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GEO 101 Beginner
Step 1 of 5

What is GEO

Every other GEO concept (citations, signals, engines, retrievers) assumes you already know what a generative engine is and what GEO sets out to do. Pin those two down here, and the rest of the topic stops looking like jargon.

What to read for this step

  1. Generative Engine Optimization
    Wiki
  2. Generative Engine
    Wiki
  3. AI Search Timeline (2022–present)
    Wiki
  4. GEO: Generative Engine Optimization (Aggarwal et al. 2024)
    Papers

After this step, you should be able to answer

  • Define a generative engine in one sentence
  • Is 'GEO' the same thing as 'AI search optimization'?
  • Why did GEO emerge as a discipline distinct from SEO?