What is GEO and how do you get into ChatGPT's answers?

Try a test: ask ChatGPT who sells what you sell in your country. If your name is missing from the answer, for that person you do not exist. If you want us to look at it together, book a free call.

What is GEO?

GEO is optimisation for generative engines, meaning the assistants that do not show you a list of websites, but read several sources and write the answer themselves. The name stands for "Generative Engine Optimization".

The term appeared in a university study published in 2023 and presented in 2024 at a specialist conference. In a lab test, the authors showed that a page's visibility in AI answers can grow by up to 40%.

You will also come across the name AEO, from "Answer Engine Optimization". The idea is the same: to be the source the assistant takes its answer from.

Why does GEO matter for a business in Romania?

It matters because AI assistants already answer in Romanian, directly in Google. Google's AI Mode was announced for Romania and for the Romanian language in October 2025. When I searched Google in Romanian for what GEO optimisation is, the first thing shown was an answer written by AI, above every website.

The way people click on results is changing too. A Pew Research study, run in March 2025 on 900 adults in the United States, shows that when an AI summary appears, people click a classic result in 8% of visits. Without a summary, in 15%. This is data from the United States, not from Romania, so we take it as a reference point, not as a prediction.

For you, this means one simple thing: being on the first page is no longer enough. You also need to be in the answer.

What is the difference between SEO and GEO?

SEO moves you up Google's list of results, and GEO brings you into the answer written by AI. The foundation is the same: Google says that, from their point of view, optimising for AI search is still SEO.

I see them as two floors of the same house. Without SEO, GEO has nothing to stand on. Taken together, they are very, very powerful. If you want to start with the basics, I wrote separately about what SEO is.

How do ChatGPT and Google AI choose who to recommend?

The exact rules are not public, but three things are documented by the platforms themselves and by researchers.

• The page has to be readable. Google says a page appears as a source in its AI answers only if it is indexed and can be shown in results. OpenAI says that sites which block its search crawler do not appear in ChatGPT's search answers.
• Your position on Google helps, but does not decide alone. In an Ahrefs analysis from March 2026, around 38% of the pages cited in Google's AI summaries were also in the top ten results for the same search. The rest were not in the top ten.
• Assistants prefer what can be checked. In the university study, the pages that did best had cited sources and concrete figures. Filling the text with the same words did not help.

Two of our results

Bohemia Crystal, an online shop for crystal and porcelain where we optimised over 1,700 products, is now recommended by ChatGPT. So is an events company in France, whose website we rebuilt.

See what's included in Let's SEO & GEO.

Can anyone guarantee that you appear in ChatGPT?

No. Nobody can guarantee a place in an AI answer, just as nobody can guarantee the number 1 spot on Google. Anyone selling you a "guaranteed place in ChatGPT" is selling something they do not have.

There are a few more things that sell well and do not help:

• "Special files for AI". Google says you do not need text files for AI, special markup or content cut into small pieces.
• Texts made with AI and published in bulk. It is ironic, but true: you do not get into AI answers by publishing AI-written texts that nobody has read. I know a company that lost around 20 positions on Google after doing this. Google treats pages generated in large numbers, with no value for the reader, as abuse, however they are created.
• The same words repeated endlessly. They did not help in the study and they do not help in practice.

What we can promise is monthly, measured work: we show you how you appear on Google and in AI answers, month after month, and what changed.

Where do you start?

Start with a free 30-minute call, from which you leave with a plan and three quick wins. If you want us to handle it, Let's SEO & GEO has three packages:

• Let's check it. A full SEO and GEO audit, in 4 to 7 working days. You see where you stand on Google and in AI, and you get a clear list of what to fix first.
• Let's set it up. The whole site optimised, page by page, so that you climb on Google and get recommended by AI.
• Let's take care of it. New content every month and a monthly check of how you appear in ChatGPT and AI, with a short report: what changed and what comes next.

Frequently asked questions

Does GEO replace SEO?

No. GEO rests on SEO. If Google cannot read the site and it does not answer clearly what people search for, an AI assistant has no reason to recommend it.

How do I find out if my business appears in ChatGPT?

In a new conversation, ask the questions a customer would ask and see which names come up. Repeat in Gemini and in Google. If you do not appear, there is work to do.

How long does it take to see results from GEO?

There is no sure timeline and we will not give you an invented one. About changes on a site, Google says some show within a few hours and others within a few months. I wrote more in How long does SEO take to show results?

Does GEO make sense for a small business?

Yes. People also ask AI assistants about small, nearby things: who does this in my city, how much it costs, what to choose. A small business with a clear site can appear in the answer next to a big one.

What does AEO mean?

AEO stands for Answer Engine Optimization. It is another name for the same work: being the source an AI assistant takes its answer from.