SEO & GEO

Generative Engine Optimization for online stores

Generative Engine Optimization is the work of shaping product data and content so generative AI engines cite your store inside the answers they write. It is the citation side of our AI search visibility service.

We work on the product data and the information those systems read, the layer classic SEO leaves untouched, and we are straight about what is documented and what is not.

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Generative Engine Optimization, in plain terms

Generative Engine Optimization for e-commerce is the work of structuring your product data and listings so AI answer engines like ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews cite your products. When a shopper asks one of them what to buy, your store is named. SEO aims to rank your pages in Google's results; Generative Engine Optimization aims to be the store the answer names. Answer Engine Optimization is the neighbouring concept: it aims to be the direct answer a question returns.

It is a new field. In the research's own words, current practice is largely ad hoc and its impact poorly understood, so this is work that is documented to influence AI answers, not a promised placement.

Generative Engine Optimization versus SEO

SEOGenerative Engine OptimizationAnswer Engine Optimization
What it targetsA ranked position in classic search results.A citation inside an AI-generated answer.Being the single direct answer returned.
Where the result showsA ranked list of blue links.Named inside the AI answer a shopper reads.Returned as the direct answer to a question.
The main leverBacklinks and technical site speed.Entity clarity, information gain and product data.Structured, direct answers.
Overlaps with the othersYes.Yes. All three reward genuine quality, clear structure and E-E-A-T.Yes.

See what ChatGPT and Perplexity say about your store today.

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How Generative Engine Optimization gets a store cited

  • Labelled product packaging ready to ship 01Fix the product data AI reads AI shopping systems read the feed and catalogue fields to decide what to recommend. The OpenAI product feed spec sets a required tier of sixteen fields, from item_id and title through to price, availability and seller details. Google's own guidance agrees the layer matters, and points at Merchant Center feeds.
  • Writing notes at a desk 02Build information gain, not volume The origin research found that adding quotations, statistics and cited sources raises how often a page is included in AI answers, and that keyword stuffing performed worse than doing nothing. So the work is original, checkable material, not a restatement of what twenty other pages already say.
  • An AI assistant open on a monitor 03Earn the off-site sources AI answers draw heavily on third-party sites, with community and reference sites among the most common domains they pull from. So part of the work is not on your site at all. It is earning an accurate, consistent presence where those systems look for validation.

What a Generative Engine Optimization project involves

  1. 01DiscoveryWe check what AI systems say about your store today, and why they say it.
  2. 02StrategiseWe decide which layer moves your category first, and in what order.
  3. 03ExecuteThe product feed and Merchant Center data, the content that builds information gain, and the off-site presence.
  4. 04OptimiseWe measure the AI citations, report what moved, and adjust.

Part of this work is on your site, part of it is off it, because AI answers draw heavily on third-party sources. A tool measures the change; the work is what moves it. Where a timeline is set, it is milestone-based, never compressed to win the deal.

Reviewing the current site and setting a baseline Planning the search and AI answer targets Shipping the technical, content and product data work Measuring the result and adjusting to it

Myths that do not move an AI citation

  • You need special AI files such as llms.txt.Google Search ignores them. They neither harm nor help your visibility or rankings.
  • You need special schema.org markup for AI search.Structured data is not required for generative AI search, and there is no special markup you need to add.
  • You must chop your content into tiny chunks.There is no requirement to break your content into tiny pieces for AI to understand it.
  • You must write in a special AI style.You do not need to write in a specific way just for generative AI search.
  • Add AggregateRating markup so AI picks you up.Rating markup is a claim. On a store without real, verified reviews it is a false one, so we will not add it for you.

What does matter is the work that always mattered. Google describes its generative AI features as rooted in its core Search ranking and quality systems, the same systems that reward real expertise. The product data, the information gain and the off-site presence are what move a citation, not a special file or a markup trick.

A search engine open on a tablet

Want to know which of these three layers your store is weakest on?

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What we show, and what we commit to

  • The methodThe three documented layers and the four steps above, applied to your catalogue, not a generic checklist.
  • The measurementAI citations tracked with a named AI-visibility tool, so change is measured by whether your products actually get cited, not asserted.
  • The reportingA report you can read, including when the honest answer is that a lever does not exist.

An AI citation depends on systems no agency controls, so we commit to the method, the measurement and the reporting, and nothing beyond that.

Questions we get asked

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A scoped first step with no lock-in. It shows what ChatGPT and Perplexity say about your store and your products today, and what to fix first.

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