In one sentence
Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) is the practice of influencing how generative AI models describe, recommend and cite a brand when they produce an answer. It is used interchangeably with Answer Engine Optimization; GEO emphasises the model, AEO emphasises the answer.
The term became common after research showed that the phrasing, structure and citation density of a source page measurably change how often a generative model quotes it. That is the practical core of GEO: the model is not ranking your page, it is deciding whether your sentences are worth lifting.
Tactics that consistently help are self-contained answers near the top of a page, explicit numbers and dates, clear entity naming instead of pronouns, structured data, and third-party mentions the model can corroborate against.
Pick either GEO or AEO as your internal term and stay consistent, so your reporting does not fragment across two vocabularies.
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