- For Google, GEO is still good SEO: no special tags or “for AI” files are needed.
- What helps: complete answers, original data, and a reputation beyond your own website.
- What does nothing or backfires: llms.txt, mass-produced pages, fake reviews. Since June 2026, Google penalizes attempts to manipulate its AI answers.
What is GEO?
GEO, short for Generative Engine Optimization, covers what helps your content get found, understood and cited by engines that answer with AI: ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, and Google’s AI answers (AI Overviews and AI Mode).
The difference from SEO fits in one sentence. SEO aims to rank well in a list of links. GEO aims to be included in the answer, with a link to your page or at least your company’s name.
The two don’t compete. For Google, GEO is first and foremost SEO done well: a page that isn’t indexed can’t be cited.
Do you need to optimize specifically for Google?
No. Google states it clearly in its documentation for site owners: there are no additional requirements to appear in AI Overviews or AI Mode. A page simply needs to be indexed and eligible to show with a snippet in the results.
The best practices Google lists are those of classic SEO:
- let crawlers access the site, including at the hosting or CDN level;
- connect your pages to each other with internal links;
- keep most of your content as text, illustrated with useful images and videos;
- keep your Business Profile up to date;
- monitor your site in Search Console.
Google also specifies that structured data must match the visible text, and that no special markup or “for AI” file is needed. Traffic from AI answers is counted in the Search Console Performance report, under “Web” (Google Search Central).
What increases your chances of being cited?
Ranking well is still the way in, but it’s no longer enough. According to an Ahrefs study from March 2026, only 38% of pages cited by AI Overviews were in the top 10 classic results, down from 76% in July 2025 (Marketing Alec summary).
What makes the difference, according to available studies:
Answer the related questions too
AI engines break a question down into several sub-questions. A page that covers the main question and the next two or three is more likely to be picked.
Complete passages under clear subheadings
A subheading that asks the question, the full answer right below it, on the same page. No content broken into fragments.
Data no one else has
Figures from your projects, tests, public prices: AI readily cites what it can’t find anywhere else. Update your pages with genuinely new information, not just the date.
A reputation beyond your website
Press articles, videos, LinkedIn, customer reviews, forums: AI relies heavily on what others say about you.
What does nothing, or backfires
Plenty of recipes are going around. Here are the ones the data contradicts.
| Practice | What we know |
|---|---|
| Adding an llms.txt file | 97% of these files received no requests in May 2026 (Ahrefs, 137,000 domains). Google says it has no effect on search (PPC Land). |
| Adding “for AI” markup | Across 1,885 pages tracked by Ahrefs, adding structured data produced no measurable gain in ChatGPT, AI Mode or AI Overviews. |
| Chopping your text into small fragments | Google has explicitly asked people not to do this. |
| Mass-publishing one page per question | Since the June 2026 spam update, Google also penalizes attempts to manipulate its AI answers, just like mass-produced content (TechWyse). |
| Fake reviews, paid mentions, self-written “best agencies” rankings | Practices targeted by spam policies, and legally risky. |
| Tracking a “ranking” in ChatGPT | The same question returns the same list of brands less than once in a hundred times (SparkToro): you track a trend, not a position. |
What about a business in Vietnam?
In Vietnam, search starts with Google: 92.99% of searches in September 2026, ahead of Cốc Cốc (5.92%) and Bing (0.65%), according to StatCounter. For an SME, the priority is clear:
- get Google right, since its AI answers draw on the same pages;
- publish in Vietnamese for local customers, and in English or French for foreign customers;
- keep your Google Business Profile up to date (address, hours, real reviews);
- submit your site to Cốc Cốc too, which still holds a meaningful share.
Where to start: 7 steps
- Check crawler access: nothing in your robots.txt file or at your host should block Googlebot or AI search crawlers (OAI-SearchBot for ChatGPT, PerplexityBot…).
- Connect Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools to see what is indexed.
- List the 20 to 30 questions your customers actually ask: on the phone, on Zalo, in meetings.
- One clear page per topic, with the answer up top, related questions below, and your sources.
- Publish at least one piece of original data: a price, a lead time, a figure from your own projects.
- Take care of your reputation: Google Business Profile, reviews from real customers, mentions in the press or on partner sites.
- Measure every month: Search Console, visits from chatgpt.com or perplexity.ai, and a fixed set of questions asked to AI tools.
Frequently asked questions
Does GEO replace SEO?
No. Google’s AI answers draw on pages that are indexed and rank well. GEO extends SEO: the same technical foundations, with more attention to complete answers, original data and off-site reputation.
Should you create an llms.txt file?
It’s not a priority. In May 2026, 97% of these files received no requests at all, and Google says it has no effect on search. You can add one, but it doesn’t replace any of the fundamentals.
How long does it take to get cited?
No timeline can be guaranteed: AI answers vary from one question and one day to the next. So we measure a trend over several months, using the same set of questions.
Sources
- Google Search Central – AI features and your website (updated December 10, 2025)
- Marketing Alec – GEO: What Works and What Does Not in 2026 (summary of studies by Ahrefs, Seer Interactive, SparkToro)
- StatCounter – Search Engine Market Share Viet Nam (September 2026)
- TechWyse – Google’s June 2026 Spam Update and AI answers
- PPC Land – llms.txt adoption rises 8.8x but 97% of files get zero AI requests
Founder of Silkwires, based in Ho Chi Minh City since 2010. A digital specialist since 2000, he leads the AI diagnostics and visibility projects.
