What is Generative Engine Optimization (GEO)?

Generative Engine Optimization is the practice of making a business the source an AI assistant cites when someone asks it a question. For a law firm, that question usually sounds like "who's a good personal injury lawyer near me?" — and the answer is now written by a model, not a list of ten blue links.

Traditional SEO optimizes for position in a ranked list. GEO optimizes for inclusion in a synthesized answer. The mechanics overlap — authority, citations, structured content — but the finish line is different. A page can rank fourth on Google and still be the only firm ChatGPT names.

Three signals matter most for legal practices: consistent entity data across directories and your Google Business Profile, content structured so a model can lift a clean, quotable statement, and third-party references from sources the model already trusts.