Glossary
GEO (generative engine optimization)
Also called answer engine optimization (AEO). Noun. Pronounced as the letters G, E, O, or "gee-oh".
Visibility · AttractDefinition 48 words
Generative engine optimization (GEO) is the work of getting a business named inside the answer an AI assistant gives, such as ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Claude or Google AI Overviews, when a customer asks a question. For a business with locations it is done per location and per question.
In practice
Search engine optimization aims at a position on a page of links. GEO aims at a mention in a sentence. When a traveler asks "a boutique hotel near Covent Garden with late check-in", the assistant names two or three hotels with reasons. There is no page two, so the work is to be one of the few, for the questions that matter, in each engine.
The engines build answers from sources they trust: the Google Business Profile, review sites, directories, community threads and the business's own pages. GEO is mostly the work of making those sources complete, consistent and current, then checking who was named instead and why. Because every engine reads a slightly different mix, the answer, and the fix, differ by engine.
| Term | Aims at | Measured by |
|---|---|---|
| SEO | A position in a list of links on Google or Bing | Rank, clicks |
| Local SEO | A place in the map pack for searches with local intent | Maps rank from several points, calls, directions |
| GEO / AEO | Being named inside an AI assistant's answer | Named or not, position, description, who else was named |
AEO and GEO describe the same work. We use GEO on this site and treat AEO as a synonym.
Harbor Hotels (an invented example) has six properties. For "hotel near Marina Bay with a pool", Gemini names the Singapore property and Perplexity does not, because the pool attribute is missing from the sources Perplexity reads. Adding the attribute to the profile and the property page is the GEO fix for that one question, in that one engine.
Related terms
Visibility tracks this, per locationIt asks every engine the real questions for your category each week, records who was named and which sources were used, and tells you what to fix. Free for one location.
Read next: Generative engine optimization: how to get named by ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity, per location.
Related
All termsWhat GEO is, what the engines read, what works, and the weekly routine that keeps a location named.
Guide · Visibility · 20 minGoogle Business Profile auditScore one profile or your whole network, free.
Free tool · Reach · 2 minutesAI visibility checkerWhether ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Claude name you, and who they pick instead.
Free tool · Visibility · 1 minuteNever miss another customer.
Start with a free audit. See what each location is losing, and where.
Profile score, Maps rank against the top 3, and the fixes that matter most.
Or book a demo- Role-based access by region and brand
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