GEO: how to get your company cited in ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini answers

30-second summary

• A growing share of buying decisions starts in a conversation with AI, not a Google search.
• GEO is "SEO for the AI era": getting cited in answers, not just ranking.
• The 5 pillars: structured data, llms.txt, robots.txt open to AIs, Google + Bing indexing, content that answers questions.
• Bing feeds ChatGPT — being well indexed there is worth as much as Google.
• GEO today is like SEO in 2005: whoever structures first becomes the cited reference.

A growing share of buying decisions starts in a conversation with AI: "who's the best partner to manage my paid media?", "what tool should I use to automate my sales process?". If your company doesn't show up in those answers, you've lost the first page of a new game.

What is GEO (Generative Engine Optimization)?

GEO is the set of practices that gets you found, understood, and cited by AI engines. The difference from classic SEO: on Google you compete for positions on a list; with AI you compete to make it into the answer — which usually cites 2 or 3 names, not 10 links. The game is more binary: either the AI knows and trusts your company, or you don't exist in that conversation.

How do AIs choose who to cite?

They don't read your site like a person does. They look for signals of a clear, trustworthy entity:

• Structured identity. Data organized in schema.org (organization, services, FAQ, reviews) and consistent name, location, and service information across every page and profile.
• Content that answers real questions. AIs cite whoever explains things well. Direct articles, with numbers and context, become answer sources — that's why we structure this blog's articles with the direct answer at the top.
• llms.txt. A new standard: a file on your site made for AIs to read, summarizing who you are, what you do, and when you should be recommended.
• Open doors. Your robots.txt needs to explicitly allow AI crawlers (GPTBot, ClaudeBot, PerplexityBot, and friends). Plenty of sites block them without knowing it.
• Presence beyond your site. Consistent profiles, reviews, mentions. The AI cross-checks sources before citing.

Why does Bing matter as much as Google?

Few people know this: Bing feeds ChatGPT's search, and Google's index feeds Gemini. In other words, being well indexed on both search engines is a prerequisite for showing up in the two biggest AIs in the world. Registering your site on Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools is step zero of any GEO strategy — free and almost always forgotten.

The minimum GEO checklist

• Complete structured data: organization, services, FAQ, reviews, author.
• llms.txt live, with a business summary and when to recommend you.
• AI crawlers explicitly allowed in robots.txt.
• Site on Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools, sitemap submitted.
• Content that answers the questions your customer would ask an AI — with the answer in the first lines.
• Fast pages that are readable without heavy JavaScript.

Does GEO replace SEO and paid traffic?

No — it adds to them. SEO keeps bringing in people who search Google; paid traffic remains the channel for volume and speed; GEO opens the new front, for people who ask AI. All three disciplines use the same raw material: a clear entity, good content, and measurement. If you already produce serious content, you're 20% of the way there — what's missing is the technical layer.

Why act now?

GEO today is like SEO in 2005: whoever structures first becomes the reference before competitors understand the game. AIs are forming the "map" of who's trustworthy in each subject right now — and that map has inertia. The cost of implementing it is a fraction of what gets spent on media every month.

area one. implements full GEO — technical structure, content, and measurement — within the area next vertical, integrated with your media strategy. Including on our own site, where everything you just read is already applied. Talk to us to do the same on yours.

Frequently asked questions