GEO instead of SEO – a new direction in optimization

Hello, community! Trends always dictate the rules we have to follow. Right now, we are facing another necessity: optimizing websites not only for search engines, but also for generative engines. This even has its own term — GEO, or Generative Engine Optimization. What it is and how it works — we explain in our review.  

Before we begin, let us remind you that we have already discussed whether ChatGPT can replace Google. We recommend checking it out! 

What is GEO? 

GEO, short for Generative Engine Optimization, is the process of optimizing page content for artificial intelligence. Its goal is to increase a brand’s presence in tools like ChatGPT and Gemini by getting featured in AI-generated answers. 

This is an extremely new field and still largely unexplored. While we have gradually become familiar with Google’s algorithms and have learned to build certain promotion strategies that actually work, AI-generated results remain more complex and less predictable. That is why you can see many parallels between GEO and traditional SEO. There are two reasons for this: 

1. AI models really do follow a similar principle when deciding where to source key answers from. They mostly rely on the top search engine results for the main query. In other words, if a user asks which table is best to buy, ChatGPT is highly likely to include information from the website that ranks first in Google for the same query. 
2. There are no real alternatives yet. It may sound disappointing, but there are simply no specific proven examples of how to optimize a website specifically for AI. Some techniques can already be identified, but there is no comprehensive strategy yet. 

Importantly, GEO can also apply to other types of content, not just text. This is where it differs significantly from SEO. An AI model can pull information not only from blog pages, but even from videos on YouTube. This creates certain opportunities that may eventually turn into a completely new way to promote products through video plus AI-generated results. For now, however, this remains mostly theoretical.  

GEO can help generate additional traffic. Although clicks on links inside AI tools are still not that frequent, this may change in the future. In general, GEO does not interfere with SEO promotion in any way. So essentially, it is an opportunity to kill two birds with one stone and attract even more users to your pages without extra effort. 

How does GEO work? 

Certain patterns in optimizing pages for AI-generated results can already be observed. In fact, they form the foundation of what is now called GEO. To increase your chances of appearing in tools like ChatGPT, you should pay attention to the following details: 

1. The text must be unique. This rule is equally useful for any type of promotion. 
2. Authority and expertise. These can be strengthened by integrating opinions from other people into your materials — those who can act as actual experts. It is also worth using not just plain text, but statistics that support your ideas and claims. This is another sign of expert-level content. 
3. Structure. Walls of text do not rank well, neither in search engines nor in AI-generated answers. You need to use lists, tables, and basic subheadings. 
4. Keywords. The text should contain the phrases your content is supposed to rank for, just like in traditional search.  
5. Ready-made answers for AI. You need to analyze what exactly a user should ask in order to see your website in the answer. Based on that, formulate the same answer and gently integrate it into the content. This works very well.  

So essentially, we are dealing with the same methods that are relevant for SEO. The only difference is that SEO is still a more complex process. 

There is nothing strange about this. As we said earlier, AI relies on traditional methods of ranking answers. It considers how relevant the information is to the user’s query and then analyzes the quality of that information. The main criteria remain the same: uniqueness and expertise of the text, as well as the authority of the resource itself. 

How important is GEO in 2026? 

GEO is undoubtedly an important process. However, right now it is often described almost as a fundamental shift, where everyone should focus specifically on GEO while SEO can be pushed aside. Of course, that is not the case at all. 

Claims like “if you are not in AI, your business does not exist” are an exaggeration. At least for now. Although AI is gradually accumulating more queries and answers, it still does not come close to Google in scale. 

At the same time, we should also consider that Google itself includes AI-generated answers in search results. Getting into that block can already provide a serious boost. This is why GEO is still worth paying attention to. However, other methods of content optimization should not be ignored either.  

Although we titled this material “GEO instead of SEO”, in reality, these two processes should happen in parallel. And since they do not contradict each other in any way, there should be no issues with that. But double profit is absolutely possible. 

What do you think about this? How often do you click the links that ChatGPT adds to its answers? Share your thoughts in our Telegram community, where we always cover the most interesting things from the world of affiliate marketing! 

Sincerely, Your Geek! 

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