Generative engine optimization (GEO) is the practice of making your brand visible, cited, and accurately described in AI-generated answers from engines like ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, and Google’s AI Overviews. Where SEO optimizes how a page ranks, GEO optimizes how a page reads. AI engines cite the clearest, best-supported source, not just the highest-ranked one with the best domain authority. Princeton research found that GEO techniques, such as adding citations, expert quotes, and statistics, can increase a page’s AI visibility by up to 40%.

SEO (search engine optimization) gets you ranked in traditional search results pages. AEO (answer engine optimization) structures your content so it can be pulled directly into answers— such as featured snippets, voice assistants, and AI responses. GEO (generative engine optimization) goes a step further: it’s about getting cited and accurately represented within AI-generated answers. In short, AI engines shortlist from pages that already rank with traditional SEO, and AEO/GEO get you quoted in chatbot answers.

Yes, absolutely. The pages AI cites tend to rank near the top of traditional search results, with a median position of #3 on page 1. Skip SEO, and you’re not even on the AI shortlist. But ranking alone is no longer enough. You can sit at position #1 and still get ignored if a competitor’s page answers the question more clearly. That’s why we treat SEO as the foundation and layer AEO and GEO on top of it, rather than selling them as separate services.

A generative engine optimization agency handles three jobs: 1) Getting you found (technical SEO, entity and schema signals, etc.), 2) Getting you quoted (answer-first content engineered to be cited), and 3) Getting you represented correctly (auditing what AI engines say about you and fixing errors before they cost you deals). Naturally, answer engine optimization (AEO) is a direct complement to GEO, with considerable overlap. Our GEO services also include the flagship deliverable that most SEO agencies can’t or won’t produce: high-level original research and long-form content, such as deep research reports and white papers, not just AI slop.

Answer engine optimization services restructure your existing content so AI engines and answer boxes can extract it cleanly. Think question-based headings, direct answers up front, FAQ schema, and structured data. You don’t need separate AEO and GEO agencies because the disciplines overlap almost completely, and anyone selling them as separate line items is padding the invoice. Our engagements include AEO and GEO work as a single layer atop SEO fundamentals, such as traditional SEO content libraries that focus on specific keyword clusters your target audience searches for.

A traditional SEO agency optimizes for one algorithm: Google, and maybe Bing. An AI SEO agency optimizes for how large language models read, retrieve, and cite content across ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, Gemini, and AI Overviews, which reward clear sourcing, extractable answers, real, sourced statistics, genuine expertise, and best-practice-aligned, high-quality content. The biggest practical difference is the writing. While AI engines produce well-written pages, we lead with Madison Avenue-trained, award-winning senior editorial talent rather than junior writers producing AI-generated filler.

We track three key metrics across 6+ AI engines: your mention rate (how often AI names your brand for relevant queries), your citation rate (how often AI links to your pages as a source), and your accuracy score (whether what AI says about you is actually correct). In fact, up to 64% of buyers regularly encounter inaccurate AI recommendations. You get all three optimized in a transparent monthly report, starting with our baseline AI Visibility audit.

Our pricing is public and transparent: a one-time AI Visibility Report is $2,500, while recurring AEO/GEO engagements run $3,500–$4,500 per month. Fractional CMO and similar embedded engagements start at $5,500 per month. Most agencies in this space quote $5,000–$45,000 monthly and are trying to squeeze you for all you’re worth. We’d rather you know the number before we ever talk, and arrive at a win-win relationship. That’s been our bread-and-butter for the past 12 years.

The good news is that GEO and AEO efforts tend to show results faster than traditional SEO. AI engines refresh their retrieval far more often than search engine rankings move, so accuracy fixes and answer-first rewrites can surface in AI responses within weeks to months, rather than 3–6 months or more. For compounding results—including AI citations, mentions, and AI-referred leads—still plan for a minimum of 3–6 months. For example, one of our clients (Invictus Pharmacy) tripled its AI visibility score and organic traffic within four months of engagement, including a large-scale rollout of a traditional SEO content hub aligned with modern AEO and GEO best practices.