AI Visibility Lab · Switzerland
What is Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO)?
Generative engine optimisation is the practice of making your website content extractable, citable, and trustworthy to AI language models. It is to AI search what SEO is to Google — but the signals are fundamentally different.
Check your GEO score free →The short definition
Generative engine optimisation (GEO) is structuring your website content so that AI language models — ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews — can find it, extract it cleanly, and cite your business in their responses.
When a potential customer asks an AI assistant "who does X in Switzerland?", GEO determines whether your business appears in the answer.
GEO vs SEO — what's different
| Factor | SEO | GEO |
|---|---|---|
| Target | Google ranking algorithm | AI model extraction |
| Key signal | Backlinks + keywords | Entity clarity + structure |
| Content format | Keyword density | Answer-first, factual |
| Schema | Nice to have | Critical |
| robots.txt | Googlebot | GPTBot, ClaudeBot, PerplexityBot |
| Measurement | Search rankings | Citation rate across AI surfaces |
| Speed of impact | Weeks to months | Days to weeks (browsing mode) |
The six GEO fundamentals
AI crawler access
Your robots.txt must explicitly allow the AI crawlers: GPTBot (OpenAI/ChatGPT), ClaudeBot (Anthropic), PerplexityBot, and Google-Extended. Many sites block them inadvertently.
Entity clarity
AI models need to know who you are before they cite you. Organisation schema on your homepage, a consistent brand name across all pages, and a clear description of your service and location.
Answer-first content
AI models extract the first substantive paragraph from your pages. Every page should open with a direct, factual statement — not a welcome message or a marketing claim.
FAQ markup
Question-and-answer content with FAQPage schema is the most directly citable format for AI. Write FAQs targeting the exact questions your customers ask AI assistants.
Topical authority
A single-page site or thin blog does not establish authority with AI models. A coherent set of pages covering your service area in depth signals that you are a genuine expert.
llms.txt
An emerging standard: a plain-text file at /llms.txt that gives AI models a direct brief on your business. Think of it as a press release for AI crawlers.
GEO implementation checklist
The practical work is small but precise. A Swiss SME does not need hundreds of AI-written pages. It needs a site that clearly states who the business is, what it does, where it operates, and which customer questions it answers better than generic sources.
| GEO layer | What to add | Why AI models use it | How to verify |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crawler access | Explicit Allow rules for GPTBot, ClaudeBot, PerplexityBot, and Google-Extended | Confirms the content is available to AI crawlers | Check /robots.txt and crawl logs |
| Entity schema | Organization, WebSite, Article, and FAQPage JSON-LD where appropriate | Connects the page to a real business, topic, and answer format | Validate structured data and inspect page source |
| Answer-first copy | A direct answer in the first paragraph of each important page | Gives the model a concise extract it can quote or summarise | Read the first 100 words without page context |
| Topical depth | Dedicated pages for the questions buyers actually ask | Shows expertise beyond one thin landing page | Map target prompts to specific URLs |
| AI brief | A maintained /llms.txt file listing services, locations, and key pages | Gives crawlers a plain-text business summary | Open /llms.txt and confirm it matches the site |
How to measure your GEO performance
The AI Visibility Engine measures your site across all six GEO fundamentals and returns a 0–100 score with a ranked list of gaps and fixes. The free check covers your top three issues. The full report (also free, by email) covers every gap with the exact recommended fix.
Frequently asked questions
What is generative engine optimisation? +
GEO is the practice of structuring website content so AI language models — ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews — can extract and cite it. It addresses the technical and content requirements specific to AI model extraction, which differ from traditional SEO signals.
How is GEO different from SEO? +
SEO optimises for ranking algorithms that weight backlinks, keywords, and page authority. GEO optimises for AI extraction, which weights entity clarity (schema), answer-first structure, FAQ markup, and AI crawler access. A site can rank well on Google and be invisible to AI search.
Why does GEO matter for Swiss businesses? +
Swiss buyers increasingly use AI assistants to research services before making contact. If your business isn't cited in those AI responses, you lose the opportunity before the customer ever reaches your website.
What are the most important GEO factors? +
In order of impact: (1) allow AI crawlers in robots.txt, (2) Organisation schema, (3) answer-first content, (4) FAQ sections with markup, (5) content depth, (6) llms.txt.