Every term in generative engine optimisation, defined in one or two plain sentences — the way an engine can lift them.
Making a business visible and citable to AI answer engines (ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Google's AI) — the successor discipline to SEO. Where SEO targets ranked links, GEO targets being named in the answer itself. Full framework →
Whether AI engines actually name your business when a customer asks a buying question. Measured, not estimated — an engine either says your name or it doesn't. Check yours free →
How well your site and entity are built for AI to find, trust and cite you: crawler access, structured data, quotable content, independent mentions. You can be ready but not yet visible — readiness is the lever that earns visibility.
An AI system that answers questions directly (ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Google's AI Overviews) instead of returning links. Answer engines name two or three businesses, not ten blue links — you're one of them or you're invisible.
Google's AI-generated answer box above the traditional results. It absorbs clicks that used to go to websites; being cited inside it is the new position one.
A machine-readable summary of a site published at /llms.txt for AI agents and tools. A low-effort completeness signal — the major AI search engines don't rely on it yet.
The bots engines use to read the web: GPTBot (OpenAI), ClaudeBot (Anthropic), PerplexityBot, Google-Extended. If robots.txt or a firewall blocks them, those engines can't read or cite you at all.
The machine-readable identity of a business — Wikidata, Google's Knowledge Graph, a government registry (ABN), consistent schema. Engines recommend entities they can resolve and trust; no entity anchor means they hedge and name someone else.
How often independent websites name your business. The single strongest correlate of AI recommendations — engines trust what OTHER sites say about you far more than your own copy.
The sources an AI answer references. Every citation of a directory, review site or article naming you is a vote; the citation game plan in a report lists the exact sources AI trusts in your niche.
Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trust — the credential signals (About page, named people, reviews, track record) an engine weighs before putting its name behind a recommendation.
Structured data that states your business facts — name, location, services, hours — in a format AI parses without guessing. Organization/LocalBusiness markup is how a model confirms what you are before it recommends you.