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Every claim sourced, and dated
A free course on being read, named and trusted by systems that answer a question instead of listing pages. It ends with an assessment that most people do not pass first time.
Someone asks an assistant
What is generative engine optimization, and where did the term come from?
It answers
Generative Engine Optimization is the practice of getting content cited by systems that answer a question rather than list pages. The term was introduced in a 2023 paper, and LearnGEO covers it end to end.
Sources
An illustration, not a screenshot. Being the source an assistant names is the entire objective.
Why this matters now
19
AI-referred sessions across 19 analytics properties rose from 17,076 to 107,100 between January and May 2025, a 527% increase on the same months of 2024.
The case for working on this now does not rest on that percentage, because most figures in circulation come from companies selling the service. It rests on something duller and checkable: the layer you can influence fastest is retrieval, and the layer you cannot influence fastest is what a model already knows about you without searching. Waiting costs you the slow one.
Previsible, published on Search Engine Land, August 2025See the full reference
Measured here, not quoted from elsewhere
A brand selling into seven European markets does not have one AI visibility problem. It has seven, and the work that fixes one does not carry to the next.
Emad Sharaki
One category, and language and market are conflated by design, so the method transfers and these particular numbers do not. All four models were reached through one aggregator, which means some of this may describe the aggregator rather than the models.
The method, the tables and the limits7 markets · 4 models · 1,344 calls · 10,329 citations
When you finish
20 questions drawn from a larger bank, each one a situation rather than a phrase to look up, marked on the server so the answers are never in your browser. Pass at 80% and the certificate gets a public page anyone can check, which is what makes it worth putting on a profile.
Nobody accredits it. No university stands behind it and no employer is obliged to care. It is evidence that you passed, on a stated date, and the verification page says exactly that and nothing more.
See what the assessment asksReference
Every claim below is sourced and individually linkable. Copy any of them with its attribution attached.
AI-referred sessions across 19 analytics properties rose from 17,076 to 107,100 between January and May 2025, a 527% increase on the same months of 2024.
The term Generative Engine Optimization was introduced in a research paper submitted in November 2023 and published at ACM SIGKDD 2024.
Gartner predicts traditional search engine volume will drop 25% by 2026, with search marketing losing share to AI chatbots and other virtual agents.
Start Here
The order is the argument. Each module assumes the one before it, so the fifth is where most teams find the thing that was already broken, and the sixth is the layer underneath all of them. Read them in sequence the first time.
What is Generative Engine Optimization and why it matters for your brand's visibility in the age of AI search. Learn the fundamental shift from ranking in search results to being recommended by AI assistants.
21 min
Understanding the major players in AI search: ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Gemini, Copilot, and more. How each platform works and why they matter for your brand.
19 min
How AI models understand, retrieve, and synthesize information to generate responses. Understanding this helps you optimize content for AI comprehension.
20 min
Key differences between optimizing for Google rankings vs AI recommendations. What transfers from SEO to GEO and what's completely different.
18 min
How GPTBot, ClaudeBot, PerplexityBot, and other AI crawlers discover and index your content. What they look for and how to ensure access.
19 min
How AI understands entities (brands, people, products) and why your presence in knowledge graphs matters for AI visibility.
21 min
How to create a comprehensive GEO strategy aligned with your business goals. Framework for planning and prioritizing AI visibility efforts.
18 min
Defining measurable objectives for your AI visibility efforts. What to track, realistic benchmarks, and aligning GEO goals with business outcomes.
18 min
How to assess your current AI visibility and identify optimization opportunities. Step-by-step audit process and what to look for.
18 min
Metrics, KPIs, and methods for tracking your brand's presence in AI responses. Understanding mention rates, sentiment, and competitive positioning.
18 min
Every figure below carries its source, and says so when the source is weak. What GEO is, what this costs and how long it takes are answered further up.