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Generative SEO explained in plain English
By Will, Fetch Marketing, Doncaster 路 Updated 23 October 2026
The short answer. Generative SEO (also called GEO or AI search optimisation) means making your business easy for AI assistants and AI search results to find, understand and recommend. It builds on normal SEO with clear facts, structured data, direct answers and consistent details across the web.
What it is
People increasingly ask assistants such as ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google's AI answers for recommendations. Generative SEO is the work of making sure your business is one of the answers.
How assistants decide
Nobody outside the companies knows the exact rules, so be wary of anyone who promises a ranking. In practice, assistants lean on pages that are crawlable, clear and consistent, and on sources they trust.
What you can do
These steps are sensible with or without AI.
- Let search and AI crawlers read your site (check robots.txt).
- Put your key facts in plain text: who you are, what you do, where, prices and hours.
- Add structured data for your business, services and FAQs.
- Write direct answers to the questions customers actually ask.
- Keep your name, address and phone number consistent on every listing.
- Publish an llms.txt file that summarises your site for assistants.
- Earn genuine reviews and mentions.
What not to do
Do not stuff pages with keywords, buy fake reviews or trust guarantees about being recommended by ChatGPT. Those approaches fail and can hurt you.
Should every business do it?
Do the basics for every site. Invest more if customers research you before they buy, or if your market is competitive. A free check can show how ready you are today.
Quick answers.
Is generative SEO different from SEO?
It overlaps heavily. Good SEO foundations still matter. Generative SEO adds clear facts, structured data and direct answers aimed at AI answers.
Can anyone guarantee ChatGPT will recommend me?
No. Be careful of anyone who does. You can improve how readable and trustworthy your business is to AI systems, not control them.
What is llms.txt?
A plain-text file at the root of a website that summarises the site for AI assistants. It is a helpful extra, not a requirement.
Related: Generative SEO service 路 Free Fetch Check
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Want a hand with this?
Start with a free Fetch Check, or just ask a question.
