# GEO and AEO: optimizing a site for AI search

> What GEO and AEO are, where the terms came from, what Google says about them, where llms.txt and structured data fit, and which of the promises can be verified

Page: https://llms-full-txt.ru/en/guides/geo-aeo/
Site index: https://llms-full-txt.ru/en/llms.txt

GEO and AEO are names for one task: getting a site into the answers of AI systems and AI search, and getting it cited.

GEO came from a 2023 research paper. AEO and the other words were coined by service vendors. Google treats all of it as ordinary SEO.

No single technique guarantees a place in an answer. What works is what worked before: an accessible site, clear text, verifiable facts.

## Where the words came from

- Four names for one task
- A research paper
- GEO
- Generative Engine Optimization: an arXiv paper, November 2023, accepted to KDD 2024
- Vendor words
- AEO
- Answer Engine Optimization: attributed to 2017, the primary source is not confirmed
- LLMO
- a synonym of GEO, no primary source found
- AI SEO
- two meanings: AI for SEO, and visibility in AI
- There is no difference of substance between them.

In the original GEO paper the authors changed the text of pages and measured how often a source appeared in the answer of a generative system. The best techniques raised visibility by up to 40% on their query set. That is an experiment under laboratory conditions, not a promise for any site.

Definitions of all the terms: [Glossary](https://llms-full-txt.ru/en/reference/glossary/).

## What Google says

In its guide for site owners [Google writes](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/fundamentals/ai-optimization-guide) two things:

- AEO and GEO are terms you may see used, while optimizing for AI features of Search is still SEO;
- there is no need to create special machine-readable files for Search: Search does not use them.

This is one search engine's position about its own products. It says nothing about how other AI systems work.

## How an answer is assembled

- From a question to an answer with a link
- A question
- a person asks an AI system
- Search
- the system looks for pages in a search index
- Reading
- an agent opens several pages
- An answer
- text with links to sources

The main point follows from the scheme: to get into an answer, a page first has to be found. Most AI systems with search rely on an ordinary search index. A site missing from search will not appear in an answer either.

## What affects it

The fundamentals are known reliably. They are the same as for search.

- **The page is reachable.** It answers `200`, the text is in the server-sent HTML, the robots you want are not blocked.
- **The page is indexed.** A search engine knows it.
- **The page has a direct answer.** A definition, a number, a step - as text, not as a hint.
- **The text is clearly built.** Headings by meaning, lists and tables where they fit.
- **Facts are verifiable.** The source, the author and the date are stated.
- **Entities are described explicitly.** Structured data says that this is a product, an article or an organization.

There is no need to write "for machines" at the expense of people. Clear text is read by both.

## Where files and markup fit

- **`robots.txt`** decides whether a robot is let in. Blocking training while staying in AI search is possible: those are different robots. [AI crawlers](https://llms-full-txt.ru/en/guides/ai-crawlers/).
- **Structured data** is read by search engines, and through them the facts reach AI systems. [Structured data and JSON-LD](https://llms-full-txt.ru/en/guides/json-ld/).
- **`llms.txt`** helps an agent that has already arrived find what it needs. According to the available studies, it does not affect appearing in answers. [Does llms.txt work](https://llms-full-txt.ru/en/guides/does-llms-txt-work/).
- **Markdown versions** make reading easier for an agent. [Markdown versions of pages](https://llms-full-txt.ru/en/guides/markdown-pages/).

Every layer in order: [An AI-ready site](https://llms-full-txt.ru/en/guides/ai-ready-site/).

## What is known and what is not

**Confirmed**

- Google applies the same fundamentals to AI features of Search as to ordinary search.
- The GEO research paper showed that text edits change how often a source appears in an answer under experimental conditions.
- AI systems publish the names and purposes of their robots.

**Not proven**

- That having `llms.txt` increases citations: the [SE Ranking](https://seranking.com/blog/llms-txt/) study of 300 thousand domains found no link.
- That laboratory results transfer to an arbitrary site and survive model updates.
- That one paid "AI visibility" service measures the same thing as another.

**What it does not mean**

- A position in an AI answer does not exist.
- A mention cannot be guaranteed.

## What to do in practice

1. Make sure the site is reachable and present in a search index.
2. Decide which AI robots to admit and write it into `robots.txt`.
3. Add structured data of a fitting type and check it with validators.
4. On the main pages, give direct answers to the questions people arrive with.
5. State the author, the date and the sources.
6. Add `llms.txt` if the site has material an agent benefits from finding fast.
7. Start measuring: logs, referrals, a fixed set of questions.

How to measure and where measurement ends: [How to measure AI visibility](https://llms-full-txt.ru/en/guides/ai-visibility/).