Generative engine optimisation, or GEO, is the work of getting your business named and recommended inside AI answers from tools like ChatGPT, Google's AI Overviews, Gemini and Perplexity. For SMEs it matters because more of your customers now ask an AI a question instead of scrolling a page of blue links, and if the AI doesn't mention you, you're invisible to them. The good news: you can audit your position today and start fixing it without a big budget.
Freelancers and agencies are quietly retooling around this right now. The label has shifted from SEO to GEO because the job changed. It's no longer only about ranking a page. It's about being the answer.
What GEO actually means for SMEs
Old model: someone searches, gets ten links, clicks yours, lands on your site. New model: someone asks a question, gets one paragraph back, and either acts on it or doesn't. No click. If your business is inside that paragraph, you win. If not, you never existed as far as that buyer is concerned.
Generative engine optimisation for SMEs is the practice of making your business the kind of thing an AI trusts enough to name. That means clear information, consistent details across the web, real proof, and content that answers the questions people actually ask. A lot of it overlaps with good SEO, which is why the freelancers shifting to GEO are the same ones who already understood search. But the target is different. You're writing for a machine that summarises, not a page that ranks.
The cost of ignoring it
Here's the honest bit. Nobody knows exactly how much traffic AI answers are pulling away yet, and I won't throw a fake number at you to sound clever. But the direction is obvious to anyone paying attention. Google puts AI Overviews at the top of more results every month. People trust the summary and move on.
So the cost isn't dramatic overnight. It's slow. You notice enquiries softening. You notice fewer people finding you the way they used to. By the time it shows up in your bank account, you're already behind the businesses in your area who sorted it early. I've run businesses for 19 years, and the pattern never changes. The quiet shifts are the ones that hurt, because you don't feel them until they've already cost you customers.
How to audit how your SME appears in AI answers
You can do this yourself in an afternoon. No tools needed.
- Ask the AI directly. Open ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity. Type the questions your customers ask, like "best [your trade] in [your town]" or "who can help me with [your service] near me". See if you're mentioned. See who is.
- Check what it says about you by name. Ask "what do you know about [your business name]". If the answer is thin, wrong or empty, that's your gap.
- Look at who it does name. Those competitors are doing something right. Usually it's clear content, strong reviews and consistent details across directories.
- Check your basics. Is your name, address and phone number identical everywhere online? AI hates conflicting information and will trust you less for it.
Write down what you find. That list is your starting point.
How to actually get named
Once you know the gaps, the fixes are practical.
Answer real questions in plain language. AI pulls from content that directly answers a question. Write pages and posts that address exactly what people ask, in the words they use. This is where good content earns its keep, because vague marketing waffle gets ignored while a clear answer gets quoted.
Make your site machine-readable. Clean structure, proper headings, fast loading, sensible page titles. An AI can't recommend what it can't understand. A well-built website gives the engines something solid to work from.
Build real proof. Reviews and mentions on sites the AI already trusts carry weight. This is honest, ongoing work, not a trick.
We've had clients we've worked with for years quietly benefit from getting the fundamentals right long before GEO had a name. One of them put it simply.
07 Heaven's SEO work brought a noticeable surge in organic traffic to our website and substantially improved our search rankings. They transformed our digital presence. Lloyd Seymour, Poppy Productions.
The same foundations that lifted their search visibility are the ones that make a business quotable to an AI. Clear, trusted, consistent. That's the whole game. 07 Heaven Marketing has been helping SME owners get found for years, and GEO is just the next room in a house we already know.
Common questions
What is generative engine optimisation
Generative engine optimisation, or GEO, is the practice of getting your business named and recommended inside AI-generated answers from tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Google's AI Overviews, rather than only ranking in a traditional list of links.
Is GEO replacing SEO for small businesses
No, it's building on it. Good SEO foundations like clear content, a fast well-structured site and strong reviews are exactly what AI engines draw on. GEO is the same discipline pointed at a new kind of result.
How do I check if my business shows up in AI answers
Open ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity and type the questions your customers ask, plus "what do you know about [your business name]". If you're missing, thin or wrong, that's the gap to fix first.
Want to know how your business shows up in AI answers right now and what to do about it? Book a free discovery call.