what is generative engine optimization? and how to test what actually gets cited.

The "test what gets cited" part is not a one-off check. It is the same AI citation query you run in Month 1, repeated in Month 3, compared side by side.

1. 01

   Month 1 — Audit and fix the foundation

   Export Search Console queries sitting at position 4–20, the highest-leverage GEO zone.

   Run a baseline AI citation check: search your target queries in ChatGPT, Perplexity and Gemini and record who gets cited.

   Add Article and BreadcrumbList schema, fix heading hierarchy and set canonical tags on your top pages.

2. 02

   Month 2 — Rewrite for citability

   Rewrite the opening of each priority page to lead with a one-sentence, quotable definition.

   Add explicit step-by-step sections to any page answering a “how to” query.

   Build 2–3 pillar pages for topics you already rank for but are not cited on yet.

3. 03

   Month 3 — Build authority, then test what gets cited

   Publish one original data point, benchmark or case study: AI models weight primary sources heavily.

   Get at least three external pages to link to your pillar content.

   Re-run the Month 1 AI citation check on the same queries and compare the delta against your baseline.

Need the week-by-week version with exact tasks per phase? Read the full 90-day GEO roadmap →

• 01

  Write a clear, entity-based introduction

• 02

  Fix your heading hierarchy

• 03

  Add structured data for your page type

• 04

  Set a canonical URL and accurate meta tags

• 05

  Build author authority (E-E-A-T signals)

• 06

  Fix broken or duplicate content

• 07

  Add breadcrumb navigation and internal links

• 08

  Make your content citable and quotable

What to do, why it matters and a worked example for each step: read the complete 8-step checklist →

Running this roadmap by hand works, but AI engines re-crawl constantly and new pages drift out of shape. Cogny’s AI SEO & GEO Optimization reads your Search Console and GA4 data, finds the pages that are close to being cited and drafts the fix. You approve it, it ships, and seven days later Cogny checks the same data and closes the change as worked, partial, didn’t work or inconclusive.

• What is generative engine optimization?

  Generative engine optimization (GEO) is the practice of structuring, writing and marking up content so that AI-powered answer engines (ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews and Gemini) select your pages as cited sources inside their generated answers, instead of just ranking a link in a results list.

• What is a practical 90-day roadmap to start generative engine optimization and test what gets cited?

  Month 1: audit your Search Console data for queries at position 4–20, record a baseline of which sources AI engines cite for those queries, and fix the technical foundation (schema, headings, canonicals). Month 2: rewrite priority pages to lead with citable definitions and build pillar content for the gaps you found. Month 3: publish original data or case studies to build authority, then re-run the same AI citation check from Month 1 and compare the result to your baseline. That comparison is how you test what actually got cited.

• How do I prepare a website for AI search engines using GEO?

  Work through eight technical and content steps: write an entity-based introduction, fix your heading hierarchy, add structured data matching each page type, set canonical URLs and accurate meta tags, build author authority (E-E-A-T) signals, fix broken or duplicate content, add breadcrumb navigation with matching schema, and write specific, quotable claims AI engines can extract and attribute to you.

• Is GEO different from SEO?

  GEO and SEO share the same foundation: authoritative, well-structured, indexable content. SEO optimises for ranking a clickable link; GEO adds the citation layer on top: citable one-sentence definitions, explicit entity naming, Article/HowTo/BreadcrumbList schema and named author credentials. A page can rank #1 in Google and still never be cited by an AI engine if it skips these signals.