If you've spent any time reading about GEO lately, you've probably encountered a very long list of things you're supposedly required to do. Create an llms.txt file. Rewrite your website specifically for AI. Break every paragraph into tiny chunks. Add special AI schema. Mention your target keywords in every possible variation.
The implication is usually the same: AI search is completely different from Google, and you need an entirely new bag of tricks to show up.
There's just one problem. Google itself is increasingly saying that isn't how this works.
In 2026, Google published much more detailed guidance about optimizing websites for its generative AI search experiences, including AI Overviews and AI Mode. And the biggest takeaway is surprisingly simple: good GEO looks a lot like really good SEO.
There are differences. But probably not the ones you've been hearing about.
Let's start with one of the most discussed GEO tactics. An llms.txt file is essentially a machine-readable file designed to give AI systems information about a website.
There's nothing inherently wrong with having one. But as of Google's 2026 clarification, Google Search does not use llms.txt to determine whether your website appears in its search results or generative AI features. Google explicitly says creating one will neither help nor hurt your visibility in Google Search.
So should you create one? Maybe, if another platform you care about eventually makes meaningful use of it. But I wouldn't make it one of the first ten things I'd do to improve a business's AI visibility. There are much bigger opportunities.
I like schema. We implement structured data on a lot of the websites we work with at Belorado GEO. It can help search engines understand what a business is, what services it offers, where it operates, who wrote an article, and how different pages relate to one another.
But there is an important distinction: schema can be useful without being a magic GEO ranking factor.
Google says there is no special schema markup required to appear in its generative AI features. Structured data still matters as part of a broader SEO strategy and can make pages eligible for certain traditional search enhancements.
But if someone tells you that adding a particular schema type will suddenly make ChatGPT or Google AI recommend your company, I'd be skeptical.
Another common GEO recommendation is that you need to dramatically restructure your writing so AI systems can understand it. Short paragraph. Answer immediately. Another short paragraph. Question heading. Another answer. Repeat indefinitely.
There's some logic behind making information clear and easy to extract, but Google specifically says there is no requirement to break content into tiny chunks for AI. Its systems can understand different topics and concepts within a page.
That doesn't mean structure is irrelevant. Good headings help humans. Clear explanations help humans. Tables can make comparisons easier. FAQs can make common questions easier to answer. Definitions, statistics, project details, and examples can make a page more useful.
Those things may also make information easier for search systems to interpret. But that's different from writing everything for a hypothetical AI crawler instead of the actual person reading the page.
This is where GEO becomes much less mysterious. Google's own recommendation is to focus on valuable, unique, non-commodity content.
That phrase, non-commodity content, is worth paying attention to.
There are now millions of websites capable of publishing articles like "10 Benefits of Hiring a Professional Landscaper." An AI tool can generate that article in about six seconds. And so can everyone else.
There's nothing inherently wrong with the topic, but the internet does not desperately need the 400,001st version of the exact same information.
What it does need is information that could only realistically come from your business. For example, a custom home builder could publish "What a $25,000 Backyard Renovation Actually Gets You in Portland." An architect could write "What We Found Renovating a 1920s Laurelhurst Home." A contractor could explain "The Three Most Expensive Mistakes We See During Commercial Remodels."
Those pages contain something different: experience, numbers, examples, opinions, local knowledge, actual projects, and specificity. That's much harder to replicate, and it gives a search engine something meaningful to retrieve.
This is the part of GEO I think businesses should care about most.
Imagine someone asks an AI tool: "Who's a good architect for a historic home renovation in Portland?"
The system has to figure out which companies are relevant. One architecture firm says, "We provide thoughtful and innovative architectural solutions."
Another has a historic renovation service page, five historic renovation projects, photos of the work, neighborhood information, an article explaining common permitting issues, client reviews mentioning historic homes, and features in local publications discussing those projects.
Which company gives the internet more evidence?
Probably the second one.
That's fundamentally how I think about GEO. You aren't trying to trick an AI into mentioning you. You're trying to make the evidence for recommending your business overwhelming.
This might be the least exciting thing you can say about GEO. It's also probably one of the most important.
Google says its existing SEO best practices remain foundational to success in generative search. That means the boring stuff still matters.
Your pages need to be crawlable. Your website needs clear internal links. Your services need dedicated pages when appropriate. Your content should actually answer what people are searching for. Your business information should be consistent. Your website should work well on mobile. Your important information should be visible on the page. Your site should have a logical structure.
And you still need authority and credibility beyond your own website.
AI search changes how information gets presented. It doesn't suddenly make all of those fundamentals irrelevant.
AI recommendations aren't generated exclusively from your website. Search systems can look across a much larger information ecosystem: reviews, directories, news articles, forums, videos, industry websites, social platforms, and other businesses.
That means your website isn't the only source defining who your company is.
If your website says you're the best commercial architect in Oregon but almost nothing else on the internet connects you with commercial architecture, that's a weak claim. If dozens of legitimate sources independently connect your company with commercial architecture, that's much stronger.
This is also why buying hundreds of meaningless mentions is unlikely to be a durable GEO strategy. The goal isn't maximum mentions. It's credible corroboration.
I don't think businesses should be asking whether they need SEO or GEO. That's increasingly the wrong question.
Search behavior is fragmenting. Someone might discover your business through Google, Google Maps, ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Reddit, YouTube, Instagram, an AI Overview, or something that doesn't exist yet.
The job is to make sure those systems have enough reliable information to understand your company and enough evidence to feel confident surfacing it.
SEO is a huge part of that. Content is part of that. Local search is part of that. Digital PR is part of that. Your website is part of that.
GEO is largely about making those pieces work together in a search environment where the answer itself is increasingly generated.
If I were trying to improve a company's AI visibility today, I wouldn't start with an llms.txt file. I'd ask much more basic questions.
Can Google crawl the website? Does the website clearly explain what the company does? Does every important service have enough information behind it? Can I tell where the company operates? Is there real proof that the company has done this work?
I'd also look at what exists beyond the website. Are clients reviewing the company? Are other credible websites talking about it? Does the business consistently exist across Google, Maps, directories, publications, and the rest of the web?
Most importantly, when someone asks the exact questions your customers ask, does your business give an AI system a compelling reason to recommend you?
That's GEO.
The tools will change. The interfaces will change. The acronyms will definitely change. But making your business easier to understand, verify, and recommend is probably going to remain valuable for a very long time.
At Belorado GEO, we look at how businesses appear across Google Search, Maps, ChatGPT, Gemini, and other AI-driven search experiences.
We'll audit your current visibility and identify specific ways you can improve how your business is found and recommended.
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