Where the term comes from
The name comes from a 2023 research paper by researchers at Princeton, Georgia Tech, the Allen Institute for AI and IIT Delhi, later published at the KDD 2024 conference. They built a benchmark of queries, tested ways of rewriting source pages, and measured how often each page showed up in AI-generated answers. Adding citations, quotations and statistics did best, and the authors report visibility gains of up to 40% on their benchmark.
That is one controlled study, not a guarantee. AI assistants change how they search and cite often, so treat GEO as a set of habits rather than a formula.
How GEO differs from SEO
A search results page shows ten links and lets the reader choose. An AI answer reads several sources and writes one response, often naming a few products and citing a few pages. Being on the page the assistant reads matters, and so does how your product is described across the web, because the answer is built from what other sites say about you as well as what you say.
When assistants search the web live, they lean on pages that already rank. So classic SEO still feeds GEO: a page that ranks for a query is more likely to be read when an assistant answers it.
What helps with GEO
- Be on the pages answers draw from. Best-of lists, comparison and alternatives pages, and reviews are where assistants look when someone asks which tool to use. Getting into best-of lists and review sites vs editorial lists cover how.
- Describe yourself the same way everywhere. A consistent one-line description of who you're for makes it easier for a model to place you.
- Write pages that answer directly. A clear definition, specific facts and cited numbers are easier to quote than marketing copy.
- Earn mentions, not only links. A citation without a link still shapes what models say about you.
Measuring it
There is no Search Console for AI answers yet. The practical approach is to ask the assistants the questions your buyers ask, on a schedule, and note which brands and pages they name. Perplexity and Google's AI Overviews show their sources, which tells you which pages to get onto. Getting your brand named in AI answers has a step-by-step version.
Where link building fits
Most of the pages AI assistants cite for "best tool for X" questions are the same lists, comparisons and guides that link outreach targets. BacklinkGenie finds those posts in your niche and pitches the editor of each one, so a single mention can do both jobs: a backlink for search, and a line in the source an assistant reads.
Example
When someone asks an assistant for the best notes app for researchers, Margin wants to be one of the products it names, and one of the pages it cites to list Margin.
Putting it into practice
Where to use it: How to get listed in best-of articles and Link prospecting search strings. For the longer version, read getting your brand named in AI search answers.