How to Optimize for Different Generative Engines

Generative AI isn’t the future of search. It’s the present. With tools like ChatGPT, AI Overviews, Gemini, Perplexity and Copilot reshaping how users discover information, the traditional SEO model is no longer enough on its own. 

Visibility requires an approach that integrates SEO with generative engine optimization (GEO) to make sure your brand is discoverable not only in search engine results, but also in AI-generated answers.

The rise of generative engines

The explosion of AI-driven platforms means users are now searching for answers directly within tools like ChatGPT and Perplexity, often bypassing traditional search (e.g., Google Search) altogether.

That’s where GEO comes in. Unlike traditional SEO, which is largely about keywords and backlinks, GEO focuses on how AI models learn and retrieve information.

Large language models (LLMs) generate answers by referencing learned patterns. They prioritize entities, context and semantic relationships, which shifts the focus from rankings to retrievability. Being part of an AI-generated answer depends on how well AI understands your brand, the contexts it appears in and how often it’s mentioned in authoritative spaces.

Brands that ignore GEO risk being invisible in this emerging space, regardless of how well they rank in traditional search results. While it might not impact you today, this will have a huge downstream impact over the next five years.

To increase visibility across generative engines, brands must shift their SEO mindset to include tactics that align with how AI models retrieve information. These core strategies apply universally across AI platforms:

1. Focus on entity optimization to ensure that your brand and key topics are recognized by AI engines.

• Anchor your content around key entities such as your brand, products and primary industry topics to ensure they are consistently associated with your expertise.
• Strengthen your presence on structured platforms like Wikidata and Wikipedia to reinforce entity credibility.
• Use schema markup, including Organization, Product and Person types, to clearly define relationships between topics, entities and your brand.

2. Improve retrievability by making your content easy for AI to access and understand.

• Give AI bots such as GPTBot access to your site by explicitly permitting them in your robots.txt file.
• Publish your content in semantic HTML with appropriate structured data to aid AI comprehension.
• Ensure your brand is frequently mentioned in authoritative, AI-indexed sources, such as Reddit, Google News and Wikipedia.

3. Prioritize mentions over backlinks to establish authority through contextual relevance.

• Cultivate unlinked brand mentions in relevant forums, Q&A sites like Quora and Reddit, expert roundups and social discussions where AI models draw training data.
• Drive consistent brand presence in authoritative, topical conversations to increase recognition within generative engine outputs.

Engine-specific optimization strategies

While some core principles apply across platforms, each generative engine has its own architecture, data sources and ranking behaviors. Tailoring your optimization approach to each tool can enhance your visibility within their unique ecosystems.

ChatGPT: Trained primarily on a static dataset with optional browsing powered by Bing, ChatGPT’s responses are shaped by its training data and contextual understanding from real-time searches.

• Strengthen your content’s association with authoritative entities by linking to reputable sources.
• Focus on ranking well in Bing’s search results to improve visibility when ChatGPT’s browsing mode is enabled.
• Ensure that your brand voice, descriptions and positioning are consistent across all public channels, including social profiles, blog posts and media interviews, so AI models can accurately recognize and represent your brand contextually.

Google’s AI Overviews and Gemini: These models integrate LLM outputs with Google Search and Google Knowledge Graph, blending structured and unstructured data in real time.

• Implement detailed schema types like FAQ, HowTo and Product to increase eligibility for rich snippets and AI Overviews.
• Prioritize high-quality, E-E-A-T–aligned content (experience, expertise, authoritativeness, trustworthiness) that aligns with Google’s evolving quality guidelines.
• Complete and regularly update your Google Business Profile, and actively pursue coverage in Google-indexed publications, especially those approved for Google News.

Perplexity: Known for its commitment to citation transparency, Perplexity favors timely, authoritative content that it can reference directly in responses.

• Publish original research, industry surveys and long-form guides that offer unique value.
• Regularly refresh key content with up-to-date statistics, expert commentary and relevant links to maintain freshness and relevance.
• Ensure your bylines, metadata and article structure convey credibility and expertise to increase the likelihood of being cited.

Microsoft Copilot (Bing Chat): Copilot blends GPT-4 capabilities with Bing’s real-time search infrastructure, incorporating SERP features and Microsoft Graph.

• Target high-visibility search features by structuring content in Q&A and list formats.
• Submit your website to Bing Webmaster Tools and monitor indexing and crawl stats to identify optimization opportunities.
• Strengthen your brand’s presence on Microsoft-owned platforms like LinkedIn and Bing Places, which are part of the Copilot data ecosystem.

GEO + SEO Integration

To maximize visibility in traditional search engines and AI-generated results, brands must align SEO fundamentals with GEO principles across on-page, off-page and technical strategies. 

On-Page GEO

• Build topic clusters centered around recognized entities.
• Use structured internal linking to reinforce relationships between concepts.
• Include long-tail, conversational queries and AI-friendly content formats.

Off-Page GEO

• Earn mentions in trusted publications and forums where AI “learns.”
• Leverage digital PR to influence industry conversations and improve brand recognition in authoritative sources.
• Ensure consistent brand language across Wikipedia, Wikidata and business profiles.

Technical GEO

• Use schema markup for entities and relationships.
• Maintain fast-loading, well-structured pages with clean HTML.
• Optimize multimedia with descriptive filenames, transcripts and metadata to support AI comprehension and multimodal responses. 

By aligning your SEO efforts with GEO strategies, you’re not just chasing rankings; you’re shaping the way AI perceives, prioritizes, and presents your brand. This is about becoming discoverable in the spaces where answers are generated, not just searched.