Generative engine optimization is the new name for an old question: will people find your business when they search? More of them now get a written answer from Google, ChatGPT or Perplexity, with a few links underneath. Here is what Google and the AI vendors actually say about those answers, what still matters, and what you can do this week.
What is generative engine optimization?
Generative engine optimization (GEO) means making your site easy for AI search tools to find, read and cite. In a classic results page, people pick a link themselves. In an AI answer, the tool reads several pages first, writes a summary and adds a handful of links. Your goal is to be one of the pages it reads and names.
You will also see it called AI search optimization or answer engine optimization (AEO). The labels are new; the work mostly isn't. Google's own documentation says the best practices for SEO remain relevant for AI Overviews and AI Mode. What shifts is the emphasis: answers favour pages that respond to a question clearly and completely.
Be wary of anyone selling a guaranteed place in ChatGPT's answers. Even Google says indexing and serving aren't guaranteed. What you can do is make your site easy to crawl, understand and quote.
How do AI Overviews and AI Mode pick their sources?
Both features may run several related searches across subtopics and data sources while they build a response. Google calls this query fan-out. It means an AI answer can link to a wider and more varied set of pages than a classic search, including pages that answer just one part of the question well.
AI Overviews are the short summary at the top of the results, with links for further reading. AI Mode is a separate mode for longer questions, comparisons and deeper exploration. The two may use different models, so their answers and links can differ.
Does this apply in Latvia? Yes. Google's AI Overviews help page and its AI Mode help page both list Latvia among the available countries and Latvian among the supported languages. On 7 October 2025 Google said AI Mode was adding more than 35 languages and over 40 countries and territories, bringing it to more than 200 in total, including many across Europe. People can't switch AI Overviews off, though a Web filter shows text links only.
What does Google say about AI search optimization?
Google's short answer is that nothing extra is required. To be a supporting link in AI Overviews or AI Mode, a page must be indexed and eligible to appear in Search with a snippet. Beyond that, Google points to the same fundamentals it recommends for classic Search.
In its guide AI features and your website, Google lists these practices:
- allow crawling in robots.txt and in any CDN or hosting setup;
- make content easy to find through internal links;
- offer a good page experience;
- keep important content available as text;
- support the text with good images and video where they help;
- make sure structured data matches the visible text;
- keep Merchant Center and Business Profile information up to date.
The same page says you don't need new machine-readable files, AI text files or markup, and there is no special schema.org structured data to add.
Measuring and limiting what Google shows
Search Console counts AI Overviews and AI Mode traffic in your overall search traffic, under the Web search type of the Performance report. To limit what Google shows, use the usual snippet controls: nosnippet, data-nosnippet, max-snippet or noindex. Google-Extended is separate: it governs use of your content for Gemini models in Gemini Apps and Vertex AI, and Google says it doesn't affect inclusion in Search.
How do ChatGPT search and Perplexity find your website?
Each uses its own crawler. OpenAI's crawler documentation says OAI-SearchBot surfaces websites in ChatGPT search, and sites that block it won't be shown in ChatGPT search answers, though they can still appear as plain navigational links. Perplexity likewise asks site owners to allow PerplexityBot, which surfaces and links websites in its answers.
Both vendors keep search and model training apart, with separate crawlers and separate settings:
| Tool | Crawler for search answers | Crawler for model training | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Google AI Overviews and AI Mode | Googlebot, the same as classic Search | Google-Extended (Gemini Apps and Vertex AI) | Limit what is shown with nosnippet, data-nosnippet, max-snippet or noindex |
| ChatGPT search | OAI-SearchBot | GPTBot | ChatGPT-User fetches pages when a user asks, and robots.txt may not apply to it |
| Perplexity | PerplexityBot | None: PerplexityBot is not used for training | Perplexity-User generally ignores robots.txt |
That means you can allow OAI-SearchBot so your pages can appear in ChatGPT search, and still block GPTBot if you don't want your content used for training. OpenAI and Perplexity both say robots.txt changes take around 24 hours to reach their systems.
Check your hosting too. Google asks you to allow crawling at the CDN and hosting level as well, and OpenAI and Perplexity publish their crawlers' IP ranges so a firewall can let them through.
What is llms.txt, and do you need one?
llms.txt is a Markdown file at the root of a site that briefly describes it and links to its most useful pages, so AI tools don't have to read everything. Jeremy Howard proposed it in September 2024, and the proposal is still open for community input. It is not an official standard, and Google says AI text files aren't needed for its AI features.
The idea is sensible, but the file doesn't replace robots.txt, a sitemap or the content itself, and the OpenAI and Perplexity crawler docs ask for robots.txt access, not llms.txt. If adding one is easy, it won't hurt. Just don't expect it alone to change how often AI answers mention your business.
What kind of content gets cited in AI answers?
The same content that helps a person: clear answers to real questions. Google says its systems prioritise helpful, reliable information created to benefit people rather than to game rankings. In practice that means the answer first, the detail after it, and facts that are the same everywhere they appear.
Lead with the answer
Open each section with a direct answer to the question your customers ask, then add the detail. A passage like that is easy for a reader to follow and for an AI tool to lift.
Clear structure and an FAQ
Headings that mirror customers' questions, short paragraphs, lists and tables show where everything is. An FAQ lets you answer specific questions in full sentences that make sense on their own.
Structured data that matches the page
Schema.org markup such as Organization, Article or Product helps search engines understand a page. Google is clear, though, that AI features need no special structured data, and that markup must match the visible text. It describes your content; it doesn't stand in for it.
Consistent facts everywhere
Your company name, phone number, opening hours and services should read the same on your site, in your Google Business Profile and in directories, and Google asks you to keep Business Profile details current. If the details disagree, an AI tool may pick the outdated one. And keep what matters in text, not only in an image.
What can a business in Latvia do now?
Start with what you can check yourself. Most of the work is ordinary good SEO: pages that can be crawled, clear answers on them, and facts that match. Because AI Overviews and AI Mode both work in Latvian, your answers need to exist in Latvian, not only in English. If you'd rather have help, this is what our SEO and content work covers.
A checklist for AI answers
- Check that robots.txt doesn't block Googlebot, OAI-SearchBot or PerplexityBot.
- Check that your hosting or CDN firewall doesn't block them either.
- Verify your site in Google Search Console.
- Make each section of your main service pages open with a direct answer.
- Add an FAQ with your customers' real questions, in Latvian and English.
- Make your company details match on your site, Google Business Profile and directories.
- Check that structured data matches the visible text.
- Decide separately on training crawlers such as GPTBot and Google-Extended.
Frequently asked questions
Is generative engine optimization different from SEO?
Not really. Google says the best practices for SEO remain relevant for AI Overviews and AI Mode, and that there are no additional requirements. The emphasis shifts towards pages that answer clearly and completely, with consistent facts and a clean structure. If your SEO basics are in order, most of the generative engine optimization work is already done.
Are Google AI Overviews available in Latvia?
Yes. Google's help pages for AI Overviews and AI Mode list Latvia among the countries where the features are available, and Latvian among the supported languages. People can't turn AI Overviews off, though the Web filter shows text links only. Pages in Latvian and English can both be cited as sources.
Do I need an llms.txt file?
No. llms.txt is a 2024 proposal, not a standard. Google says you don't need AI text files or special markup to appear in AI Overviews or AI Mode, and OpenAI and Perplexity ask for robots.txt access, not llms.txt. Adding one won't hurt if it's easy, but your content matters far more.
Should I block GPTBot to keep my content out of AI training?
That's your call. OpenAI says disallowing GPTBot signals that your content shouldn't be used to train its models, and that this is independent of OAI-SearchBot, which controls appearing in ChatGPT search. So you can opt out of training and still appear in search. Google's equivalent token, Google-Extended, does not affect inclusion in Google Search.
How can I see traffic from AI Overviews?
In Google Search Console. Traffic from AI Overviews and AI Mode is counted in your overall search traffic, in the Performance report under the Web search type. There is no separate AI report. Google also suggests tracking conversions and time on site in your analytics tool.
Does schema markup help you appear in AI answers?
It helps search engines understand a page, but it isn't a ticket into AI answers. Google says its AI features need no special schema.org structured data, and that structured data must match the visible text. Use it where it describes real content, such as your business, an article or a product.
