GENERATIVE & ANSWER ENGINE OPTIMIZATION
AI Search Optimization Services:
GEO & AEO
ELMNTL’s AI search optimization services help your brand get mentioned and cited when people ask ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Perplexity, Claude and Gemini for recommendations. Through generative engine optimization (GEO) and answer engine optimization (AEO), we make your business easy for AI systems to find, understand, trust and recommend.
17%
of sites ranking on page one get cited for AI Search.
84%
of AI citations stem from earned media and not the website.
10-20%
estimated businesses that have an AI Search strategy in their workflow.
23x
conversion rate of AI search visitors compared to traditional search.
DEFINITION
What Is Generative Engine Optimization (GEO)?
Up to 40%
increase in website visibility with a dedicated GEO optimization strategy
Generative engine optimization (GEO) is the practice of improving how often, and how favorably, AI systems mention and cite your brand when they generate answers. Instead of competing for one of ten blue links, you’re competing to be one of the few sources an AI engine references when it writes a response.
The term comes from a 2023 research paper by a team from Princeton, IIT Delhi and other institutions, later presented at KDD 2024. Testing thousands of queries, the researchers found that adding sourced statistics, quotations and citations to content lifted its visibility in generative answers by up to 40%, and by up to 37% on Perplexity. Old-school keyword stuffing didn’t help. In other words, AI engines reward content that is specific, credible and easy to quote.
GEO applies those findings across your whole presence: your website, your brand facts, your structured data, and what other trusted sites say about you.
DEFINITION
What Is Answer Engine Optimization (AEO)?
Answer engine optimization (AEO) is the practice of structuring content so search engines and AI assistants can pull a direct answer from it. AEO predates generative AI. It began with featured snippets, People Also Ask boxes and voice assistants, and it focuses on clear questions, concise answers and the markup that helps machines read them.
Today, AEO and GEO overlap heavily. AEO makes your pages answerable; GEO makes your brand the source AI chooses to recommend. A strong AI search program does both.
AEO
Makes your pages answerable.
GEO
Makes your brand the source AI chooses to recommend.
COMPARE
GEO vs. AEO vs. SEO:
What’s the Difference?
SEO, AEO and GEO are layers of the same goal: being found when customers search. Here’s how they differ.
Attribute
SEO
AEO
GEO
Goal
Rank pages in search results
Be the direct answer to a question
Be mentioned and cited in AI-generated answers
Where it shows up
Google and Bing results pages
Featured snippets, People Also Ask, voice assistants, AI Overviews
ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, Gemini, Copilot, Google AI Overviews and AI Mode
Unit of competition
A page
A passage or answer
Your brand and its facts
Key signals
Relevance, links, technical health
Question-led structure, concise answers, schema
Entity clarity, citable facts, third-party mentions, crawler access
How success is measured
Rankings, organic traffic
Snippet and answer placements
AI mentions, citations, share of voice, AI referral traffic
Goal
SEO
Rank pages in search results
AEO
Be the direct answer to a question
GEO
Be mentioned and cited in AI-generated answers
Where it shows up
SEO
Google and Bing results pages
AEO
Featured snippets, People Also Ask, voice assistants, AI Overviews
GEO
ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, Gemini, Copilot, Google AI Overviews and AI Mode
Unit of competition
SEO
A page
AEO
A passage or answer
GEO
Your brand and its facts
Key signals
SEO
Relevance, links, technical health
AEO
Question-led structure, concise answers, schema
GEO
Entity clarity, citable facts, third-party mentions, crawler access
How success is measured
SEO
Rankings, organic traffic
AEO
Snippet and answer placements
GEO
AI mentions, citations, share of voice, AI referral traffic
GEO doesn’t replace SEO. AI engines still rely on search indexes and well-built websites to find sources, so strong SEO remains the foundation. Our Website Performance service covers the traditional SEO side.
WHAT WE DO
Our AI Search Optimization Services
01
02
03
04
05
01
AI Visibility Audit
We run a fixed set of prompts your customers are likely to ask across ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Perplexity, Claude and Gemini, and record whether you’re mentioned, how you’re described and which competitors and sources appear instead. We pair that with a technical and content review, then deliver a prioritized list of fixes. When we ran this audit on our own site, it produced 15 prioritized recommendations, which became the roadmap we’re working through now.
02
Entity & Brand Consistency
AI engines need to be confident who you are before they recommend you. If your website says you were founded in one year, LinkedIn says another, and a directory lists an old address, AI systems treat those facts as unreliable. We create one canonical set of brand facts (name, founding date, location, services, leadership, awards) and make it consistent across your website, schema, Google Business Profile, LinkedIn and key directories.
03
Citation-Ready Content
We write and restructure pages so AI engines can lift accurate answers from them: a direct answer under every heading, specific numbers and prices, comparison tables, real client results, clear definitions and question-led FAQs. This follows the research behind GEO, which found that statistics, quotations and cited sources make content more likely to appear in AI answers.
04
Schema Markup and Technical Access
AI crawlers can’t cite what they can’t reach. We check that robots.txt and CDN settings allow the crawlers behind ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude and Google, that key content is in server-rendered HTML rather than hidden in JavaScript, and that pages carry Organization, Service, FAQPage, Article and Breadcrumb schema. We also set up Bing Webmaster Tools and IndexNow, since several AI tools draw on Bing’s index.
05
Third-Party Mentions and Digital PR
When someone asks an AI “what’s the best agency for X,” the answer often comes from review sites, industry roundups and press coverage, not your own website. We build a plan to earn those mentions: review generation on platforms like Clutch and Google, inclusion in relevant “best of” lists, expert commentary and press outreach.
06
AI Citation Tracking and Reporting
Every month, we re-run your prompt set across AI platforms and report on mentions, citations, how you’re described, competitor share of voice and AI referral traffic in Google Analytics 4. You see exactly what changed and what we’re doing next.
ENGINES
Where We Optimize for
AI Visibility
Each AI platform finds and chooses sources a little differently, so we optimize for the engines your customers actually use.
01
Google AI Overviews and AI Mode
AI Overviews appear above traditional results for a growing share of searches, and AI Mode turns Google into a conversational search experience. Both draw on Google’s search index, so strong SEO, helpful content and clear structure remain essential. We focus on question-led pages, concise answers, schema markup and topical depth so Google’s AI can confidently summarize and link to your pages.
02
ChatGPT Search
ChatGPT now searches the web in real time and cites the sources it uses. Its crawler needs access to your site, and the answers lean on pages that state facts plainly and on brands that are well represented across the web. We make sure ChatGPT’s crawlers can reach your content, that your Bing presence is in good shape, and that your brand facts and reviews support the recommendation you want.
03
Perplexity
Perplexity is built around citations, showing its sources alongside every answer, which makes it one of the most measurable AI platforms. It favors recent, specific, well-sourced content. We optimize your pages for direct answers and freshness, and track which of your pages Perplexity cites and for which questions.
04
Claude, Gemini and Copilot
Claude, Gemini and Microsoft Copilot all search the web to answer current questions, and each uses its own mix of crawlers and search indexes. Copilot relies on Bing, and Gemini on Google. Our approach covers all three: open crawler access, consistent brand facts, structured data and a strong presence on the review sites and publications these assistants trust.
MEASUREMENT
How We Measure
AI Search Visibility
AI visibility is measurable, but not with rankings alone. We set a baseline in the first month, then track these metrics every month:
Metric
What it tells you
How we measure it
Brand mention rate
How often AI engines name you for your target questions
A fixed prompt set run monthly across each platform
Citation rate
How often AI engines link to your website as a source
The same prompt set, logging linked sources
Share of voice
How often you appear compared with named competitors
Mentions per brand across the prompt set
Description accuracy
Whether AI engines describe your services, location and strengths correctly
Review of each AI answer against your brand facts
AI referral traffic and leads
Visits and conversions from chatgpt.com, perplexity.ai, claude.ai, gemini.google.com and Copilot
A dedicated AI referral segment in Google Analytics 4
AI Overview presence
Which of your target searches show an AI Overview, and whether you’re cited
Search tracking for your priority keywords
Brand mention rate
What it tells you
How often AI engines name you for your target questions
How we measure it
A fixed prompt set run monthly across each platform
Citation rate
What it tells you
How often AI engines link to your website as a source
How we measure it
The same prompt set, logging linked sources
Share of voice
What it tells you
How often you appear compared with named competitors
How we measure it
Mentions per brand across the prompt set
Description accuracy
What it tells you
Whether AI engines describe your services, location and strengths correctly
How we measure it
Review of each AI answer against your brand facts
AI referral traffic and leads
What it tells you
Visits and conversions from chatgpt.com, perplexity.ai, claude.ai, gemini.google.com and Copilot
How we measure it
A dedicated AI referral segment in Google Analytics 4
AI Overview presence
What it tells you
Which of your target searches show an AI Overview, and whether you’re cited
How we measure it
Search tracking for your priority keywords
QUESTIONS
AI Search
Optimization
FAQ
How do I get my business mentioned in ChatGPT?
Start by making sure ChatGPT’s crawlers can access your website, then give it clear, consistent facts to work with: what you do, who you serve, where you’re located and what makes you different, stated plainly on your site and matched across LinkedIn, Google Business Profile and directories. Add specific, quotable content such as prices, results and comparisons, and earn reviews and mentions on sites ChatGPT already trusts.
How long does GEO take to work?
Technical fixes such as crawler access and schema can show up in AI answers within weeks, as engines recrawl your site. Content and brand consistency improvements typically take 2 to 4 months to display in results, and third-party mentions build over 6 months or more. Because AI answers vary, we judge progress on monthly trends rather than single results.
Does GEO replace SEO?
No. GEO builds on SEO. AI engines find sources through search indexes and well-structured websites, so technical SEO, quality content and authority still matter. GEO adds the layers SEO doesn’t cover: brand and entity consistency, citation-ready writing, AI crawler access and third-party mentions. The strongest programs run both together, which is how we approach every engagement.
How much do GEO services cost?
An ELMNTL AI visibility audit starts with a free snapshot (Findings only, with no competitor data and no recommendations.), and ongoing generative engine optimization programs start at $2500 per month, depending on the number of services, locations and competitors we track. GEO is also included in our fractional marketing plans for businesses that want SEO, AI search, social and paid media handled by one team.
Do AI Overviews reduce website traffic?
Often, yes, for simple informational searches. When Google’s AI Overview answers the question right on the results page, fewer people click through to a website. The impact is smaller for searches where people are ready to buy, compare options or contact a business. Sites that get cited inside AI Overviews can still earn visibility and higher-quality visits. That’s why GEO focuses on making a brand the source AI tools quote, not only ranking in the regular results.
NEXT STEP
Find Out What AI Says About Your Brand
Ask ChatGPT to recommend a company like yours. If you’re not in the answer, your competitors are. Our AI visibility audit shows where you stand across every major AI platform and exactly what to fix first.