In 2024 it made sense to invest 100% in classic SEO. In 2026, between 30% and 50% of commercial-intent searches go through ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, or Claude. And in those places, there is no "first page". There is citation or silence.
What is GEO
Generative Engine Optimization. A set of practices to make your content eligible to be cited by LLMs.
The 5 factors that matter most
- Clear structure (H2/H3, lists, comparison tables)
- Direct answers at the top of the content (TL;DR works)
- Data, numbers, benchmarks that are verifiable
- Citations of credible external sources
- Correct schema markup (FAQ, HowTo, Article)
The file everyone forgets
llms.txt at the site root. It's the equivalent of robots.txt for AI crawlers. Scalor already has its own. Most of your competitors still don't.
How to measure
- Ask ChatGPT/Perplexity about your industry once a week
- Use tools like Profound or AthenaHQ
- Monitor referral traffic from chat.openai.com and perplexity.ai in GA4
GEO doesn't replace SEO. It adds.
Written by
Henrique Baeta
Commercial & Doer
Writes about applied AI, operations, GEO/SEO and how to turn companies into machines that keep running even when no one is watching.