GEO tools: the four jobs, and what each actually needs
"Generative engine optimization" is one name for four different jobs. Most guides sell you a tool; this one maps the jobs — including where our competitors are the right answer.
1. Measure: are you in the answers?
The outcome metric. Ask assistants real buying questions and record who gets named. Enterprise monitors (Profound, Peec AI, Otterly) track this continuously from ~$99+/mo; ReadByBots runs the same test one-shot — free for one check, $19 for the full report.
Tools: Us + Profound, Peec AI, Otterly.AI
2. Fix: can AI read and quote you?
The technical layer: crawl access, schema, headings, content-to-noise ratio, citation-worthy structure, llms.txt. This is classic-SEO-adjacent and mostly one-time. Our 26-check scan scores it and generates the fixes; general SEO crawlers cover parts of it without the AI lens.
Tools: Us + your existing SEO crawler
3. See: which AI bots visit your site?
The ground truth. AI crawlers don't run JavaScript, so Google Analytics can't see them; you need server-side tracking. Cloudflare shows aggregate AI-bot stats if you're on it; our Crawler Analytics shows per-bot, per-page, live — on any stack, free in beta.
Tools: Us + Cloudflare (if you're on it)
4. Monitor: what does AI say about you over time?
Sentiment, accuracy, share-of-voice across weeks. This is where enterprise budgets go (Profound and friends). Honest take: most sites should nail jobs 1–3 first — monitoring a bad baseline is paying to watch the problem.
Tools: Profound, Peec AI — later
Deeper comparisons: ReadByBots vs Profound · ReadByBots vs Otterly.AI
Questions
- What is generative engine optimization (GEO)?
- The practice of getting named and cited in AI-generated answers — ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, AI Overviews. Mechanically: assistants search the web, read a handful of pages, and answer from them. GEO is (a) being in that handful and (b) being quotable once read.
- Do I need a GEO tool if I already do SEO?
- Your SEO work helps — assistants read pages that rank. But AI answers over-weight comparison content, review sites and structured data, and none of your SEO tools can tell you whether ChatGPT actually recommends you. That specific question needs a GEO test.
- Are expensive GEO monitoring tools worth it?
- For brands with real AI-answer traffic at stake, yes — continuous monitoring catches drift. For everyone else: run a one-shot test first. If assistants never mention your category at all, fix visibility before renting a dashboard to watch it.
- What's the fastest free start?
- Two checks, ten minutes: run the free AI visibility scan (score + one live answer test), and install crawler analytics to see which AI bots already visit. Both free on this site, no signup.
Start with the free measurements.
Score + live answer test, then crawler analytics. Both free, no signup.