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How AI systems cite websites — and what that means for your pages
An answer system adopts a section when it can find it, pull it out, and attribute who's responsible for it. Every signal checked here feeds into one of these three questions — structure for finding, self-containedness for extracting, markup for attributing.
- The order of implementation is almost always the same: first bring the answer to the front, then structure into recognisable sections, then markup. Anyone who starts with markup ends up marking up text that's still going to change.
- Almost all of this also improves classic findability: clear structures, direct answers, consistent markup. GEO and SEO aren't opposites — they overlap to a large extent.
- What can NOT be influenced is the system's decision to cite at all. This check measures the preconditions, not the outcome — nobody can seriously guarantee a mention in an AI answer.
FAQ
Can AI visibility be guaranteed?
No. You can create the preconditions and measure whether they're met. Whether a system cites you, it decides itself — any promise of a mention is disreputable.
Is GEO something different from SEO?
It overlaps to a large extent. The difference lies in the emphasis: SEO aims at the results list, GEO at a section being adopted into an answer.
What should we start with?
With the answer in the first paragraph, and a structure of self-contained sections. Neither costs any technical effort, and both work on every single page.