What GEO is
GEO stands for Generative Engine Optimization: preparing content so the engines that generate answers, like ChatGPT, Gemini or Google's AI Mode, use it and cite it. The name comes from a 2023 study by researchers at Princeton, Georgia Tech, the Allen Institute for AI and IIT Delhi, presented at KDD 2024.
They tested nine changes across thousands of queries and measured how much more each page showed up in the answers. What worked best was adding concrete data, quotes from credible sources and explicit references. What didn't help was the usual: repeating keywords. In the best cases visibility rose by up to 40%, though the effect varies a lot by topic.
Why it matters to a place to stay
In El Chaltén we tried it: we asked three AIs where to stay. Out of 154 places to stay on the town map, they named 26. And the top ones repeated across all three. The rest don't exist for those answers.
When the AI searches the web before answering, it reads what it finds: property websites, reviews, guides. If your place has no page that can be understood, with clear data, it doesn't make the shortlist.
| SEO | GEO | |
|---|---|---|
| Where you appear | In Google's list of results | Inside the answer from ChatGPT, Gemini or AI Mode |
| The goal | Being among the top results | Being named or cited as a source by the AI |
| What helps | Clear, fast pages with authority | The same, plus concrete data, figures and sources |
| What doesn't | Repeating keywords | Repeating keywords |
SEO is still the foundation
AIs that search the web use search engines. If Google can't find or understand your site, the AI is unlikely to use it. So GEO isn't something else: it's SEO done well, with more attention to concrete data.
A fast website, a page for each thing people search, structured data and a complete Google profile still come first.
What to do on your website
Add concrete data nobody else has: how many minutes from the trail you are, what each room looks out on, how many people it sleeps, what breakfast includes. AI answers are built from data like that.
Answer the questions travellers ask, each with its own page or section: how to get there, when to go, what to do nearby. And get other sites talking about you: guides, blogs, local media. That's the authority both Google and AIs take into account.