AEO & GEO in 2026: How to Get Cited by ChatGPT, Perplexity & Google AI

#Why classic SEO is no longer enough

Two new disciplines have emerged:

• AEO (Answer Engine Optimization) — optimise to be the answer returned by an answer engine.
• GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) — optimise to be cited as a source in a generated LLM answer. The term was formalised in November 2023 in the academic paper "GEO: Generative Engine Optimization" (Aggarwal et al., arXiv:2311.09735), now widely used in the industry.

AEO/GEO do not replace SEO. The technical and editorial foundations of SEO (speed, structure, depth, authority) remain essential. AEO/GEO add a layer: making your content legible, trustworthy and citable by a machine that synthesises.

#How ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google AI find information

#A 2026-ready robots.txt

# Search & AI Search engines
User-agent: Googlebot
Allow: /
User-agent: Bingbot
Allow: /
User-agent: OAI-SearchBot
Allow: /
User-agent: ChatGPT-User
Allow: /
User-agent: PerplexityBot
Allow: /
User-agent: Perplexity-User
Allow: /
User-agent: ClaudeBot
Allow: /
User-agent: Claude-User
Allow: /

# Training crawlers — allow or block depending on your strategy
User-agent: GPTBot
Allow: /
User-agent: Google-Extended
Allow: /
User-agent: anthropic-ai
Allow: /
User-agent: CCBot
Allow: /

Sitemap: https://www.example.be/sitemap.xml

#llms.txt: the new convention to describe your site to AIs

The principle: an LLM has a limited context window. Giving it a concise Markdown map of your site improves the quality of answers that cite your content.

Minimal example for a Brussels SME:

# LeadCo — Web Agency in Brussels

> LeadCo is a Belgian digital agency based in Brussels, specialised
> in website creation and SEO for SMEs and freelancers.

## Services
- [Website creation](https://www.leadco.be/en/services/creation-site)
- [SEO](https://www.leadco.be/en/services/seo)
- [E-commerce](https://www.leadco.be/en/services/ecommerce)

## Reference articles
- [How much does a website cost in Belgium](https://www.leadco.be/en/blog/prix-site-internet-belgique)
- [Local SEO in Brussels](https://www.leadco.be/en/blog/seo-local-bruxelles)
- [GDPR and websites in Belgium](https://www.leadco.be/en/blog/rgpd-site-web-belgique)

## Contact
- Email: hello@leadco.be
- Brussels, Belgium

#Content patterns that get cited

1. In-text source citations ("according to a study by X…")
2. Precise numerical statistics
3. Direct quotes from experts (attributed quotes)
4. Clear, authoritative language (no keyword stuffing)

• Keyword stuffing
• "Too fluid" prose without data
• Unique text without structure

#Concrete editorial implications

• A short definition at the top of every article. An AI looks for the sentence that answers "what is X".
• A self-contained answer per section. Each H2/H3 must be readable out of context and provide a complete answer.
• Numbers and dates. An AI is more likely to cite a sentence like "in July 2023, the EU-US Data Privacy Framework entered into force" than a vague paragraph on compliance.
• One question, one answer. FAQ sections with H3 = question, paragraph = answer, are among the most cited content by Perplexity and AI Overviews.
• Verifiable external sources. Links to official publications, numbered studies, primary documentation. An LLM weights more heavily a text that cites its sources.

#Structured data: indispensable for AEO

Free verification tools:

• validator.schema.org
• search.google.com/test/rich-results
• URL inspection in Google Search Console

#E-E-A-T: what Google reinforced in December 2022

To demonstrate E-E-A-T on an SME site:

• Identified author on each article (dedicated author page, photo, bio)
• Person schema linking to LinkedIn / publications
• Publication AND update date explicit
• Sources cited systematically in articles
• External mentions (press, podcasts, talks) listed on the "About" page
• Clear legal identity (legal notice, company number, verifiable address)

#What works concretely, per engine

#Google AI Overviews / Gemini

• Standard Google optimisation (Core Web Vitals, schema, quality content)
• Cited sites are usually those already in the organic top 5
• Tip: structure as key paragraph then details — Google often extracts the first paragraph under an H2/H3 as the reference passage

#ChatGPT (search)

• Presence in Bing's index helps (use Bing Webmaster Tools)
• OAI-SearchBot not blocked in robots.txt
• Pages with direct, structured answers — lists, tables, definitions

#Perplexity

• Own indexing + Google + Bing
• Favours fresh, numerically rich sources; a recent article with explicit dates is more likely to be reused
• PerplexityBot and Perplexity-User allowed

#ChatGPT (model, no browsing)

• Much harder: you must be in training sources (Common Crawl, Wikipedia dumps, etc.) or sufficiently cited for the model to have learned your brand
• This is where digital PR (Wikipedia mentions, press, reference blogs, podcasts) regains its full value

#IndexNow: the quiet bonus for Bing & Yandex

For content sites (active blog, e-commerce with stock changes), IndexNow significantly accelerates Bing-side indexing — and therefore ChatGPT search visibility. Most modern CMS and frameworks (Next.js with a plugin, WordPress with Rank Math or Yoast, Shopify, Wix) support IndexNow in a few clicks.

#Measuring AI engine visibility

Tracking is harder than classic SEO, but several signals are available:

• Traffic from Perplexity, ChatGPT, Gemini: visible in Google Analytics 4 under sources perplexity.ai, chat.openai.com, gemini.google.com. Create a custom channel to track these referrals.
• Brand mentions: regularly search your brand in ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini. Note the cited sources. Dedicated tools: Otterly.ai, Profound, AthenaHQ (recent, with limited free plans).
• Search Console: track AI Overviews appearance via CTR-vs-impression evolution on informational queries.

#AEO/GEO action plan in 8 steps

For a Belgian SME in 2026, the order that maximises ROI:

1. Audit robots.txt — allow desired AI bots, block undesired ones, declare the sitemap
2. Publish /llms.txt — short, up to date, listing key pages
3. Implement priority schemas: Organization, LocalBusiness, Article, FAQPage, BreadcrumbList
4. Restructure each content page: short definition first, self-contained sections, FAQ at the bottom
5. Strengthen E-E-A-T: author pages, update dates, cited sources
6. Enable IndexNow to notify Bing & Yandex
7. Submit the site to Bing Webmaster Tools (and IndexNow at the same time)
8. Set up tracking: GA4 channel for AI referrers + monthly citation review

#FAQ

#Are AEO and GEO the same thing?

#If I block GPTBot, do I disappear from ChatGPT?

#Is the llms.txt file mandatory?

No, it's an emerging convention. But it's trivial to set up and several major publishers (Anthropic, Vercel, Cloudflare) use it. Near-zero cost, real potential upside: better LLM understanding of your content.

#How long before AEO/GEO results?

#Does traditional SEO become useless?

On the contrary: a site that does not rank in SEO does not rank in AEO either. Generative engines lean on existing indexes (Google, Bing) and their own crawlers, which broadly apply the same criteria: authority, structure, editorial quality.

#Are there free tools to track AI visibility?

The takeaway: AEO and GEO do not replace SEO, they extend it. The foundations remain the same — speed, structure, useful content, authority — but the upper layer changes: you must now write for summarising machines as much as for scanning humans. Belgian SMEs that start in 2026 will gain a durable lead over competitors who wait.