GEO: how to get your brand cited by ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity in 2026
GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) means optimising your presence to be cited in the answers of AI assistants such as ChatGPT, Gemini, Google AI Overviews or Perplexity. The founding research shows that adding sources, quotations and statistics to content can increase its visibility in generated answers by up to 40%. And AIs don’t just cite your site: they draw heavily on Wikipedia, Reddit, YouTube and LinkedIn.
Key takeaways
- According to the Princeton and Georgia Tech GEO study, adding sources, quotations and numbers raises visibility in AI answers by up to 40%.
- Each AI has favourite sources: Wikipedia dominates ChatGPT, Reddit leads Google AI Overviews and Perplexity (Profound study, 30 million citations).
- Your site matters, but what’s said about you elsewhere (Reddit, YouTube, LinkedIn, press) matters just as much.
- Technically: let AI crawlers through (OAI-SearchBot for ChatGPT), fast pages, structured data, current dates.
- Winning format: a clear answer in the first sentence, sourced numbers, an FAQ.
SEO vs GEO
SEO aims to get a page into a list of links. GEO aims to get your information reused in an answer written by an AI, ideally with your name and a link. The user doesn’t necessarily click: they read the answer. Being cited becomes a form of awareness, and an implicit recommendation.
What research measured
The term GEO comes from a paper by researchers at Princeton, Georgia Tech, the Allen Institute for AI and IIT Delhi. They tested various content changes and measured their effect on visibility in generated answers. The most effective methods: citing sources, adding quotations from experts and adding statistics, with gains up to 40%. Old-school keyword stuffing, on the other hand, doesn’t work.
What AIs actually cite
The Profound study, across 30 million citations from August 2024 to June 2025:
Most-cited sources by AI engine (Profound)
The upshot: tend what’s said about you elsewhere
If AIs draw on Reddit, YouTube and LinkedIn, your presence there matters as much as your site. A brand discussed positively on Reddit, publishing useful YouTube videos, whose leaders post regularly on LinkedIn, is far more likely to be cited. That’s where organic meets GEO: LinkedIn, YouTube and Reddit are sources AIs read.
The GEO method for small businesses
GEO checklist
Do
- Answer the question in the first sentence of each page
- Precise, dated, sourced numbers
- An FAQ with your customers’ real questions
- Structured data (FAQ, article, organisation)
- Allow OAI-SearchBot and search crawlers in robots.txt
- Be present and mentioned on Reddit, YouTube, LinkedIn
Avoid
- Keyword stuffing
- Vague pages with no numbers or examples
- Content that’s never updated
- Blocking every AI crawler by default
Testing your AI visibility
Ask ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity the questions your customers ask (“what’s the best tool for…”, “who can help me with…”) and note who gets cited. Repeat monthly. If competitors are cited and you aren’t, look at the sources shown: those are the places you need to be.
What about AI advertising?
It now exists (see ChatGPT Ads and advertising in AI search engines), but it complements GEO without replacing it: an ad is labelled sponsored, a citation in the answer reads as a recommendation.
Frequently asked questions
What is GEO?
Generative Engine Optimization: the set of practices for getting cited in the answers of AI assistants such as ChatGPT, Gemini, Google AI Overviews or Perplexity.
How do you get cited by ChatGPT?
By publishing content that clearly answers questions, with numbers and sources, allowing the OAI-SearchBot crawler, and being mentioned on the sources ChatGPT consults (Wikipedia, Reddit, press, specialist sites).
Which sources do AIs cite most?
According to Profound: Wikipedia for ChatGPT (47.9%), Reddit for Google AI Overviews (21%) and Perplexity (46.7%).
Does GEO replace SEO?
No, it complements it. Many sources cited by AIs are well-ranked pages; GEO adds clear answers, numbers and presence on third-party platforms.
Does social media help GEO?
Yes: YouTube, LinkedIn and Reddit are among the domains AIs cite most. Posting regularly on them raises your chances of being picked up.
Sources
- Aggarwal et al. — GEO: Generative Engine Optimization (Princeton, Georgia Tech, Allen Institute for AI, IIT Delhi)
- Search Engine Roundtable — ChatGPT sources mostly from Wikipedia while Google AI Overviews sources mostly from Reddit (étude Profound)
- OpenAI — Overview of OpenAI crawlers (OAI-SearchBot, GPTBot)