What Is GEO, and How Does SEOmatic Get AI Answers to Mention You?
Updated
GEO (generative engine optimization) is the work of getting AI engines such as ChatGPT, Claude and Google AI Overviews to name your brand when buyers ask them a question. SEOmatic asks those engines your buyers' questions on a schedule and records who they name and which pages they cite. Your agents then change your site to close the gaps, and the next scans measure whether the answers moved.
GEO and SEO: What Is Different#
SEO aims for a high position in Google's list of links. GEO aims for a mention inside the written answer an AI engine gives. Buyers often read that answer and never click a link, so the brand named in it wins.
- An AI answer names a few brands, not ten links. You are in it or you are not.
- Engines search the web before they answer. They read pages, review sites and forums, then quote what they can back up. A clear, citable passage on your page helps. So do mentions on the sites they check.
- Bots must be allowed to read your site. If your robots.txt blocks AI search bots, those engines cannot quote your pages.
- Answers change from day to day. One answer proves little, so SEOmatic asks every question again on each scan and compares the results.
How SEOmatic Does It, Step by Step#
- Track. SEOmatic keeps a list of questions your buyers ask, written for your domain and language. You can add your own in AI Visibility > Prompts. By default, ChatGPT, Claude and Google AI Overviews are asked. You can switch on Perplexity, Google AI Mode, Gemini and Grok, and Microsoft Copilot where it is available. Scans run every week by default.
- Read the answers. Each scan records whether each answer names you, which competitors it names, its tone, and which pages it links to. This becomes your Visibility, Share of voice, Sentiment and Sources cited.
- Find the gaps. Questions where no engine names you are Invisible. Questions where only some do are Weak. The Citations page shows the sites engines cite instead of you.
- Fix your site. When your agents plan their weekly work, they take up to 8 weak or invisible questions. For each one, they look for your page that matches it and add answer passages to it. If no page matches, they propose a new article. They also check that AI search bots can read your site, add your brand ID card to your homepage, and prepare a brief when Reddit threads drive the answers.
- Measure. About 1 question in 4 is left untouched on purpose, as long as at least 3 questions are workable. Because worked and untouched questions are asked in the same scans, SEOmatic can tell a real lift from a change in the engines. The result shows as one line above the AI Visibility chart.
What Your Agents Change, and What You Do#
| Your agents | You |
|---|---|
| Add answer passages, citable passages, FAQ sections, trust signals and freshness dates to your pages | Approve them, or let them go live on their own in Assisted mode, with an Undo link in the daily email |
| Write new articles for questions no page answers | Read them on the board, or choose Approval mode to see each one first. The daily email lists only what went live without a click |
| Prepare your brand ID card for your homepage | Approve it yourself: your homepage is never changed automatically |
| Prepare the robots.txt lines that let AI search bots in | Add the lines the task shows, or have an admin click Apply on my site on the Slack card |
| Write a brief on Reddit threads that shape the answers | Take part in those threads yourself. SEOmatic never posts |
Off your site, the Trust sources engines consult card on the Overview lists review sites and directories the engines check but never cite you from. Getting listed there is your work; SEOmatic does not post anywhere. The full list of fixes, with undo and verdict dates, is in how agents improve your AI visibility.
What You Need#
- Tracking starts on its own the first time someone opens AI Visibility. Scans use AI credits. The scan from your setup is free. See track how AI engines talk about your brand.
- Fixes need your website connected, so agents can edit your pages. Without it, no AI search work is planned at all: your agents only request indexing and submit your sitemap. See connect your website.
- The crawler check reads your site's address from Google Search Console, or from your AI Visibility scan when Search Console is not connected.
- Can SEOmatic guarantee ChatGPT will recommend me?
- No. Nobody controls what an AI engine says. SEOmatic makes your pages easier to quote, measures every scan, and only claims a lift when the questions it worked on beat the ones it left alone.
- Is GEO the same as AEO or LLM SEO?
- Yes, these names describe the same goal: being named and cited in AI answers. SEOmatic uses the label AI Visibility in the app.
- Does GEO replace SEO?
- No. AI engines search the web before they answer, and pages that rank and read well are easier for them to find. Your agents do both kinds of work from the same plan.
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