AI overviews and assistants summarise answers instead of listing links. Here is how content gets selected as a source — and what to change on your site.
Key takeaways
- AI systems favour clearly structured, factual, well-attributed content.
- Short answer blocks near the top of a page increase citation odds.
- Structured data helps machines understand entities and relationships.
- Brand mentions across trusted sites influence what models associate with you.
What generative engine optimisation actually means
Generative engine optimisation, or GEO, is the practice of making your content easy for AI answer engines to retrieve, quote and attribute. It does not replace SEO — the retrieval layer behind most AI answers is still a search index — but it changes what a winning page looks like.
Write answers before you write prose
Lead each page with a concise, self-contained answer of two to four sentences that would make sense if lifted out of context. Follow it with the depth, evidence and nuance a human reader wants. This structure serves both audiences.
- Add an 'at a glance' or 'quick answer' block near the top
- Use question-shaped headings that match how people ask
- State specifics: numbers, locations, timeframes, conditions
- Cite sources so claims can be verified
Make your entities machine-readable
Publish Organization, WebSite, Service and FAQPage structured data so machines can connect your brand to the services you offer and the areas you serve. Keep names, addresses and descriptions identical across your site, your Google Business Profile and any directory listings.
Build mentions, not just links
Language models learn associations from text across the open web. Guest articles, podcast appearances, directory profiles and press coverage all reinforce which topics your brand should be linked to, even where no link is present.
Frequently asked questions
- Should I block AI crawlers?
- If visibility in AI answers is a goal, allow reputable AI crawlers in robots.txt. Blocking them removes you from the pool of citable sources.
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