What is generative engine optimisation?

Generative engine optimisation, or GEO, is the work of getting a brand named or cited when someone asks an AI engine like ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity or Claude a question. Search optimisation was about ranking a link on a results page. GEO is about being inside the answer.

Nobody outside the engines knows exactly how they choose what to name. That is why most GEO claims are guesses, and why every number on this site carries a label: Verified, Claimed or Inferred.

One number to keep in mind: of 94 AI visibility tools we checked on 13 September 2026, only two say who supplies their real-user prompt data.

Who is speaking: Salience Index, paid by readers. Label: Verified, for the 2 of 94. Read on the vendors' own pages. Source: 94 vendor pages, captured 13 September 2026.