GEO built in from day one, measured on real tests rather than estimates.
Home > Our GEO method
Our GEO method measures where your brand actually stands in answers from ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity and Gemini, then turns that into a strategy. It has six phases, 3 to 5 days of analysis, and each one has its deliverable. We test the platforms themselves rather than estimating: 400 tests, scored out of 1,200 points.
Many agencies treat GEO as an afterthought, added once everything else is in place. We build it in from the start, and that is what we mean by writing GEO-first: content designed to be understood and cited by a generative engine, not only to rank on a results page. It changes how pages are structured, how questions are answered, and the structured data that goes with them. The principle applies to content; the rest of the method is measurement and optimization work.
Three phases establish where you actually stand, before any proposal. The technical analysis scores your site on eight weighted criteria and produces your GEO score. The competitive analysis places you against the competitors who already appear in AI answers, as a comparison matrix. The visibility tests follow a constant protocol: 100 queries submitted to four platforms, scored out of three points each, for 1,200 points and 400 tests. You get the measurements per query and per platform.
Optimization strengthens your site's foundations for generative search: implementing more than ten Schema.org structured data types, optimizing content against E-E-A-T principles, experience, expertise, authoritativeness and trust, and shoring up the essential technical elements. We then build authority through long-form content of more than 2,500 words, backed by original research and identifiable author profiles, because a generative engine more readily cites a source it can attribute.
We identify 15 to 25 thematic gaps that hold your visibility back. Each one gets an impact score and an effort score, then takes its place in a four-box matrix, which sets the order of work. Follow-up is then continuous: regular visibility tests, reports and optimization. GEO builds authority gradually, unlike paid advertising whose effect stops with the budget. Expect 3 to 6 months to reach generative visibility of 40% and above.
Share of US adults who use AI chatbots, up from one third in 2024 (Pew Research Center, 5,119 respondents, surveyed 17 to 23 February 2026, published 17 June 2026)
What one visibility analysis contains: 100 queries submitted to four platforms, scored out of 1,200 points in total
Number of Quebec organizations whose generative visibility Sekoia analysed between January and December 2025, across B2B, professional services, retail and local services
GEO, for Generative Engine Optimization, means optimizing your content so that it gets cited and recommended by AI-based search engines such as ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity and Gemini. Classic search optimization aims for a position on a results page; GEO aims for the citation inside a generated answer.
SEO optimizes visibility in classic engines by targeting positions. GEO optimizes content to be cited as a source by artificial intelligences. The first is measured in positions and clicks, the second in citation rate and visibility percentage. The first works on backlinks and keywords, the second on semantic relevance, E-E-A-T and structured data. We run both together, because they reinforce each other: our organic search work and our GEO method share the same technical foundation.
Through real tests, not estimates. We generate 100 queries relevant to your sector and submit them to four platforms, in neutral sessions, with no personalized history. Each answer is scored from 0 to 3 depending on whether your brand is absent, mentioned, cited or recommended. The full protocol is published, so the measurements can be reproduced.
Because those are where our partners are actually searched for: ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity and Gemini. Adding marginal platforms makes the protocol heavier without changing the decisions that come out of it. The number of queries matters more than the number of platforms.
The full analysis takes 3 to 5 days. Visibility results themselves build over 3 to 6 months. GEO is a long game: authority accumulates, unlike paid advertising whose effect stops with the budget.
From all of our audit data on the generative visibility of organizations in Quebec, across B2B, professional services, retail and local services. Visibility there is measured as the share of tested queries where a brand is mentioned or cited in the generated answer. Query sets are built from commercial intent, category discovery and local comparisons, and the tests exclude any personalized history.
Sekoia is a lean growth agency that helps small and medium-sized businesses perform better in highly competitive markets. Pioneers in Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) in Quebec.
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