So today I learned there are two newer approaches built on top of regular SEO:
- GEO (Generative Engine Optimization)
- AEO (Answer Engine Optimization)
Basically it’s not just about ranking on Google anymore, it’s about getting AI to recognize your site and cite it as a source in its answers.
1. Technical access: bots need to be able to see your site
robots.txt: the file AI crawlers follow. It’s where you tell AI bots which models can see your stuff, whether you’re ok with it being used for training, whether you want to show up as a source in answers, etc.- Check your Cloudflare/CDN settings: there might be an option blocking AI bots that’s turned on and you wouldn’t even know.
- Keep your content in the HTML: bots have a hard time reading stuff that loads through JS.
sitemap.xml: lists the important pages on your site for search engines and bots. Kind of like a table of contents, makes their job easier.
2. llms.txt
Doesn’t seem super effective but it doesn’t hurt to have one, might help a bit. (llmstxt.org)
3. Content should be easy for AI to quote
- Start with the answer: the first 2-3 sentences of every page or section should just answer the question.
- Start from questions, not keywords: think about how people actually ask AI things.
- Be original: talk about your own experience.
- Keep it fresh: add dates, update stuff regularly.
- Give actual data.
- Use a clear structure.
4. Which tag is for who?
- Meta tags → search engines → the title/description in search results, plus indexing control.
- Open Graph → social media and messaging apps → the preview card when someone shares your link.
- JSON-LD → search engines and AI → describes your content in a way machines get.