In short: Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO) is the practice of making your business discoverable and citable by AI language models like ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, and Google AI Overviews. While traditional SEO focuses on ranking in search results, GEO focuses on being recommended by name in AI-generated answers.
For two decades, businesses optimised for one thing: ranking on Google. But the way people find businesses is changing fundamentally. Instead of scrolling through ten blue links, a growing number of buyers are asking AI platforms directly: “Who’s the best estate agent in Kensington?” or “Which letting agency has the best reviews in Manchester?”
When ChatGPT, Perplexity, or Gemini answers that question, they don’t show a list of websites. They recommend specific businesses by name. If your business isn’t being cited, you’re invisible to this audience — and it’s growing fast.
Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO) is the practice of making your business discoverable and citable by AI language models. While traditional SEO focuses on Google’s crawl-index-rank pipeline, GEO focuses on how AI models understand, evaluate, and recommend businesses.
The key difference: SEO is about being found. GEO is about being chosen. An AI model doesn’t just list you — it actively recommends you over competitors, often with a sentence explaining why.
1. Structured data: Schema.org markup, llms.txt files, and machine-readable business information that AI platforms can parse without ambiguity.
2. Content authority: Deep, factual, expert-level content that demonstrates genuine expertise. AI models weight authoritative content heavily when deciding which businesses to cite.
3. Citation signals: Reviews, mentions in industry publications, backlinks from trusted sources, and consistent NAP (Name, Address, Phone) data across the web.
Research from multiple sources suggests that 30–40% of product and service discovery is already happening through AI-assisted channels. For property specifically, the shift is even more pronounced — buyers and renters increasingly use conversational AI to shortlist agents before ever visiting a website.
The businesses that invest in GEO now will build an early-mover advantage that compounds over time. AI models develop “memory” of which businesses are authoritative in a given area, and that reputation becomes self-reinforcing.
The first step is understanding where you stand. Run a free Bump scan to see your current GEO score across all six categories. From there, Oly — our AI growth agent — will guide you through exactly what to fix first, in priority order.
GEO (Generative Engine Optimisation) is the practice of optimising your website and online presence so that AI platforms like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Gemini cite your business in their responses. It involves structured data, authoritative content, and citation signals.
SEO focuses on ranking in traditional search engine results pages. GEO focuses on being recommended by AI language models. SEO is about being found; GEO is about being chosen and cited by name.
An estimated 30–40% of product and service discovery now happens through AI-assisted channels. When a buyer asks ChatGPT for the best estate agent in an area, GEO determines whether your agency is recommended.
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