Generative Engine Optimization: how to get your business into AI answersGenerative Engine Optimization: how to get your business into AI answers

When people want to know which tax advisor in Villach is a good fit or which software works for class bookings, they increasingly don't type it into Google anymore. They ask ChatGPT and get a ready-made answer with two or three recommended providers. That's exactly where Generative Engine Optimization, or GEO for short, comes in: the work of making sure your business shows up in these AI answers at all. Not in first place on a results list, but right in the middle of the text the AI produces.

For small and medium-sized businesses, this is a bigger shift than it looks at first glance. The results list that SEO has revolved around for 20 years is quickly becoming a side issue.

Why GEO matters right now

The numbers are clear. In early 2026, BrightEdge measured an AI Overview on around 48 percent of all Google searches, and the share is rising. In an analysis of 300,000 keywords, Ahrefs found that the click-through rate for position 1 drops by around 58 percent as soon as an AI answer appears above it. And according to a joint study by OpenAI and Harvard, around a quarter of all ChatGPT usage is pure information seeking.

In plain terms: your audience is still doing its research. It just clicks less often. The decision about who makes the shortlist is increasingly made inside the AI answer, before anyone even lands on a website.

The good news is in the same data. Seer Interactive found that brands cited in an AI Overview actually get around 35 percent more organic clicks for those searches. So being cited isn't the end of your traffic. It's the new competition.

GEO isn't a new SEO, it builds on it

The most common worry we hear from clients: "Do we have to start all over again?" No. GEO doesn't replace SEO, it extends it. Content that ranks well organically also shows up much more often in AI answers. The foundation stays the same: clean tech, fast pages, real content.

The difference lies in what you optimize for.

• SEO optimizes for a ranking. Success = position.
• GEO optimizes for being named as a source. Success = how often you're cited in AI answers.

A language model reads your page differently from a classic crawler. It looks for clear statements it can safely repeat. For facts that are unambiguously attributed. For structure. Marketing copy that beats around the bush is worthless to an AI, because it can't build a quotable sentence out of it.

What Generative Engine Optimization means in practice

1. Answer questions instead of scattering keywords

People ask AI in full sentences: "How much does a website for a restaurant in Carinthia cost?" So your page needs exactly that question as a heading, with a clear, concrete answer underneath, ideally in the first two or three sentences. Everything after that is detail.

2. Structure a machine can understand

Meaningful subheadings, short paragraphs, lists, an FAQ block at the end. Add structured data based on Schema.org. That way the AI knows for sure that €890 is a price and not a floor area. This clarity increases the chance that it will use your information.

3. Verifiable facts instead of superlatives

No AI quotes "leading provider in the region". "Over 60 projects for SMEs in Carinthia since 2019", on the other hand, it will. Numbers, years, references, names: anything that can be checked can be cited.

4. Mentions beyond your own website

Language models build their picture of your business from many sources: industry directories, press articles, review platforms, your Google Business Profile, forums. If your name appears there consistently and with the same facts, the AI is more likely to recommend you. Contradictory opening hours or three different company addresses online have exactly the opposite effect.

5. llms.txt and technical accessibility

A still-young convention is an llms.txt file in the root directory that shows AI systems which pages of your website matter most. It's not a standard Google requires, but it takes little effort to set up. Even more important: your content has to be readable without JavaScript acrobatics. What a bot can't see, it can't cite.

How to measure whether it's working

Classic rankings are no longer enough. Here's what you should keep an eye on instead:

1. Test your customers' questions directly. Ask ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity the ten questions customers come to you with. Are you mentioned? Who else is?
2. Count citations, not positions. On which topics does your domain appear as a source?
3. Measure traffic from AI tools. Your analytics tool lets you track visits from chatgpt.com and perplexity.ai separately. The numbers are small today, but they're growing fast.

This isn't a one-month project. But it's a good starting point for an honest picture.

What this means for your business

GEO isn't a new buzzword budget you have to sign off on. It's a shift in priorities: away from keyword density, towards clear, verifiable, well-structured answers to real customer questions. If you're already doing that well, you're halfway there. If your website has consisted of nothing but pictures and empty phrases for five years, you now have a very concrete reason to change that.

The timing is good, because most SMEs haven't even started yet. Whoever is first in their niche to deliver cleanly structured, quotable content will also be the first to be recommended. And recommendations stick: once a brand is established as an answer, it stays that way for a while.

At Proplex, we build websites designed for exactly this: technically clean, clear in content, properly structured and marked up. Not as an AI trick, but because that has always been the foundation of a good website. AI just rewards it more visibly now.

Want to know whether your business currently shows up in AI answers? Take a look at our projects or get in touch with us directly. We'll review your website and tell you honestly where you stand.

Frequently asked questions about GEO

Does GEO replace classic search engine optimization?

No. GEO builds on SEO. Content that ranks well organically is also cited more often by AI systems.

How quickly does Generative Engine Optimization work?

Much like SEO. The first effects are often visible within a few weeks; stable visibility takes months and a steady flow of new content.

Is it enough to add a few FAQ blocks?

They help, but they're only one piece. Without a technical foundation, verifiable facts and consistent mentions outside your own website, the effect stays small.