GEO questions buyers ask before choosing a provider
A useful GEO brief names the questions and platforms, identifies the pages and evidence that need work, and defines a fair repeat check without promising citations.
Founder of TomHow, based in Stevenage. SEO and AI search consultancy.
What should a GEO brief ask a provider to do?
A useful generative engine optimisation brief names the buyer questions, the answer platforms and the pages that need improvement. Start with crawl access and accurate business facts, then improve useful explanations and supporting evidence. Agree how observations will be recorded and repeated. For Google AI features, normal SEO and useful original content apply; no special AI file or schema guarantees inclusion. Treat proposed citation improvements as a test, not a promise.
A four-step GEO map from entity definition to answer-ready pages with schema, technical access and external proof, drawn into one search system.
Describe the business problem without relying on acronyms
A brief such as improve our GEO leaves the work undefined. Say which customers you want to reach, what they ask, which answers you have observed and what the business needs those customers to do next.
For example, a wrong description of your service needs a factual review. A useful page that cannot be retrieved needs an access check. An accurate answer that cites another source needs investigation, rather than an assumption that more copy will solve it.
Separate access, accuracy and useful information
Check whether the relevant source page can be accessed, whether the business and service facts are accurate, and whether the page contributes anything useful to the question. These are separate checks with different remedies.
A clear heading cannot supply missing experience or supporting information. If the page makes a claim, show the material that supports it. If the proposed explanation is still an inference, say what evidence would confirm or weaken it.
Do not buy a special-file shortcut
Google says its generative search features use normal SEO foundations and useful content. It does not use llms.txt to improve visibility or rankings. Maintaining that file for other systems is different from buying a Google ranking tactic.
Likewise, do not treat a fixed answer length or extra schema as a guaranteed route into an answer. Ask which reader need a proposed change serves and how the resulting page would be more useful.
Agree a repeatable observation plan
Confirm the question panel, platforms, modes, capture dates and records you will receive. Note unavailable checks and distinguish the business being named from one of its pages being cited.
After changes ship, compare the same panel and conditions. Report what changed, what stayed the same and what remains unknown. A repeat observation can show a difference; it cannot isolate the cause of that difference by itself.
Check the platform guidance.
Continue with the useful next step.
Thomas Howcroft
Founder of TomHow and senior operator for SEO, GEO, AEO, and AI search evidence.
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