Three new acronyms have probably reached your inbox this year: GEO, AEO and LLM SEO. All three come down to one question that matters to your pipeline. When a buyer asks ChatGPT, Gemini or Google’s AI Overviews who to hire, does your business get named?
Generative engine optimisation is the work of making the answer yes. This guide explains each term in plain English, how they relate to the SEO you may already pay for, how to measure where you stand and what to do first. No promises nobody can keep.
Key takeaways
- GEO, AEO and LLM SEO describe the same goal: being cited and recommended by AI tools.
- Strong SEO fundamentals are still the foundation. Google says so in its own guidance.
- Clear facts, structured answers and genuine third-party mentions matter more than ever.
- AI visibility can be measured with a simple prompt set, checked every month.
- It is the next stage of SEO, not a separate discipline.
What is AI search optimisation?
AI search optimisation is the work of making your business easy for AI tools to find, understand, trust and name when a buyer asks a question. It covers ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Microsoft Copilot and the AI Overviews at the top of Google. The aim is to be inside the answer, not just in the list of links underneath it.
The behaviour behind it is already mainstream in the UK. Ofcom’s Online Nation 2025 report, published on 10 December 2025, found that about 30% of Google searches now show an AI overview, and 53% of UK adults say they see these summaries often.
The same report found that ChatGPT had 1.8 billion UK visits in the first eight months of 2025, up from 368 million in the same period of 2024. Most people are not hunting for AI answers. They are being handed them.
This matters commercially because an AI answer usually names a handful of businesses, not ten. If you are not one of them, the enquiry can go elsewhere before anyone reaches your website. That is a lead problem, not a technology problem.
We use AI search optimisation as the umbrella term for this work. Our AI search optimisation service covers both sides of it, the generative side and the answer engine side, because buyers use both.
What do generative engine optimisation, AEO and LLM SEO mean?
Generative engine optimisation (GEO) aims to get your business named and cited by AI tools that write answers, such as ChatGPT and Perplexity. Answer engine optimisation (AEO) structures your content so a search engine can lift a direct answer from it. LLM SEO is a looser label for the same work as GEO, aimed at large language models.
Generative engine optimisation (GEO)
A generative engine is any AI tool that writes a fresh answer by pulling information from several sources and summarising it. ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Copilot all work this way when they search the web.
GEO is about being trusted enough to be recommended. That means clear content, the same facts about your business everywhere they appear, and credible mentions on other reputable sites. Our page on generative engine optimisation goes deeper on the method.
Answer engine optimisation (AEO)
An answer engine is a search feature that gives a direct answer rather than a list of links. Google’s AI Overviews, featured snippets and voice assistants are the main ones. Answer engine optimisation is about being structured enough to be extracted.
In practice, AEO means question-led headings, a short and complete answer directly under each one, and accurate structured data. Structured data is code that labels facts such as your business name, services and FAQs for machines. Our answer engine optimisation page covers how we run it.
LLM SEO
An LLM, or large language model, is the technology behind tools such as ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude. LLM SEO is simply another name for GEO, used more often by technical teams. You may also see LLMO or AI SEO.
The names differ; the work does not.
AI visibility
AI visibility is how often, and how accurately, AI tools mention your business when buyers ask the questions you want to be found for. It is the measure, not the method. GEO and AEO are how you improve it.
How is AI search optimisation different from SEO?
AI search optimisation builds on SEO rather than replacing it. SEO earns positions in a list of links; AI search optimisation earns a mention inside a written answer. The foundations are shared: crawlable pages, helpful content and authority. What changes is the finish line, and how you measure whether you crossed it.
Google is unusually direct about this. Its guide to optimising for generative AI features says that, from Google Search’s point of view, optimising for generative AI search is still SEO.
The same guide lists things you can ignore for Google Search: llms.txt files, breaking content into tiny “chunks” for AI, and chasing inauthentic mentions. Useful context the next time someone sells you a shortcut.
What genuinely changes is the unit of success: a citation or mention, not a ranking position. The audience also includes tools beyond Google, each with its own crawler, and what other sites say about you carries more weight.
| Term | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| SEO | Ranking pages in Google and Bing | Fix technical health, content, links |
| AEO | Being lifted as a direct answer | Question headings, answer first |
| GEO | Being named in AI-written answers | Consistent facts, credible mentions |
| LLM SEO | Another name for GEO | Treat it as GEO, not a new budget |
| AI Overviews | Google’s AI summary above results | Stay indexed, answer clearly |
| AI visibility | How often AI tools name you | Track a fixed prompt set monthly |
Not sure whether AI tools mention you at all? Our free AI visibility audit shows which buyer questions name your business, which name a competitor instead, and what is holding you back.
Get your free AI visibility audit
How do AI tools decide which businesses to recommend?
AI tools recommend businesses they can find, understand and verify. In practice that comes down to five signals: content that answers questions clearly, consistent business facts across the web, credible third-party mentions, recent reviews, and pages that crawlers can actually read. None of them is a trick, and all of them take steady work.
Most AI search tools run searches in the background and summarise what they find. Google calls this grounding: its AI features retrieve pages from its search index, then write the answer with links to sources. A page that cannot be crawled cannot be cited.
Other tools run their own crawlers. OpenAI’s crawler documentation states that sites which opt out of its OAI-SearchBot crawler will not be shown in ChatGPT search answers. One line in a robots.txt file can quietly remove you.
Clear, structured answers
AI tools lift self-contained passages. Suppose the answer to “how much does office cleaning cost?” is scattered across three paragraphs and a pop-up. A competitor who answered it in 50 words under a clear heading is easier to quote.
Consistent facts about who you are
Your business name, address, services, sectors and founder should read the same way everywhere. That means your website, Google Business Profile, LinkedIn, Companies House and the directories that list you. Contradictions make you harder to pin down, and AI tools tend to name what they can confirm.
Credible third-party mentions
What other sites say about you counts for more than what you say about yourself. Trade press, partner and supplier sites, awards listings and industry directories all feed the picture. Keep it genuine: Google’s guidance is clear that inauthentic mentions are not as helpful as they might seem.
Recent reviews
Recommendation questions lean on reviews. Volume helps, but so do recency and spread across the platforms your sector uses.
Pages crawlers can read
Content that only appears after scripts run, or hides behind tabs and sliders, may be missed by some AI crawlers.
Imagine a hypothetical 20-person commercial cleaning firm in Leeds. It ranks well for “office cleaning Leeds”, but its website lists four service areas and its Google Business Profile lists six. No other site mentions it.
Asked for a reliable office cleaner in Leeds, an AI tool has little it can confirm, so it names a competitor whose details match everywhere. The ranking did not fail. The evidence did.
How do you measure AI visibility?
You measure AI visibility by asking AI tools the questions your buyers ask, on a fixed schedule, and recording what comes back. For each question, note whether you are mentioned, cited as a source or absent, and which competitors appear instead. Repeat monthly with the same prompts so the trend means something.
Build a prompt set
Write 15 to 30 questions in your buyers’ words. Mix three kinds:
- recommendation questions (“best commercial cleaning company in Manchester”)
- comparison questions (“in-house cleaning or contract cleaners?”)
- problem questions (“how do I reduce facilities costs in a multi-site business?”)
Record the same four things every time
For each prompt and tool, record whether you are mentioned, whether your site is linked as a source, whether the description is accurate, and which competitors are named. A spreadsheet is enough.
Add the data you already own
Google’s guidance points to the Generative AI performance report in Search Console for its own AI features. In Google Analytics, you can watch referral visits from sites such as chatgpt.com and perplexity.ai.
Then close the loop on revenue. Add “an AI tool, such as ChatGPT” as an option to the “how did you hear about us?” question on your enquiry form. Visibility only matters if it turns into leads.
Treat it as a trend, not a score
AI answers vary between runs, users and locations, and most AI tools do not publish citation data for website owners. A fixed prompt set, run consistently, beats a one-off screenshot.
For a quick first read, try our free AI visibility checker.
What should a small business do first?
Start with the basics that help Google and AI tools at the same time. Make sure your site can be crawled and your business facts match everywhere. Rewrite your key service pages so each question gets a direct answer, and set up a monthly prompt check. None of this needs a large budget, just care and consistency.
1. Check that crawlers can reach you
Confirm your robots.txt file is not blocking Googlebot, Bingbot or OAI-SearchBot, and that key content appears as text in the page.
2. Make your business facts match everywhere
Align your name, address, services and sectors across your website, Google Business Profile, LinkedIn and directories.
3. Rewrite your top service pages
Start with the five pages that bring in the most enquiries. Use question-led headings with a complete 40 to 60 word answer under each.
4. Add accurate structured data
Add Organisation and Service markup, plus FAQ markup where it fits. Google says it is not required for its AI features, but it supports rich results.
5. Ask for reviews
Ask satisfied clients for reviews on Google and the review sites your sector uses, steadily rather than in one burst.
6. Earn genuine third-party mentions
Aim for one credible mention a month: trade press, a partner case study, an awards entry or an industry directory.
7. Run a monthly prompt check
Run your prompt set each month and compare the results with your enquiry data.
These are owner-level decisions, not just technical tasks. Each one either makes it easier for an AI tool to name you or removes a reason to leave you out.
Do you need a specialist?
You do not need a specialist to start. Someone careful can do everything in the checklist in-house with a few hours a month. Specialist help earns its place in three situations: the basics are done and you are still absent from AI answers, competitors keep being named instead, or nobody has time to measure it properly.
If you do bring someone in, look for three things. They should treat AI search optimisation as an extension of SEO, not a replacement for it. They should report on mentions, citations and enquiries, not just rankings. And they should never guarantee a ChatGPT recommendation, a citation or a first page ranking, because nobody can.
As Marcus puts it, “AI tools are summarising what the web already says about you. Our job is to make sure what it says is clear, consistent and true.”
At Lobo Digital, a senior marketer runs AI search optimisation, with 10+ years in B2B marketing, seven of them in-house across facilities management, commercial cleaning and property. The person you brief is the person who does the work, in sectors we have worked inside rather than read about.
We use AI to remove the production grind, so your budget buys judgement rather than juniors. A senior marketer sets the strategy, approves every piece of work and owns the outcome. Pricing is £62.50 per hour plus VAT, in blocks of 15, 25, 40 or 65 hours a month, on a minimum three-month term.
Frequently asked questions
What is generative engine optimisation?
Generative engine optimisation (GEO) is the work of making your business more likely to be named and cited by AI tools that write answers, such as ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity. It focuses on clear, well-structured content, consistent facts about your business across the web, and credible mentions on other reputable sites. It builds on SEO rather than replacing it.
Is GEO different from SEO?
GEO is an extension of SEO, not a separate discipline. Google’s own guidance says that optimising for its generative AI features is still SEO, because those features rely on its core ranking systems. What changes is the goal. SEO earns a position in a list of links, while GEO earns a mention or citation inside an AI-written answer, measured with a prompt set rather than rank tracking.
What is LLM SEO?
LLM SEO is another name for generative engine optimisation. LLM stands for large language model, the technology behind tools such as ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude. The work is the same: make your content clear and crawlable, keep your business facts consistent, and earn genuine mentions on reputable sites. Treat it as one piece of work, not a separate budget line.
How do I get my business recommended by ChatGPT?
Nobody can guarantee a ChatGPT recommendation, but you can remove the reasons you are left out. Allow OpenAI’s OAI-SearchBot in your robots.txt file and answer buyer questions clearly on your key pages. Keep your business details consistent everywhere, build recent reviews and earn credible third-party mentions. Then track a fixed set of prompts monthly to see whether you are being named.
How do I measure AI visibility?
Build a set of 15 to 30 questions your buyers genuinely ask, and run them through the main AI tools each month. Record whether you are mentioned, cited as a source or absent, and who appears instead. Add Google Search Console’s Generative AI performance report, AI referral traffic in Google Analytics and an “AI tool” option on your enquiry form.
Ready to see what AI tools say about you?
Find out how ChatGPT, Gemini and Google’s AI Overviews answer your buyers’ questions today, who they name instead of you, and what it would take to close the gap. The audit is free, and you keep the findings whether or not you work with us.
Get your free AI visibility audit
