How to get cited by ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews

What is the short answer?

Generative engine optimization (GEO) makes your pages easy for AI systems to quote. Answer engine optimization (AEO) makes them easy to extract as direct answers. Classic SEO makes them easy to find and click. In 2026 you need all three, because the same buyer may meet you in Google, in an AI Overview, and in a ChatGPT conversation.

What changed in search?

Most informational searches now end without a click. The prize moved from position one to being cited inside the answer. AI Overviews answer the question inline using a handful of sources. ChatGPT and Perplexity recommend names inside synthesized text. If your page cannot be lifted as a clean quote, it cannot win either surface.

What do AI systems actually quote?

Pages with clear question headings, a direct answer in the first two lines, and one claim per sentence. If a sentence cannot be quoted alone, it is not finished. Add named sources near important claims. State definitions plainly. Prefer short paragraphs, plain headings, and explicit answers over clever phrasing.

What is the minimum setup per page?

One question per heading, one direct answer below it. Keep the answer tight enough to lift, then spend the rest earning it. Put publish and update dates on the page. Keep canonical URLs stable. Make sure the content renders as plain HTML, because JavaScript-only content is invisible to most crawlers.

What should you publish first?

Answer hubs before tricks. One living page that answers the real buyer questions beats five thin posts. Write the questions customers actually ask, answer each in the first sentence below its heading, and revisit the page when facts change. Freshness is a signal you control.