# GEO (Generative Engine Optimization)

> What GEO is, why it complements classic SEO instead of replacing it, and which three levers increase visibility in AI answers by up to 40%.

Synonyms: GEO, Generative Engine Optimization, AI search optimization, found by AI, AIO, AISO

GEO starts where classic SEO ends: it is not about a position in a list of links, but about appearing in the ONE answer an AI gives its user. The foundational study by Aggarwal et al. (Princeton/Georgia Tech, ACM KDD 2024) was the first to measure which text characteristics increase the probability of being cited by AI search engines — the three most effective levers: concrete statistics instead of qualitative claims, documented sources and verbatim expert quotes. Keyword repetition, the old SEO reflex, showed no effect.

For businesses in South Tyrol and the DACH region, GEO is especially relevant because customers are ahead of the local economy: in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, 32–47% of people aged 16 to 74 already used generative AI in 2025 (Eurostat), but only 8% of Italian SMEs have launched an AI project (Politecnico di Milano, 2025). Whoever writes citably now — self-contained paragraphs that answer a question completely and verifiably — claims a spot that is still largely free.

GEO does not replace classic SEO: 97% of Google AI overviews cite at least one page from the top 20 classic results, even though many cited pages rank lower. SEO remains the ticket in; GEO is the extension.

What a website needs for GEO: [AI discoverability (GEO)](https://btlabs.dev/en/ai-discoverability).

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Source: https://btlabs.dev/en/glossary/geo-generative-engine-optimization
Last-Modified: 2026-09-25T13:08:07.424Z
Languages: [de](https://btlabs.dev/llms/de/glossary/geo-generative-engine-optimization) · [it](https://btlabs.dev/llms/it/glossary/geo-generative-engine-optimization)
See also: [llms.txt](https://btlabs.dev/llms.txt) · [ai.txt (Policy)](https://btlabs.dev/ai.txt) · [identity.json](https://btlabs.dev/identity.json)