The History of Generative Engine Optimization
The Research Context
GEO builds on questions from information retrieval and content discovery: which sources are found, how their information is represented and how readers encounter them. Generative answers bring these questions into an experience where information from several sources can be combined.
November 16, 2023: The First Submission
The paper GEO: Generative Engine Optimization was first submitted to arXiv on November 16, 2023. It helped formalize the term and proposed a framework for studying content visibility in generative-engine responses. Read the paper guide.
2024: Revisions and Conference Acceptance
The arXiv record lists revisions on May 28 and June 28, 2024, and identifies the paper as accepted to KDD 2024. These dates describe the paper’s publication history; the first submission remains November 16, 2023.
From Research to Practice
The useful question is how a method performs under particular conditions. Record the system, query set and outcome before generalizing from an experiment. The GEO explainer distinguishes retrieval, answer inclusion, citation and traffic.
World GEO Day
World GEO Day is observed on November 15, immediately before the paper submission anniversary. Read why this date was selected.