What is GEO (generative engine optimization)?

Why does GEO matter now?

People ask assistants the same things they used to type into a search box. "Who is a good plumber near me?" "Which roofer in Pasadena does tile?" The assistant reads the web, picks a few businesses, and writes an answer. Often it names three or four options and stops there.

That shift is already measurable. In BrightLocal's Local Consumer Review Survey (February 2026), 45% of consumers said they now use AI tools like ChatGPT to find local businesses, up from 6% a year earlier. Google has moved the same way. Alphabet reported in its Q2 2026 earnings that more than a billion people use AI Mode every month.

When an AI answer sits at the top of the page, fewer people click the links below it. Ahrefs found in a study of 300,000 keywords (February 2026) that the top Google result gets 58% fewer clicks when an AI Overview appears. So being the business named inside the answer matters more than it did.

Google still matters too. The same BrightLocal survey found 71% of consumers still use Google to check reviews. GEO is not a replacement for search. It is a second front.

How do AI assistants decide what to say about a business?

There is no public rulebook, and each assistant works a little differently. But the broad pattern is consistent. When an assistant searches the live web, it pulls a handful of sources, reads them, and summarizes what they agree on.

That means a few things tend to help:

• Clear, crawlable pages. If your services, area and hours live in an image or a PDF, an assistant may not read them.
• Consistent facts. If your site says one set of hours and your Google profile says another, the assistant has to guess.
• Answers to real questions. A page that plainly says "we repair tankless water heaters in Long Beach" is easier to quote than a page that says "comprehensive plumbing services."
• Other sources that agree with you. Directories, review sites, local news and industry lists all count as outside confirmation.

None of this is a trick. It is the same thing a careful person would do if asked to recommend a business: check a few sources and go with what lines up.

What does GEO work actually include?

In practice, most GEO work for a small or local business falls into six jobs.

1. Fix the facts at the source. Name, address, phone, hours, service area and services, stated the same way on your site, your Google Business Profile, and the main directories.
2. Publish a business facts page. One plain page that says who you are, what you do, where, and how to reach you. We wrote a template and example.
3. Write answer-shaped content. Service pages and FAQs that answer the questions customers actually ask, in plain sentences an assistant can lift.
4. Add structured data. Schema markup like Organization, LocalBusiness, Service and FAQPage, tested so it validates. See our schema checklist for contractors.
5. Earn outside mentions. Accurate listings and mentions on credible sites that an assistant might read.
6. Check what assistants say. Ask the questions your customers ask, read the answers, and fix whatever is wrong at the source.

The last step is the one most businesses skip. You cannot fix what you have not looked at.

How is GEO different from SEO?

SEO aims to rank a page in a list of links. GEO aims to get your business named, and described correctly, inside a written answer. The groundwork overlaps a lot. Fast pages, clear structure and good content help both.

The differences are in emphasis. GEO cares more about facts being identical everywhere, about pages that state things plainly enough to quote, and about what other sites say about you. A page can rank well and still be hard for an assistant to summarize if the key facts are buried. We compare the two in more depth in SEO vs GEO for local businesses.

What does GEO not do?

It does not buy a placement. No one can pay ChatGPT or Gemini to be recommended in a normal answer, and no agency controls what an assistant says. Be wary of anyone who promises a spot.

It also does not replace being good at the work. Assistants lean on reviews and outside mentions. A business with a thin reputation will struggle no matter how tidy its schema is.

And it is not a one-time project. Assistants change, your hours change, directories drift. GEO works best as a habit of checking and correcting.

Where should a small business start?

Start by looking. Ask ChatGPT, Gemini or Google the question a customer would ask, like "best electrician in Anaheim for a panel upgrade." Note whether you appear, what it says about you, and which sources it cites.

Then fix the basics in this order:

1. Make your name, address, phone and hours identical on your site and your Google Business Profile.
2. Make sure each main service has its own page that says what you do and where.
3. Add a short business facts page and link to it from your footer.
4. Check that your site can be crawled, with text on the page rather than inside images.

That is a solid first month for most owners. If you want a faster read on where you stand, our free AI visibility check asks Claude and Gemini the question your customers would ask, with live web search on, and shows you the full answers.

When you are ready for help with the ongoing work, see how we approach AI search (GEO) and what pricing looks like.