.

3. Structured content

LLMs parse content differently than traditional search crawlers. They favour content that is clearly structured with definitive answers, factual claims backed by data, and logical hierarchies. FAQ schemas, how-to guides, and comparison content work well for GEO because they match the question-answer format LLMs are trained on.

GEO SEO vs AEO: are they the same?

GEO SEO (Generative Engine Optimization) and AEO (Answer Engine Optimization) are closely related but have slightly different focuses. AEO is specifically about optimizing for answer engines, platforms that directly answer user questions. GEO is broader, encompassing all generative AI platforms including those that create content, summaries, and recommendations.

In practice, most AI SEO strategies today combine both GEO and AEO techniques, as the platforms they target (ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overview) function as both generative engines and answer engines.

How to get started with GEO SEO

Implementing a GEO SEO strategy takes a systematic approach. Here are the key steps:

Audit your AI visibility. Search for your brand and key services in ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI Overview. Document where you appear and where competitors appear instead.
Map your entity gaps. Identify the entities (topics, attributes, relationships) that LLMs associate with your competitors but not with you.
Build your citation graph. Get your brand mentioned across authoritative third-party sources that LLMs trust and reference.
Optimize content structure. Restructure your website content with clear, factual, entity-rich information that LLMs can easily extract and cite.
Monitor and iterate. Track your citation share and answer share across AI platforms, and refine your strategy based on results.

GEO SEO and the shift in search

AI-powered search is growing, and the businesses that appear in AI-generated answers now will build an advantage as these platforms take on a larger share of search traffic. Waiting means catching up later.

If you have not started with GEO SEO yet, the practical first step is an AI visibility audit: search for your brand in ChatGPT and Perplexity, compare what comes up against your competitors, and work from there.

Fabian van Til

Founder, Akravo — AI Visibility Strategist

Fabian van Til is an AI visibility strategist and e-commerce entrepreneur. He built and sold a specialist SEO agency, scaled multiple brands from zero, and in 2024 discovered his own brands were invisible in AI search despite strong Google rankings. He spent months figuring out why — and built Akravo from that research.

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