Where does the term come from?
The term was coined in a research paper on generative engine optimization that tested which changes to a page made AI-written answers more likely to cite it. The name stuck as AI assistants started answering questions that used to end in a list of search results.
How is GEO different from SEO?
| SEO | GEO | |
|---|---|---|
| Aims for | A place in search results | A mention or citation in an AI answer |
| First reader | A search engine | An AI model |
| Built on | Crawlable, relevant pages | The same, plus answers worth quoting |
What does GEO look like on a page?
- The answer to the page’s question in its first two sentences
- Headings written as the questions people ask
- Facts with their sources named
- Lists and tables where the content is list-shaped
- Structured data that matches the page
- A short summary a person can read in ten seconds
Every page in reddysite’s answers follows that shape. What schema markup is covers structured data.
Does GEO replace SEO?
GEO doesn’t replace SEO. AI search tools often start from a search index, so a page that can’t be crawled or indexed is unlikely to be quoted. Google says its AI features have no requirements beyond ordinary SEO best practices. Technical SEO, clear writing and accurate markup serve both.
Who decides what an AI assistant quotes?
The company behind each AI assistant decides which sources it reads and quotes, and those choices change often. GEO makes a page easier to use. It can’t make an assistant choose it. Asking a few assistants about your business each month shows whether anything changed. How reddysite builds for search and AI lists what every site carries, and what llms.txt is covers one more file some tools read.