Everything you need to get found by AI — and by Google — taught step by step. From how a crawler works to getting cited by ChatGPT, AI Overviews, Perplexity and Gemini, then automating the whole system with DUNkē.
GEO is the practice of structuring your content so AI engines cite it as a source in their answers. Where classic SEO optimises to rank on a results page, GEO optimises to be part of the answer itself — because a page can sit at #1 on Google and still never be quoted by ChatGPT.
The term was coined in 2023–24 academic research from Princeton and collaborators, whose benchmark across thousands of queries found the right techniques can lift AI visibility by up to 40%. It builds on SEO fundamentals — crawlability, clarity, authority — but shifts the goal from clicks to citations.
Read the full guide →From how a crawler works to getting cited by every AI engine — then automating the whole system. A complete path, fundamentals to frontier, and growing every week. Work straight through, or jump to the gap you have right now.
Start here. How search and AI answers actually work — the mental model everything else builds on.
The mechanics behind every result — and why understanding the pipeline is the foundation of everything else.
FoundationsRetrieval-augmented generation, query fan-out and synthesis — the pipeline behind ChatGPT, AI Overviews and Perplexity.
FoundationsThe vocabulary of modern search, untangled — what each term means and where they overlap.
FoundationsHow the results page changed — AI Overviews, AI Mode and the shrinking real estate for blue links.
The mechanics behind every result — and why understanding the pipeline is the foundation of everything else.
FoundationsRetrieval-augmented generation, query fan-out and synthesis — the pipeline behind ChatGPT, AI Overviews and Perplexity.
FoundationsThe vocabulary of modern search, untangled — what each term means and where they overlap.
FoundationsHow the results page changed — AI Overviews, AI Mode and the shrinking real estate for blue links.
The foundation a crawler stands on. If engines can't read you cleanly, nothing else matters.
Robots.txt, sitemaps, crawl budget and the indexation checks that decide whether you're eligible to rank at all.
TechnicalFlat, logical structure and internal links that distribute authority and help engines understand your topics.
TechnicalLCP, INP and CLS — the performance signals Google measures and how to fix the common offenders.
TechnicalHow crawlers render JS, why content can go missing, and how to make sure yours is actually seen.
TechnicalThe schema types that earn rich results and help engines — and LLMs — understand your entities and facts.
TechnicalGPTBot, ClaudeBot, PerplexityBot and friends — controlling and enabling access so AI engines can read you.
Robots.txt, sitemaps, crawl budget and the indexation checks that decide whether you're eligible to rank at all.
TechnicalFlat, logical structure and internal links that distribute authority and help engines understand your topics.
TechnicalLCP, INP and CLS — the performance signals Google measures and how to fix the common offenders.
TechnicalHow crawlers render JS, why content can go missing, and how to make sure yours is actually seen.
TechnicalThe schema types that earn rich results and help engines — and LLMs — understand your entities and facts.
TechnicalGPTBot, ClaudeBot, PerplexityBot and friends — controlling and enabling access so AI engines can read you.
Knowing what to write before you write it — for both keywords and the questions people ask AI.
Finding the terms your audience uses — volume, difficulty, intent — and turning them into a content plan.
ResearchOrganising content around pillars and clusters to build the topical authority engines reward.
ResearchWhat people actually ask AI assistants — and how to find the questions that trigger citations.
ResearchWhere competitors get cited and ranked that you don't — and the fastest gaps to close.
Finding the terms your audience uses — volume, difficulty, intent — and turning them into a content plan.
ResearchOrganising content around pillars and clusters to build the topical authority engines reward.
ResearchWhat people actually ask AI assistants — and how to find the questions that trigger citations.
ResearchWhere competitors get cited and ranked that you don't — and the fastest gaps to close.
The words on the page — structured so both Google and the answer engines can use them.
Titles, meta descriptions, headings and URLs — the on-page fundamentals that still move the needle.
WritingThe single highest-impact change you can make for AI citations — and how to apply it on every page.
StructureQ&A pairs, comparison tables and self-contained passages a model can lift without rewriting.
AuthorityHow Google — and LLMs — judge credibility, and the concrete signals that demonstrate it.
ContentWhy recency is cited disproportionately, and a system for keeping your content current.
Titles, meta descriptions, headings and URLs — the on-page fundamentals that still move the needle.
WritingThe single highest-impact change you can make for AI citations — and how to apply it on every page.
StructureQ&A pairs, comparison tables and self-contained passages a model can lift without rewriting.
AuthorityHow Google — and LLMs — judge credibility, and the concrete signals that demonstrate it.
ContentWhy recency is cited disproportionately, and a system for keeping your content current.
The heart of it: getting cited inside the answer, on every engine your customers use.
Why being cited inside the answer — not ranking on a page — became the goal, and exactly where to start.
How it worksQuery fan-out, retrieval-augmented generation, and the signals that decide which source makes the answer.
AI SearchThe structure and signals that get you pulled into Google's AI Overview above the blue links.
AI SearchWinning the conversational surface — distinct retrieval and distinct citations from AI Overviews.
AI SearchWhere ChatGPT pulls sources — and why Reddit, Wikipedia and earned presence dominate.
AI SearchHow Perplexity retrieves and cites — and how to be the source it picks.
AI SearchThe other engines answering your customers — and what each one rewards.
EntitiesBecoming a clearly-defined entity that engines recognise, disambiguate and trust.
AuthorityWide, consistent presence across Reddit, YouTube, G2 and Wikipedia — the strongest AI-visibility correlate.
Why being cited inside the answer — not ranking on a page — became the goal, and exactly where to start.
How it worksQuery fan-out, retrieval-augmented generation, and the signals that decide which source makes the answer.
AI SearchThe structure and signals that get you pulled into Google's AI Overview above the blue links.
AI SearchWinning the conversational surface — distinct retrieval and distinct citations from AI Overviews.
AI SearchWhere ChatGPT pulls sources — and why Reddit, Wikipedia and earned presence dominate.
AI SearchHow Perplexity retrieves and cites — and how to be the source it picks.
AI SearchThe other engines answering your customers — and what each one rewards.
EntitiesBecoming a clearly-defined entity that engines recognise, disambiguate and trust.
AuthorityWide, consistent presence across Reddit, YouTube, G2 and Wikipedia — the strongest AI-visibility correlate.
Becoming the source engines trust — through links, mentions and genuine topical depth.
Earning links that still signal authority — the tactics that are safe, effective and scalable.
Off-pageEarning coverage and unlinked mentions that build authority and feed AI citations.
Off-pageBecoming the obvious source on a topic — depth, consistency and breadth that compound.
Earning links that still signal authority — the tactics that are safe, effective and scalable.
Off-pageEarning coverage and unlinked mentions that build authority and feed AI citations.
Off-pageBecoming the obvious source on a topic — depth, consistency and breadth that compound.
The specialised playbooks — for local businesses, online stores and pages at scale.
Google Business Profile, citations and reviews that win the map pack and local AI answers.
EcommerceProduct schema, feeds and PDP structure that win in search and in-chat shopping.
ScaleTemplated pages that scale to thousands of queries without becoming thin content.
Google Business Profile, citations and reviews that win the map pack and local AI answers.
EcommerceProduct schema, feeds and PDP structure that win in search and in-chat shopping.
ScaleTemplated pages that scale to thousands of queries without becoming thin content.
You can't improve what you can't see — especially inside the answer box.
The metrics that matter — impressions, clicks, position — and how to read Search Console properly.
MeasurementShare of voice, citation rate and the tools that see inside the answer box — where rank trackers can't.
MeasurementMeasuring impact when the click disappears — zero-click value and assisted conversions.
MeasurementTurning data into decisions — dashboards that show what's working and what to do next.
The metrics that matter — impressions, clicks, position — and how to read Search Console properly.
MeasurementShare of voice, citation rate and the tools that see inside the answer box — where rank trackers can't.
MeasurementMeasuring impact when the click disappears — zero-click value and assisted conversions.
MeasurementTurning data into decisions — dashboards that show what's working and what to do next.
The DUNkē edge — turning the whole discipline into a system that runs itself.
The repetitive work to automate first — audits, monitoring, reporting — and how to do it safely.
AutomationUsing AI to produce quality content faster — with the guardrails that keep it citable, not spammy.
AutomationKnowing the moment your citations, rankings or coverage change — automatically.
AutomationPutting it all together — the operating system DUNkē runs to keep brands cited across every engine.
The repetitive work to automate first — audits, monitoring, reporting — and how to do it safely.
AutomationUsing AI to produce quality content faster — with the guardrails that keep it citable, not spammy.
AutomationKnowing the moment your citations, rankings or coverage change — automatically.
AutomationPutting it all together — the operating system DUNkē runs to keep brands cited across every engine.
We turn these principles into citations for our clients every day. Start with a free GEO audit.