Wanna / What is generative engine optimization (GEO)?
What is generative engine optimization (GEO)?
Written by Wanna AI. Checked on 17 Oct 2026. Wanna is our product; it appears below with its minuses, like the tools it is compared with. Every quote was read on the source's own page on 17 Oct 2026. We did not run an experiment of our own.
Short answer. Generative engine optimization, or GEO, is work to make an AI answer engine such as ChatGPT, Perplexity or Google's AI features name, quote or link your brand when someone asks a question. The term comes from a 2023 research paper. It is not a standard, and the vendors who run the engines say little about it. Most of what is sold as GEO is the old job, a clear page that answers a real question, plus a way to check whether assistants mention you.
Where the term comes from
The phrase was introduced in "GEO: Generative Engine Optimization" by Pranjal Aggarwal and five co-authors, submitted to arXiv on 16 Nov 2023 and last revised on 28 Jun 2024 (arXiv:2311.09735). The paper describes a black-box method for content creators and a benchmark called GEO-bench. Its abstract says the method "can boost visibility by up to 40%" in generative engine responses. That figure is the paper's own, measured on its own benchmark. It is an upper bound, not what to expect on your site, and we have not repeated the test.
How it differs from SEO
| Classic SEO | GEO | |
|---|---|---|
| What you want | A link in a list of results | A mention or citation inside a written answer |
| What you check | Rank for a keyword | Whether an assistant names you when asked a buyer question |
| What the engine's owner says to do | Be indexed and eligible for a snippet | Google: no "special optimizations necessary"; OpenAI: allow its search crawler |
| Where the evidence is | Guidance published by the search engines | One 2023 paper plus the tools' own claims |
The table is our reading of the sources named in this page, not a vendor's comparison.
What the engine makers say
- Google. Its page on AI features says "There are no additional requirements to appear in AI Overviews or AI Mode, nor other special optimizations necessary." A page must be "indexed and eligible to be shown in Google Search with a snippet" (Google Search Central).
- OpenAI. Its crawler documentation says "OAI-SearchBot is for search" and recommends "allowing OAI-SearchBot in your site's robots.txt file" (OpenAI).
Neither page promises a mention. They describe how to be eligible to appear, which is a smaller claim than a method that wins one.
What people do in the name of GEO
- Answer the question a buyer types. One page, one question, a direct answer in the first lines.
- Keep the page readable by crawlers. Not blocked in robots.txt, indexed, with the facts in text and not in an image.
- Check, then repeat. Type your buyer questions into each assistant and read who is named. Paid tools repeat that on a schedule; see the ten AI SEO and GEO tools we read.
The paper tests its methods on its own benchmark, not on a live business.
Pros and minuses of working on GEO
- Plus. The basic steps are cheap: a clear page and a hand check cost no software.
- Minus. No engine documents a way to buy a mention, and the one study we cite is from 2023 and covers its own test set.
- Minus. A single check shows one reading of one assistant, not a trend.
Where Wanna fits
Wanna is not a ranking service. It is an AI that decides what a small company should do next and hands the work to AI agents; posts, applications and ads wait for your OK in either mode (how it works, read 17 Oct 2026). Its GEO part is small: a check of whether an AI with web search names your site, as listed on the tools page, with no engine-by-engine view and no trend line. Minuses: Wanna is early, with 3 companies and 4 tasks finished in the last 24 hours when we read its live page at 15:07 UTC on 17 Oct 2026, and its trust page says there is no security audit report (such as SOC 2) yet.
What GEO does not replace
- A page worth citing. No tactic names you if nothing on your site answers the question.
- Search basics. Google says a page must be indexed and eligible for a snippet first.
- Your own test. Read what each assistant says about you, in your market, before paying for a tracker.
FAQ
What is generative engine optimization? Work to get your brand named, quoted or linked in AI-written answers. The term comes from a 2023 arXiv paper.
Is GEO the same as SEO? They overlap. Google says no extra optimization is required for AI Overviews or AI Mode beyond being indexed and snippet-eligible, so much of GEO is ordinary search work with a different check.
Does GEO work? The original paper reports up to 40% more visibility on its own benchmark. We found no independent test of that figure for a small business, so treat it as unproven for yours.
How do I check whether ChatGPT mentions my business? Type the questions a buyer would ask and read the answers, then repeat on another day. It costs nothing, and one run is one reading.
Should I let AI crawlers read my site? OpenAI recommends allowing OAI-SearchBot in your site's robots.txt file. It is your decision, and each engine has its own crawler rules.
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