Research
Annotated papers that anchor the field's vocabulary — the foundational research behind GEO, read closely and distilled.
How the engines work
Retrieval, ranking and synthesis inside generative engines — what decides which sources reach the answer.
- Open paper
Answer Bubbles: Information Exposure in AI-Mediated Search
2026 Huang et al. Preprint
- Live-engine study
- Open paper
Incumbent Advantage: Brand Bias and Cognitive Manipulation Dynamics in LLM Recommendation Systems
2026 Chu & Hou Preprint
- E-commerce
- Open paper
How LLMs Are Persuaded: A Few Attention Heads, Rerouted
2026 Sun et al. Preprint
- Open paper
Agentic Retrieval-Augmented Generation: A Survey on Agentic RAG
2025 Singh et al. Survey / review
- Agentic search
- Survey
- Open paper
From Web Search towards Agentic Deep Research: Incentivizing Search with Reasoning Agents
2025 Zhang et al. Survey / review
- Agentic search
- Survey
- Open paper
A Survey of LLM-based Deep Search Agents: Paradigm, Optimization, Evaluation, and Challenges
2025 Xi et al. Survey / review
- Agentic search
- Survey
- Open paper
Characterizing Web Search in the Age of Generative AI
2025 Kirsten et al. Peer-reviewed
- Live-engine study
GEO methods
What actually moves visibility: content rewrites, structure, and site-side optimization tested against engines.
- Read analysis
GEO: Generative Engine Optimization
2024 Aggarwal et al. KDD 2024 (Proc. 30th ACM SIGKDD)
The KDD 2024 paper that coined Generative Engine Optimization, released GEO-bench and the impression metric, and reported visibility lifts up to 40% — a per-method, per-domain upper bound that fell to ~22% on a live engine.
- Benchmark / dataset
- Live-engine study
- Read analysis
What Evidence Do Language Models Find Convincing?
2024 Wan et al. ACL 2024 Main (62nd ACM, Long Papers, pp. 7468–7484)
ACL 2024: choosing between conflicting web sources, LLMs weight topical relevance heavily and the credibility signals humans value — scientific references, neutral tone, formal citations — barely at all. Measured on five models that all predate mid-2024.
- Benchmark / dataset
- Open paper
Diagnosing and Repairing Citation Failures in Generative Engine Optimization
2026 Tian et al. Preprint
- Open paper
Think Before Writing: Feature-Level Multi-Objective Optimization for Generative Citation Visibility
2026 Liu & Xu Peer-reviewed
- Open paper
Generative Engine Optimization: A VLM and Agent Framework for Pinterest Acquisition Growth
2026 Zhang et al. Preprint
- Agentic search
- Multimodal
- Open paper
EcoGEO: Trajectory-Aware Evidence Ecosystems for Web-Enabled LLM Search Agents
2026 Ye et al. Preprint
- Agentic search
- Open paper
IF-GEO: Conflict-Aware Instruction Fusion for Multi-Query Generative Engine Optimization
2026 Zhou et al. Preprint
- Open paper
AgenticGEO: A Self-Evolving Agentic System for Generative Engine Optimization
2026 Yuan et al. Preprint
- Agentic search
- Open paper
Structural Feature Engineering for Generative Engine Optimization: How Content Structure Shapes Citation Behavior
2026 Yu et al. Preprint
- Live-engine study
- Open paper
Optimizing Visibility in Generative Engines: A Critical Survey of Generative Engine Optimization (2023–2026)
2026 Martinez Survey / review
- Survey
- Open paper
Designing Agent-Ready Websites for AI Web Agents: A Framework for Machine Readability, Actionability, and Decision Reliability
2026 Elnaffar & Rashidi Preprint
- Agentic search
- E-commerce
- Open paper
Beyond Retrieval: Modeling Confidence Decay and Deterministic Agentic Platforms in Generative Engine Optimization
2026 Zhao et al. Preprint
- Agentic search
- Open paper
Mind Reader: Latent User Demand-Guided Content Optimization for Generative Search Engine
2026 Chen et al. Peer-reviewed
- Open paper
What Generative Search Engines Like and How to Optimize Web Content Cooperatively
2025 Wu et al. Preprint
- Open paper
White Hat Search Engine Optimization using Large Language Models
2025 Bardas et al. Preprint
- Open paper
Role-Augmented Intent-Driven Generative Search Engine Optimization
2025 Chen et al. Preprint
- Open paper
Generative Engine Optimization: How to Dominate AI Search
2025 Chen et al. Preprint
- Live-engine study
- Open paper
Beyond SEO: A Transformer-Based Approach for Reinventing Web Content Optimisation
2025 Lüttgenau et al. Preprint
- Open paper
Rewrite-to-Rank: Optimizing Ad Visibility via Retrieval-Aware Text Rewriting
2025 Ho et al. Preprint
- E-commerce
- Open paper
LLMs.txt Adoption and Impact on AI Visibility: A 300K-Domain Study
2025 SE Ranking Industry study
Measurement & evaluation
Visibility metrics, citation behaviour, benchmarks, and how many samples a reliable reading takes.
- Open paper
Navigating the Shift: A Comparative Analysis of Web Search and Generative AI Response Generation
2026 Chen et al. Preprint
- Open paper
Disentangling Answer Engine Optimization from Platform Growth: A Log-Based Natural Experiment on ChatGPT Referral Traffic
2026 Watanabe & Nakayashiki Preprint
- Live-engine study
- Publisher economics
- Open paper
From Citation Selection to Citation Absorption: A Measurement Framework for GEO Across AI Search Platforms
2026 Zhang et al. Preprint
- Benchmark / dataset
- Live-engine study
- Open paper
SAGEO Arena: A Realistic Environment for Evaluating Search-Augmented Generative Engine Optimization
2026 Kim et al. Preprint
- Benchmark / dataset
- Open paper
Generative Engine Optimization at Scale: Measuring Brand Visibility Across AI Search Engines
2026 Kumar Preprint
- Live-engine study
- Open paper
Whose Hotel Does the AI Recommend? An Algorithm Audit of Reputation Signals in LLM-Assisted Hotel Selection
2026 Baig et al. Preprint
- E-commerce
- Open paper
Algorithmic Trust and Compliance: Benchmarking Brand Notability for UK iGaming Entities in Generative Search Engines
2026 Oruesagasti Industry study
- Live-engine study
- Open paper
Evaluating Reliability Asymmetries in Chinese Factual Search and AI Answers
2026 Liu et al. Preprint
- Chinese engines
- Benchmark / dataset
- Live-engine study
- Open paper
The Rise of AI Search: Implications for Information Markets and Human Judgement at Scale
2026 Aral et al. Preprint
- Live-engine study
- Open paper
Cultural Encoding in Large Language Models: The Existence Gap in AI-Mediated Brand Discovery
2026 Huang et al. Preprint
- Chinese engines
- Benchmark / dataset
- Open paper
The End of Rented Discovery: How AI Search Redistributes Power Between Hotels and Intermediaries
2026 Zhu & Chang Preprint
- E-commerce
- Live-engine study
- Publisher economics
- Open paper
E-GEO: A Testbed for Generative Engine Optimization in E-Commerce
2025 Bagga et al. Preprint
- E-commerce
- Benchmark / dataset
- Open paper
Source Coverage and Citation Bias in LLM-based vs. Traditional Search Engines
2025 Zhang et al. Preprint
- Open paper
CC-GSEO-Bench: A Content-Centric Benchmark for Measuring Source Influence in Generative Search Engines
2025 Chen et al. Preprint
- Benchmark / dataset
- Open paper
Auditing Google's AI Overviews and Featured Snippets: A Case Study on Baby Care and Pregnancy
2025 Hu et al. Peer-reviewed
- Live-engine study
- Open paper
AI Answer Engine Citation Behavior: An Empirical Analysis of the GEO-16 Framework
2025 Kumar & Palkhouski Preprint
- Live-engine study
- Open paper
Assessing Web Search Credibility and Response Groundedness in Chat Assistants
2025 Vykopal et al. Peer-reviewed
- Live-engine study
- Open paper
News Source Citing Patterns in AI Search Systems
2025 Yang Preprint
- Live-engine study
- Publisher economics
- Open paper
Search Engines in an AI Era: The False Promise of Factual and Verifiable Source-Cited Responses
2024 Venkit et al. Preprint
- Open paper
Generative AI Search Engines as Arbiters of Public Knowledge: An Audit of Bias and Authority
2024 Li & Sinnamon Peer-reviewed
- Live-engine study
Manipulation & defense
Ranking attacks, prompt injection and content poisoning — and the defenses proposed against them.
- Open paper
Multimodal Generative Engine Optimization: Rank Manipulation for Vision-Language Model Rankers
2026 Du et al. Preprint
- Multimodal
- Open paper
GEO-Bench: Benchmarking Ranking Manipulation in Generative Engine Optimization
2026 Nimase et al. Preprint
- Benchmark / dataset
- Open paper
Controlling Output Rankings in Generative Engines for LLM-based Search
2026 Jin et al. Preprint
- E-commerce
- Open paper
Exploring LLM Biases to Manipulate AI Search Overview
2026 Smirnov Preprint
- Open paper
GPE: Evaluating Robust Evidence Aggregation for Fact Verification under Controllable GEO-Style Poisoning
2026 Wang et al. Preprint
- Benchmark / dataset
- Open paper
SafeGEO: Understanding Generative Engine Optimization Risks in Recommendation Agents
2026 Wen et al. Preprint
- E-commerce
- Benchmark / dataset
- Open paper
SCI-Defense: Defending Manipulation Attacks from Generative Engine Optimization
2026 Yu et al. Preprint
- E-commerce
- Open paper
Ranked by Position: Order Sensitivity as an Exploitable Attack Surface in LLM Listwise Recommenders
2026 Zhang et al. Preprint
- E-commerce
- Open paper
SIREN: PAIR-Driven Preference Manipulation in Web-RAG Recommenders
2026 Caville et al. Preprint
- Open paper
StealthRank: LLM Ranking Manipulation via Stealthy Prompt Optimization
2025 Tang et al. Preprint
- Open paper
GASLITEing the Retrieval: Exploring Vulnerabilities in Dense Embedding-based Search
2025 Ben-Tov & Sharif Peer-reviewed
- Open paper
PoisonArena: Uncovering Competing Poisoning Attacks in Retrieval-Augmented Generation
2025 Chen et al. Peer-reviewed
- Benchmark / dataset
- Open paper
GRADA: Graph-based Reranking against Adversarial Documents Attack
2025 Zheng et al. Peer-reviewed
- Open paper
ReliabilityRAG: Effective and Provably Robust Defense for RAG-based Web-Search
2025 Shen et al. Peer-reviewed
- Open paper
The Ranking Blind Spot: Decision Hijacking in LLM-based Text Ranking
2025 Qian et al. Peer-reviewed
- Open paper
Are LLMs Reliable Rankers? Rank Manipulation via Two-Stage Token Optimization
2025 Xing et al. Peer-reviewed
- Open paper
Ranking Manipulation for Conversational Search Engines
2024 Pfrommer et al. Peer-reviewed
- Open paper
Manipulating Large Language Models to Increase Product Visibility
2024 Kumar & Lakkaraju Preprint
- E-commerce
Policy & governance
Publisher economics, attribution, copyright, and the regulation forming around AI answers.
- Open paper
The Impact of AI Search on the Online Content Ecosystem: Evidence from Google and Reddit
2026 Zhang et al. Preprint
- Live-engine study
- Publisher economics
- Open paper
An Economic Framework for Generative Engines: Advertising or Subscription?
2026 Zhang et al. Preprint
- Publisher economics
- Open paper
Impact of AI Search Summaries on Website Traffic: Evidence from Google AI Overviews and Wikipedia
2026 Khosravi & Yoganarasimhan Preprint
- Live-engine study
- Publisher economics
- Open paper
Do AI Overviews Benefit Search Engines? An Ecosystem Perspective
2026 Wu et al. Preprint
- Publisher economics
- Open paper
Google users are less likely to click when an AI summary appears
2025 Pew Research Center Industry study
- Live-engine study
- Publisher economics