What is Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO), and does your website need it?
6 days ago
6 min read
0
1
0
Whether you’re a professional copywriter or a business owner looking to outsource your content, GEO was the hot topic of 2025, and it’s continuing to be relevant in 2026. But what the heck is GEO, and is it more important than Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)?
Join your friendly neighbourhood word witches on a deep-dive into the world of Generative Engine Optimisation. And don’t worry, we promise it’s not as scary as it sounds!
What is Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO) in AI?
Love it, loathe it, or feel indifferent about it, there’s no getting away from the presence of generative artificial intelligence (Gen AI) on any digital platform. It’s used to create images, write content, and, most pertinently to this article, answer questions.
So, in a nutshell, Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO) is a way of measuring and improving how online content (like your website landing pages) are summarised by AI platforms and presented to a user asking a question. With this in mind, you might also see GEO referred to as AEO (Answer Engine Optimisation).
Remember: It’s important to note that optimising your content for Gen AI platforms doesn’t necessarily mean using AI to create it.
How is GEO different from SEO?
GEO and SEO both help your content get noticed, but through different methods.
GEO is all about optimising a brand or website for visibility in Gen AI results. SEO, on the other hand, is about gaining visibility on organic search engine results pages (SERPs).
For users who find Google search results cluttered with so many results and paid ads, Gen AI search platforms pull the information through into a cleaner, more minimalist setting.
A good way to look at it is that SEO focuses on helping a searcher answer one question at a time. GEO anticipates a user’s next question and multiple queries, delivering context-rich answers. In summary:
SEO gives results
GEO gives answers
Is GEO replacing SEO?
In short, no. GEO isn’t a replacement for SEO. In fact, Search Engine Optimisation provides the foundations for GEO, and the two processes are essentially evolving alongside each other.
What’s more, AI models pull information from websites and search engines, so strong SEO positions your site as a reliable source that’s more likely to rank on Gen AI platforms.
With a hybrid approach that optimises your website for both search engines and Gen AI, you can provide:
The results search engine users are looking for; and
The answers AI users are looking for.
How to balance GEO and SEO best practices
Now, how do you apply GEO and SEO? As you’ll see, there are lots of crossovers and the following best practices are closely linked.
Create AI-ready content
You want to make sure Gen AI platforms can easily identify and summarise your content. One way to do this is to ensure your content is accessible and uses natural language. It should be concise and conversational, and directly answer user questions where possible (for example, through FAQ sections).
While this is central to GEO, don’t forget that long-tail questions and People Also Ask (PAA) sections on Google have also been a longstanding pillar of SEO.
Incorporate keywords
As you may already be aware, keywords are a big part of SEO, and they certainly can make a difference to your web copy. Optimising your copy with terms that users are genuinely searching for helps search engines and Gen AI platforms recognise your content as relevant. Incorporate high search volume and long-tail search terms into your copy naturally, without keyword stuffing. (P.S. If you’re unsure where to start, we can help! Feel free to get in touch, and we can assist with creating an effective keyword strategy).
Demonstrate E-E-A-T
Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness, or E-E-A-T is a key SEO principle that will also boost your GEO. Your copy should show that you have real-world knowledge of the topic and position you as an authority in your field. All of this indicates that your content is accurate, trustworthy, and deserving of a spot high up on the SERPs and Gen AI ranking algorithms.
Highlight topical expertise by grouping content
A good way to showcase your expertise and authority is to create content pillars of interlinked topics. This will also help Gen AI platforms provide searchers with context-rich answers.
Identify and fill content gaps
It’s always a good idea to review your content regularly to spot any gaps. Regularly checking AI-generated responses to industry questions can help highlight missing topics in the same way Google’s People Also Ask (PAA) highlights user search intent.
Be aware of community conversations
From Instagram and LinkedIn to Reddit threads, it’s important to be aware of relevant online discussions. This will help you see what people actually want to know, so you can make sure your content answers their questions in a clear and concise way.
Embrace images, videos, and infographics
Including useful media will help create content that is scannable and easy to digest. It’s a win-win for readers and AI tools!
Include high-quality links
Both search engines and Gen AI platforms value accurate content from reputable sources. You can back up your facts, claims, and statistics by including links to credible sites.
Common examples of credible sites include the NHS, Gov.UK, academic databases, and educational institutions such as universities.
Remember the technical side
On-page content is certainly a big part of boosting your SEO and GEO, but it’s not the whole story. You also need to think about how you deliver that content and the user experience it offers.
It’s also important to:
Optimise page speed
Ensure mobile-friendliness
Using clear heading structures
Add schema markup where appropriate
Ensuring accessibility
When your website is technically sound, it makes it easier for both search engines and Gen AI platforms to crawl, understand, and recommend your content.
Ensure all written content is well-structured and high-quality
You want your copy to appeal to humans first and foremost — after all, they are your true audience. However, you also want to appeal to machines. With high-quality content that brings genuine value to the reader, you can master the former. Start with blogs, landing pages, and other web copy that’s designed to answer real questions clearly and confidently, not just chase algorithms.
And by optimising the structure, you can support the latter. Logical headings, short, easy-to-read paragraphs, and consistent formatting all improve readability.
Does your business need to consider GEO?
So, as we tie it all together, is GEO more important than SEO in 2026? Not quite, but it is becoming part of how good SEO shows up. Generative Engine Optimisation reflects a shift in how people search and how answers are delivered, but not necessarily what or why they are searching.
This leads us to another big question: Is GEO something you need to think about for your website?
You should absolutely be aware of GEO if your website aims to inform, educate, or answer questions. Generative AI platforms are increasingly summarising and serving up content that answers a question before a human even clicks through.
If you want your brand’s wisdom to be part of that answer, then GEO will help Gen AI platforms recognise you as a valuable source. As for how this intertwines with SEO, well, if you’ve already got strong SEO foundations, keep doing what you’re doing! As long as your content is genuinely helpful, well-structured, and rooted in real expertise, you’re already partway there.
GEO just encourages you to be a little more intentional about clarity, context, and usefulness, so it’s worth being aware of a few extra practices that can help your website be visible to Gen AI platforms, too.
Need a hand with SEO and GEO? Summon The Content Coven
As professional copywriters, optimising landing pages and crafting engaging blog articles is our bread and butter. We’re also confident that SEO is still relevant and valuable for a broad range of businesses. It also underpins GEO. We see the two as working in tandem, rather than competing.
If you’re in need of some extra guidance on all things SEO and GEO, we’re here to help. Learn more about our content and copywriting services, and find handy insights on our blog.
You’re also more than welcome to get in touch to have a chat about how we can boost your website’s rankings. Contact Mol and Tansy or email hello@thecontentcoven — we’ll be in touch as soon as possible.
