What is GEO and How Can I Prepare My Site for AI?
What is now called GEO, or Generative Engine Optimization, was briefly (and at the very beginning of 2026) referred to in the search engine community as AIO, or Artificial Intelligence Optimization. NOBLE SEO published a Knowledge Base entry on this emerging trend of AIO in January 2026.
GEO is now the agreed-upon acronym for the process of optimizing and perhaps even redeveloping your website to be read by AI algorithms like Claude, ChatGPT, Grok, and Gemini and cited by these Large Language Models (LLMs). What that web optimization looks like can be read in a previously published Knowledge Base entry entitled, ‘What are AIO, AI Search & AI Overviews.’
The definitive criteria for your website’s eligibility to be included in, or referenced by, AI models is still being developed. It is not universally clear, nor is it being made public. To identify some clues, it’s always a good idea to follow the moves of Google. For example, Google is moving away from indexing an entire site to a selective crawl and indexing process. This is a data storage sustainability decision made by Google, and it makes perfect sense. Also for page indexing, Google is using what it calls “Mobile-First Indexing,” which primarily uses the mobile version of a website for indexing and ranking. This is why it is important to build your website using responsive design.
The most critical update from Google, as of the first week of May 2026, is that they stopped supporting the display of rich results from website FAQ schema markup (FAQ structured data) in order to de-clutter their own search engine results pages. FAQs are useful components to any website, and should remain in place. The only difference is Google will not be reading and displaying that structured data in its SERPs. Google has, however, not abandoned their EEAT program. So, we know that website authority and trust will not disappear any time soon. Learn more about Google’s EEAT program in the Knowledge Base entry: ‘What Is Google EEAT and Why Does It Matter for SEO?’
At this point, we are not that far off from where we began. Really, the only significant change is what we are calling AI preparedness, the acronym is now GEO (for Generative Engine Optimization), and Google’s preference for fast loading mobile pages. Since we are dealing with LLMs, it is important that website content be written in a natural language or conversational style that helps its visitors answer questions, since users of AI are using it primarily to gain insight and get their inquiries resolved. You can read more about how to prepare your website for AI in our Knowledge Base entry entitled, ‘How Do I Optimize My Website for AI?’