Generative Engine Optimization (GEO)

Generative engine optimization is the practice of structuring content so that AI systems draw on it when they generate a response. Search engines rank pages. Generative engines write an answer and cite or paraphrase the sources they used. GEO aims to be one of those sources.

The term comes from a 2024 research paper, "GEO: Generative Engine Optimization," written by researchers at Princeton, Georgia Tech, the Allen Institute for AI and IIT Delhi and presented at ACM SIGKDD 2024. The study tested nine content strategies across 10,000 queries and found that adding statistics, quotations from named experts and cited sources improved how often content appeared in generated answers, by up to 40 percent in its evaluation (Aggarwal et al., SIGKDD 2024). That is a research result under the paper's own method, not a production guarantee.

For an online store, the relevant generative engines are the shopping surfaces: ChatGPT, Google AI Mode and AI Overviews, Perplexity, Amazon Rufus. The content they read is mostly product information, so for ecommerce GEO is largely a catalog question. See agentic commerce for the wider picture.

When a shopper asks ChatGPT for the best running shoe for marathon training under 150 dollars, the assistant builds its answer from the product information it can find and interpret. A product with a complete, specific description and the right attributes can be part of that answer. A product with a thin description usually cannot, however good it is.

Freshness plays a role for time-sensitive questions. Seer Interactive found that 85 percent of AI Overview citations came from content published in the previous two years (as cited by Onely, December 2025). Older content can still be cited when it is the best answer.

For retailers, this means the work goes beyond blog posts and landing pages into the product data itself: titles, attributes, descriptions and the questions each product page answers.

The SIGKDD paper tested nine strategies. The ones that moved results:

• Statistics: specific, sourced numbers where they are relevant to the question.
• Expert quotes: named, credentialed sources.
• Cited sources: links to authoritative references with dates.
• Fluency: clear, well-structured prose that is easy to extract and paraphrase.
• Authoritative tone: precise, confident statements backed by evidence.

The strategy that did not work was keyword stuffing. Repeating a target phrase did not improve inclusion. Information density beat keyword density.

GEO adds to SEO rather than replacing it. Search still drives most traffic, and the product page that answers a shopper's question well tends to do better in both.

1. Write product information that answers questions. "Waterproof hiking boot rated to minus 20F, fits wide feet, 8-inch shaft for ankle support" gives an assistant something to work with. "Premium hiking boot, various sizes available" does not.
2. Complete the attributes. Material, fit, dimensions, compatibility, care. Missing attributes are the most common reason a product is skipped.
3. Structure pages for extraction. Clear headings, a short answer under each, self-contained sections.
4. Keep facts current. Update when prices, specs or availability change and show a visible modified date.
5. Build third-party presence. SE Ranking's study of 129,000 domains (November 2025) found that domains with profiles on review platforms were about three times more likely to be cited by ChatGPT.

For a commerce-specific walkthrough, see Paz.ai's AI Visibility: The New SEO.

The industry uses several labels for this work. GEO covers generative engines in general, AEO focuses on answer engines, and ACO applies it to shopping agents. For an ecommerce team they describe the same practical job, so at Paz we call it AI visibility: more of your products in the answers to the questions your buyers ask.

A Paz expert checks which questions your products appear for and which they miss, investigates gaps and corrects supported product information, and shows you appearances over time. Our experts publish within agreed guidelines and bring exceptions to you. See how the AI visibility service works.