What is GEO (Generative Engine Optimization)?
Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) is an industry term for applying search, accessibility, evidence, entity, and measurement practices to generative answer surfaces. It can improve technical eligibility and make performance measurable, but it cannot guarantee selection, ranking, recommendation, or citation.
For Google AI Overviews and AI Mode, Google says the same foundational Search requirements apply: normal indexing and snippet eligibility, helpful people-first content, and no special AI schema or text file. Other engines document their own retrieval controls.
A 2024 academic paper tested content interventions in a defined experimental setting and reported citation changes in that setup. Those results are not universal ranking factors or guarantees for live commercial engines.