What GEO is, and why it changes how customers find you
Until recently, “being found online” meant one thing: ranking high on Google when someone searched. Now a growing share of customers do not search at all — they ask. They ask ChatGPT which company to trust, they ask Google and read the AI summary it produces, and they never scroll down to the list of links.
GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) is the work of getting your business into those answers.
Why it matters even if you already rank well
The critical difference: on Google a user sees ten results and picks. In an AI answer they see three names, or one. There is no second page.
If the answer to “which company should I hire for AI in Athens?” names three firms and you are not one of them, you have not lost a ranking position. You are absent from the conversation.
What actually works — and what does not
There is a lot of noise here, because the field is new and sells well. Here is what the evidence shows.
Works: ranking well in ordinary search
This is the most misunderstood point. Google’s AI features use the Search index to find and combine relevant, up-to-date sources. Organic visibility is still the foundation — but no Google position guarantees that a page will be cited in an AI answer. Read Google’s official explanation of generative AI search.
Put simply: GEO is largely just good SEO. Anyone selling it as something entirely separate is selling air.
Works: being mentioned elsewhere
The uncomfortable point for anyone investing only in their own site: your domain is not the only source. AI engines often use third-party articles, lists, directories, reviews and other pages. You need external references as well as improvements to your own pages.
Ask an AI today for the best AI companies in Athens and the answer is assembled from four or five list articles. Whether you appear in those matters more than anything you write on your own site.
Works: content that explains
Service pages are rarely cited. What gets cited is guides, comparisons and lists — in studies of B2B services, that kind of content accounts for the majority of citations.
That is why an article on “what X costs” is worth more than another page explaining why you are the best.
Does not work (as advertised): the “magic” files
You will hear about llms.txt, a file that supposedly tells AI engines what you do. In an Ahrefs study of 137,000 domains, 97% of these files received no visits during one month. It does no harm, but do not treat it as the solution; Google itself does not consider it necessary for AI Search. Read the Ahrefs study and Google’s official guidance.
Similarly, structured data (schema) helps search engines understand what a page contains, but it does not create citations or rankings by itself. Google treats it as a way to clarify content and become eligible for richer results, not as a guarantee.
Works, and everyone forgets it: your own language
Greek remains an important advantage for a local company: when a question is asked in Greek, a clear Greek page gives search systems the right language and local signal. That is why we use separate Greek URLs and hreflang — the practice Google recommends for multilingual sites.
It is the biggest advantage a Greek business has over an international competitor — and it is thrown away by anyone running an English-only site.
What to do, in priority order
- Publish in your own language, at its own addresses. Not a translate button, but real pages an engine can index.
- Write guides, not adverts. Answer the questions customers actually ask, with numbers and with honesty — even when the answer is “don’t buy this”.
- Get into the places that mention you. Industry directories, list articles, partnerships, press.
- Keep the site fast and plain. AI engines read the code as delivered; they do not run JavaScript. Anything that appears only after loading does not exist to them.
- Measure patiently. First citations take weeks; changing how engines see your brand overall takes months.
How fast to expect results
There is no guaranteed timeline. Google may need days or longer to revisit and evaluate a page, while changing the general picture engines hold of a brand requires consistent presence and measurement over time. Be wary of anyone promising specific AI citations within a few days.
Want to see what AI engines currently say about your industry? Book a free 30-minute call and we will check it together. See also what we do in AI marketing.