Guide · GEO

What is GEO (generative engine optimization)?

By Kristian Stig Henriksen · Dear Future

GEO (generative engine optimization) is the work of making your brand visible in the answers AI assistants like ChatGPT, Gemini and Google AI Overviews give. Where SEO is about being found in a list of links, GEO is about being named, cited and recommended inside the answer itself. The term comes from research: a 2024 study named the discipline and showed that how content is written measurably changes how visible it is in generative answers.

Why GEO exists: search is becoming conversation

Your customers have started asking an assistant before they ask a search engine. Gartner predicted as early as 2024 that classic search volume drops 25% in 2026 as chatbots take over, and Google itself has moved search toward AI-generated overviews. An assistant's answer is not ten blue links; it is one coherent recommendation, and your brand is either in it or it is not.

That changes the job. In a link list you can sit fourth and still get the click. In an AI answer there are typically two or three names, and the rest do not exist for the buyer. So the first thing to know is whether you are one of the names, before you decide what to do about it.

GEO vs. SEO: what is the difference?

SEO optimizes for an algorithm that ranks pages; GEO optimizes for a model that writes answers. They share a foundation: a technically sound site, clear structure, content that answers real questions. But they differ in three places. The measurement: SEO is measured in positions and clicks, GEO in mentions, citations and share of voice inside the answers. The unit: SEO is about ranking a page, GEO is about a brand being named, even when the link is missing. The source: assistants read with web search and pick the sources a precise answer is easiest to extract from.

GEO does not replace SEO. A page that never gets crawled never gets cited either. Think of it as two layers: SEO makes you available, GEO makes you the one the answer points at.

How to work with GEO: five steps

1. Measure the starting point before you change anything. Find the buyer questions that matter in your category and see who the assistants actually name and cite today. Without a baseline you cannot tell whether anything works.
2. Write answers that can be extracted. Open every important page with the direct answer to the page's question, in the first few sentences. Models cite the sources where the answer is stated plainly, not where it hides in paragraph seven.
3. Make the structure machine-readable. One H1, questions as headings, fact boxes, structured data (schema.org) that mirrors the visible content. It helps both crawlers and models understand what the page claims.
4. Be present in the sources the answers are built on. Assistants often cite comparisons, directories and trade articles. Make sure your brand appears correctly wherever your category is described.
5. Measure daily, and react to developments, not swings. The models change continuously. A one-off audit is a photo; a daily one is a time-lapse where you can see whether your changes move anything.

Does GEO work in Denmark?

Yes, and right now the timing is unusual. Danish answers are dominated by a handful of sources, because few Danish companies work on this systematically yet. At the same time, AI Overviews have started appearing on more Danish searches. Whoever defines and answers the category's questions in Danish first becomes the source the assistants reach for.

GEO, AEO, AI SEO and LLM SEO: four names, one question

The field goes by several names: GEO (generative engine optimization), AEO (answer engine optimization), AI SEO and LLM SEO. The names cover the same question: how visible is your brand in the answers AI assistants give? We use them interchangeably on this site and measure the same thing regardless of the name.

Next step: read the guide to measuring AI visibility and the LLM SEO guide, or see the method behind the numbers.

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