Generative Engine Optimization, or GEO, is the practice of optimizing your brand’s presence across AI-generated answers on platforms like ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, and Copilot, so you’re named and trusted category-wide, not just linked once. It’s the widest layer of the new search stack, sitting above AEO and on top of classic SEO.

Google and AI systems moved past exact-match keyword counting years ago in favour of understanding topics and entities. Search Engine Journal’s ongoing coverage of Google’s algorithm updates has repeatedly confirmed that natural language understanding, not keyword frequency, drives relevance today

Product schema is structured code added to your product pages that tells search engines and AI systems exactly what you’re selling, its price, availability, and reviews, without them having to guess from your copy. Think of it as a nutrition label for your product page. The AI doesn’t have to taste the food to know what’s in it.

AEO, or Answer Engine Optimization, is the practice of structuring your content so AI systems like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity are more likely to quote you as the answer. In other words, it’s SEO, but you’re writing for robots that write for humans. I know. Meta.

Roughly 68% of searches now end on the results page without a click, according to Similarweb and SparkToro data. That means the old scoreboard, where a ranking equals a visit, is broken for a big chunk of your traffic. I’ve watched eCommerce brands with beautiful rankings and shrinking sessions, and the fix isn’t better rankings. It’s a different content model entirely.