Boxwood Press

Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) is the practice of optimizing content for AI-powered search engines that generate answers based on user intent, context, and content quality. It’s an evolution of traditional SEO, focusing on how AI-driven search engines interpret and present information. Instead of solely relying on keyword rankings, GEO emphasizes structured data, natural language optimization, and direct answer formats.

GEO = Getting your brand mentioned and cited in the sources AI tools train on.

You’re not optimizing a web page, you’re optimizing what’s said about you in the media ecosystem that fuels GenAI outputs.

Goal: Ensure your brand appears in:

Trusted media outlets (NYT, WSJ, Good Housekeeping, Wired, etc.)
Roundups, gift guides, expert lists, product reviews
Any content AI scrapes, trusts, and regurgitates

This is PR meets AI discoverability. It’s about earned media as algorithm fuel.

🧰 GEO Tools & Tactics

GEO isn’t about tweaking your website, it’s about strategically shaping what’s being said about you elsewhere so that AI picks up and repeats it.

Here’s your cheat sheet:

1. 🧾 Secure Media That AI Trusts

Tactic: Pitch stories to publications that AI tools pull from most often.

✅ Target:

Tier 1 Nationals (NYT, WSJ, Bloomberg)
High-authority verticals (Fast Company, WWD, Bon Appétit, TechCrunch)
Review-forward outlets (The Strategist, Wirecutter, Consumer Reports)
Expert-driven platforms (Forbes councils, Business Insider contributor pieces)

🛠 Why it matters: Generative AI tools synthesize from high-authority editorial content. Get cited = get surfaced.

2. 📋 Pitch Structured, Evergreen Stories

Tactic: Focus on formats AI loves to ingest and repurpose.

✅ Formats to prioritize:

“Best of” lists
Gift guides
Seasonal roundups
Expert Q&As
Awards & recognitions
Evergreen explainers

🛠 Why it matters: Structured, scannable, evergreen content is easy for AI to parse, and more likely to be included in answers.

3. 🔁 Standardize Brand Messaging Across Touchpoints

Tactic: Develop consistent, repeatable phrases and proof points across all public-facing content.

✅ Think:

Brand tagline or positioning line
“Known for…” statements
Key differentiators (“Made in the USA,” “Organic Cotton,” “Female-founded”)

🛠 Why it matters: AI favors repetition. The more often and consistently your messaging appears, the more likely it is to be synthesized correctly.

4. 🧠 Conduct GenAI Visibility Audits

Tactic: Ask ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, and Google’s SGE questions a consumer would ask.

✅ Examples:

“What’s the best clean beauty brand in 2025?”
“Who are the top sustainable kids clothing brands?”
“What’s Boxwood Co. known for?”

🛠 Why it matters: This reveals what AI tools already say about you, and what they don’t. Audit competitors too. Track your Share of Model (SoM).

5. 📈 Track and Benchmark SoM (Share of Model)

Tactic: Use prompts to measure how often your brand appears in generative responses compared to competitors.

✅ Start simple:

Count the number of AI citations across tools
Note whether mentions are positive, neutral, or missing
Compare quarterly

🛠 Why it matters: SoM is the GEO-era version of Share of Voice. It’s the scoreboard for generative visibility.

6. 🔗 Turn Press Hits Into Content Loops

Tactic: Reinforce key placements across your owned channels to create visibility flywheels.

✅ Try:

Repurposing features into blog posts or FAQs
Embedding media quotes on product pages
Creating carousels, reels, and email content around placements

🛠 Why it matters: The more your press coverage is linked, mentioned, and shared, the more chances AI has to see and learn from it.

7. 🧾 Use AI-friendly Press Kits & Media Pages

Tactic: Create a robust, crawlable press section on your website.

✅ Include:

🛠 Why it matters: Even though GEO is earned-first, owned content still influences how your brand gets categorized by AI.

8. 🕵️ Monitor AI Mentions Like You Monitor Media

Tactic: Add generative AI checks to your monthly reporting workflow.

✅ Track:

🛠 Why it matters: PR is no longer just earned media. It’s earned AI real estate.

Bonus Tools to Help:

ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini – For real-time prompt testing
Perplexity.ai – To see sources AI uses
Manual AI brand audits – For Share of Model benchmarking
BuzzSumo / Muck Rack / Semrush – To monitor backlinks, mentions, and press volume
AnswerThePublic – For phrasing prompts like real consumer questions