GEO: the new SEO for the ChatGPT era (and why it matters now)

What is GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) and how does it differ from SEO?

With classic SEO, the user sees a link in position 3 and clicks, or not. With GEO (Generative Engine Optimization), the AI directly cites a brand, a statistic or a definition in its answer — the user consumes the information without ever clicking, but associates the knowledge with the cited source.

Why are people turning to ChatGPT instead of Google?

A study by OpenAI's economic research team and Harvard economist David Deming, published by the NBER in September 2025, shows that "practical guidance", "seeking information" and "writing" together account for nearly 80% of ChatGPT conversations (NBER) — users now treat AI as a full-fledged search tool, not just a creative assistant. Gartner, for its part, predicted in February 2024 a 25% drop in traditional search volume by 2026 in favour of AI chatbots (Gartner) — a forecast that remains debated.

How does a brand get cited by ChatGPT and AI engines?

Which factors decide a citation: Reddit, listicles, query length

AI engines have measurable preferences: Reddit ranks first or second among cited domains on all five platforms studied, and about one citation in ten comes from a self-promotional "listicle" (Peec AI, analysis of 30 million cited sources, 31 March 2026). Query length also matters: according to the same study, the share of queries that trigger an AI Overview rises from 64.6% for a 2-word query to 89.1% for an 11-to-15-word query.

How to adapt your content to GEO: self-contained blocks, clear answers, sources

Structuring text into self-contained, directly citable blocks (a clear answer, a sourced figure, a table) is in line with what Google recommends for its AI features: content written for a human audience, well organised into paragraphs, sections and headings, and grounded in real expertise (Google Search Central). Structural clarity beats volume of text.

What does a brand risk when AI never cites it?

Content that's never cited as a source simply doesn't exist in the "cognitive map" the AI builds on a topic during its synthesis phase — whatever the content's real quality otherwise.

Comparison table — classic SEO vs. GEO

What do research and field experience say about GEO?

Where GEO comes from: the Princeton study (up to +40% visibility)

The term GEO comes from a study by researchers (IIT Delhi, Princeton and other institutions), published in 2023 and then accepted at the KDD 2024 conference: it shows that suitable optimisation can increase a piece of content's visibility in generative engine answers by up to 40% (Aggarwal et al., arXiv). It's the most solid basis available to date, even though the field is still young.

Cited or ignored content: why optimise for long, precise queries

Beyond the self-contained block structure already mentioned, query length and precision play an underestimated role: according to Peec AI, the share of queries that trigger an AI Overview rises from 64.6% for a two-word query to 89.1% for an 11-to-15-word query. Concretely, this means content optimised for long, precise queries — the ones actually asked by someone looking for a detailed answer — has mechanically more chance of being picked up by generative engines than content built around generic keywords.

Is GEO a technical box to tick once? No: tracking is continuous

Many still think GEO is a technical box to tick once and for all. It isn't: market shares between ChatGPT, Perplexity and Gemini shift from one quarter to the next, and content cited today may no longer be in six months without any mistake having been made in between. Regular tracking isn't a comfort option, it's a condition for keeping the visibility you've earned.

Is GEO just a fad? Why start now

Classic SEO took fifteen years to settle into recognised practices. GEO is in its first two years of documented existence. The vocabulary, the tools and even the reference metrics are still evolving from one month to the next. That's not a reason to ignore it — it's the opposite: it's the moment when getting started costs the least, before the practice becomes standardised and competitors catch up with the lead that's still possible to take today.

Keep reading: structuring content, measuring AI visibility, tools

→ GEO: how to structure content so AI cites it — the concrete method, rule by rule.

→ SEO for beginners: how you actually get found on Google — the foundation GEO builds on.

→ GEO and AI visibility, my services — the overview page on the topic.