What is GEO (Generative Engine Optimization)?
More and more people get answers from AI assistants and AI-powered search, such as ChatGPT search, Perplexity, Claude, Microsoft Copilot and Google's AI Overviews and AI Mode, instead of a list of blue links. Generative Engine Optimization (GEO), also called AI search optimization or AEO, is the practice of making your content easy for these systems to access, understand and cite as a source in their answers. It builds on classic SEO: pages that rank and are crawlable in search are the raw material AI answers are made from.
What this GEO checker tests
- AI crawler access: we read your robots.txt and check 18 crawlers individually. We separate answer-engine bots (OAI-SearchBot, PerplexityBot, Claude-SearchBot…) that fetch pages to cite them, from training bots (GPTBot, ClaudeBot, Google-Extended, CCBot…) that collect data for model training. Blocking training bots is a legitimate choice; blocking answer-engine bots or Googlebot/Bingbot removes you from AI answers.
- llms.txt: a proposed convention for a Markdown file that summarises your site for language models.
- Machine-readable content: how much text is in the server HTML (many AI crawlers do not execute JavaScript), heading structure, question-style headings, lists, tables and source citations.
- Trust signals: structured data, author, organization identity and freshness, the experience-expertise-authority-trust (E-E-A-T) cues that help engines decide what to quote.
- Technical basics: HTTPS, title and description, canonical URL, sitemap and server response time.
How to get cited by AI search engines
- Be crawlable: allow Googlebot, Bingbot and the AI search bots you want to appear in, and render content on the server.
- Answer questions directly: start sections with the question as a heading and a clear one- or two-sentence answer, then the detail.
- Structure facts: use lists, tables, definitions and step-by-step instructions that can be lifted accurately.
- Show expertise: name the author, add credentials, cite primary sources and keep pages updated with visible dates.
- Mark it up: add schema.org JSON-LD for your Organization and for Articles, Products, FAQs or HowTos.
- Build authority: AI engines favour sources that are well-linked and mentioned across the web, just as search engines do.
Complement this report with the SEO checker, the website speed test and the HTTP headers checker.
Example llms.txt
# Example Co
> Example Co makes accounting software for small businesses in the UK.
## Docs
- [Getting started](https://example.com/docs/start): set up your account
- [Pricing](https://example.com/pricing): plans and VAT
## Optional
- [Blog](https://example.com/blog)Frequently asked questions
Is GEO different from SEO?
It extends it. The foundations (crawlability, quality content, authority, structured data) are the same. GEO puts extra weight on clear, quotable answers, on server-rendered content and on access for AI crawlers.
Should I block GPTBot and other AI crawlers?
Blocking training crawlers keeps your content out of future model training but does not stop AI search engines from citing you, as long as their search bots and Googlebot/Bingbot are allowed. Decide based on your business model.
Do AI engines use llms.txt?
Support is still emerging and varies by provider. It is cheap to add and can help tools that look for it, but it is not a replacement for good, crawlable pages.