GEO, or generative engine optimization, is the practice of making your business easy for AI assistants to find, trust and recommend. When someone asks ChatGPT, Google Gemini, Perplexity, Microsoft Copilot or Google AI Overviews a question such as “Which company builds websites in Lagos?”, the AI writes one answer and names a few businesses. GEO is how you become one of those names. This guide explains how it works and what Nigerian businesses can do about it today.
By Eniola Adeleke, Tech Researcher, AD Technologies Limited, an AI technology company in Lagos · Updated September 2026
GEO in One Minute
- What it is: optimising your website and online presence so AI assistants cite you as a source or recommend you by name.
- Where it shows: ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Copilot, Google AI Overviews and Google AI Mode.
- Why it matters: an AI answer names only a handful of businesses, so being left out means being invisible for that question.
- How it relates to SEO: GEO builds on SEO. AI systems mostly draw on pages that search engines can already find and trust.
Where the Term GEO Comes From
The term was formalised by researchers from Princeton University and IIT Delhi in the paper GEO: Generative Engine Optimization, published at the ACM KDD 2024 conference. They found that specific content changes, such as adding statistics, quotations and cited sources, could increase a website’s visibility in AI-generated answers by up to 40%.
How AI Assistants Choose Which Businesses to Name
Most AI search tools work in two stages. First they retrieve pages from a search index. Then a large language model reads those pages and writes a summary. Your business can only appear in the answer if it passes both stages.
- Found: AI crawlers and search engines can reach and index your pages.
- Retrieved: your page ranks well enough to be pulled in for the question.
- Understood: the page states clearly who you are, what you do, where and for how much.
- Trusted: other websites, directories and reviews confirm the same facts.
GEO vs SEO vs AEO
| SEO | AEO | GEO | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Goal | Rank a page in search results | Be the direct answer on the results page | Be named or cited inside AI-written answers |
| Where | Google and Bing listings | Featured snippets, People Also Ask, voice | ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Copilot, AI Overviews |
| Key work | Technical health, keywords, links | Question headings, short answers, FAQ markup | Entity clarity, citable facts, third-party mentions |
The three overlap heavily. Google states in its guidance on AI features and your website that normal SEO best practices apply to AI Overviews and AI Mode. Learn more about AI SEO and answer engine optimization.
Why GEO Matters for Nigerian Businesses Now
Nigerian buyers already ask AI assistants to shortlist suppliers, compare prices and check whether a business is real. At the same time, very few Nigerian businesses have prepared for it. That makes GEO a first-mover opportunity: the businesses that fix their foundations early become the names AI assistants keep repeating, because every new mention reinforces the old ones.
7 GEO Steps You Can Start Today
- Let AI crawlers in. Check yourdomain.com/robots.txt for “Disallow” rules under GPTBot, OAI-SearchBot, ClaudeBot, PerplexityBot or Google-Extended.
- Get indexed on Google and Bing. Verify your site in Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools and submit your sitemap. Microsoft Copilot is built on Bing, so Bing matters.
- Use one identity everywhere. The same business name, phone number, address and website on your site, Google Business Profile, LinkedIn and directories.
- Give each service its own page. One page per service and per city, each answering its main question in the first two sentences.
- Publish facts AI can repeat. Prices in naira, service areas, timeframes, registration numbers and dated updates.
- Add structured data. Organization, LocalBusiness, Service and FAQPage schema describe your business in a format machines read directly.
- Earn mentions elsewhere. Reviews, directory listings such as Clutch, LinkedIn activity and press coverage confirm what your own site says.
How to Check if AI Recommends Your Business
Write down five to ten questions your customers ask before they buy, such as “best [your service] in Lagos” or “how much does [your service] cost in Nigeria”. Ask each question in ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Copilot and Google. Record which businesses are named, which websites are cited, and whether you appear. Repeat monthly. AI answers change between sessions, so look at trends, not single screenshots.
Common GEO Myths
“GEO replaces SEO.”
No. AI search tools retrieve pages from search indexes first, so pages that do not rank are rarely cited.
“You can pay to appear in ChatGPT.”
Organic AI answers cannot be bought. Anyone guaranteeing a mention is promising something they do not control.
“More content always helps.”
Mass-produced pages can hurt. Google’s spam policies target scaled content made mainly to manipulate rankings.
“One special file fixes it.”
Proposed files such as llms.txt are not a confirmed ranking factor for major AI search tools. Clear pages, structured data and real mentions matter far more.
When to Get Help With GEO
You can start the seven steps above yourself. Outside help makes sense when your website has technical problems, your category is competitive, or nobody on your team has time to test AI answers and publish content every month. AD Technologies delivers generative engine optimization in Nigeria, with a free AI visibility check to show where you stand first.
What Is GEO: Frequently Asked Questions
What does GEO stand for?
GEO stands for generative engine optimization: optimising a business’s website and online presence so AI assistants cite or recommend it.
Is GEO the same as AI SEO?
They overlap. AI SEO focuses on search engines and their AI features, while GEO focuses on being named inside answers written by AI assistants.
How long does GEO take to work?
Technical and identity fixes can be picked up within weeks. Being cited consistently for competitive questions usually takes several months.
Does GEO work for small businesses in Nigeria?
Yes. Local businesses often see results fastest, because few competitors in their city have prepared for AI search yet.
See Whether AI Recommends Your Business
Send us three questions your customers ask. We will test them across AI platforms and show you who gets named today.
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