90 entries · 514 claimsSources re-checked

Why does AI cite others and not you?

From whether crawlers can reach your site to how AI answers pick their sources: see step by step which parts are documented and which are still guesswork.

Start readingOpen the knowledge graphSlide decks

• Officially documented
• Research-backed
• Observed in practice
• Hypothesis
• Disputed

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Tryllms.txtrobots.txtAI OverviewsIndexNow

Claim checks

• Seeding brand mentions across the web boosts AI visibilityNot supported
• Duplicate content gets your site penalizedFalse
• The Indexing API gets any page indexed fastFalse
• llms.txt improves AI search visibilityNot supported

Sources cited include

• Google Search Central
• OpenAI
• 国家互联网信息办公室
• 360 Search
• Ahrefs
• IndexNow.org
• Baidu
• Toutiao Search

At a glance

Sourced findings, one picture each. Open a card for the evidence.

All claim checks (7) →

• Observed in practice2026-0597%

  llms.txt files nobody reads

  97% got zero requests in a month. Ahrefs, 137,210 domains, May 2026.
• Officially documentedFAQ rich resultsMay 7, 2026

  FAQ rich results ended

  Google dropped them in May 2026. HowTo ended in 2023.
• Observed in practice2026-05ChatGPT+2.2%AI Mode+2.4%AI Overviews−4.6%% change vs. matched controlsgrey: not significantChatGPT +2.2%, AI Mode +2.4%, AI Overviews −4.6%

  Adding schema did not lift citations

  1,885 pages against matched controls. Ahrefs, 2026.
• Officially documentedSearch generative AI

  One switch for Google’s AI answers

  Opt out of AI Overviews and AI Mode in Search Console. Classic results stay.
• Officially documentedGPTBottrainingOAI-SearchBotChatGPT searchChatGPT-Useruser requests

  Three OpenAI bots, three jobs

  Block GPTBot and you opt out of training. Block OAI-SearchBot and you drop out of ChatGPT search answers.
• Officially documented1234567AI data poisoning

  China’s 2026 campaign names GEO

  The CAC lists GEO used for malicious marketing as AI data poisoning, one of seven problems.
• Research-backed32%engine retrievalvs2.8%page properties

  Which pages get retrieved matters more

  Retrieval explains 32% of the gap between pages of one site. Page properties explain 2.8%. Toronto, 2026.
• Officially documentedcanonical

  Duplicates are filtered, not punished

  Google groups duplicate pages and picks one canonical. Duplicates alone are not a spam violation.
• Observed in practice2026-01

  AI answers rarely repeat

  The same brand list twice: under 1 in 100. Measure share of runs, not rank.

Start from your goal

Four reading orders through the wiki, by what you are trying to do.

• New to GEO

  You have heard of GEO and want to know what it is, what is documented and what is hype.9 stepsFollow this path

• Developers

  You build or run a site and want search engines and AI crawlers to reach and read it.10 stepsFollow this path

• Growing a business

  You want customers to find your brand when they ask AI assistants, and to know whether it is working.10 stepsFollow this path

• Selling GEO services

  You sell GEO as an agency, consultant or tool, and want offers you can defend.10 stepsFollow this path

Best practices by situation

All best practices →

Your site

• GEO best practices for a WordPress site
• Online stores (Shopify and others): getting products recommended and cited by AI shopping
• JavaScript sites (Next.js, Vue and others): making sure AI crawlers can read your content
• GEO best practices for documentation sites and developer products
• GEO best practices for technical and SEO leads
• Minimum viable GEO for one person with a few hours a week

Your role

• A 90-day GEO plan for a company brand, starting from zero
• For content editors: writing articles AI answers can quote
• For marketing leads: measuring GEO and reporting it upward
• PR and brand teams: how press, encyclopedias, Q&A sites and reviews shape AI answers

Your business

• New brands: why AI doesn't mention you yet, and what to do first
• When AI gets your brand wrong: find it, fix it, prevent it
• GEO for local businesses
• GEO for healthcare, legal and financial businesses
• Before you hire a GEO agency

Your market

• GEO in China: Doubao, Yuanbao, Qwen, ERNIE, DeepSeek and Kimi
• GEO outside China: Google AI Overviews, ChatGPT, Perplexity and Copilot
• Cross-border brands: splitting GEO between China and abroad

Knowledge domains

Nine domains, from best practices and crawling basics to measuring AI visibility.

19 entriesBest PracticesOne article per situation: the whole GEO strategy, step by step.8 entriesFoundationsSEO, GEO, retrieval and search intent.15 entriesCrawling & Indexingrobots.txt, sitemaps, canonical, hreflang.14 entriesContent & Structured DataInformation architecture, Schema.org, entities.10 entriesAI Search PlatformsAI Overviews, AI Mode, ChatGPT search, Copilot.8 entriesMeasurement & AnalyticsSearch Console, logs, citations, experiment design.6 entriesTechnical ImplementationRendering, performance, i18n, accessibility.3 entriesPlaybooks & ExperimentsReproducible procedures and tests.4 entriesTools & ProtocolsIndexNow, llms.txt, search APIs, crawlers.

Recently reviewed

All entries A–Z →

• A 90-day GEO plan for a company brand, starting from zeroGuide2026-10-28
• GEO in China: Doubao, Yuanbao, Qwen, ERNIE, DeepSeek and KimiGuide2026-10-28
• Before you hire a GEO agencyGuide2026-10-28
• For content editors: writing articles AI answers can quoteGuide2026-10-28
• Cross-border brands: splitting GEO between China and abroadGuide2026-10-28
• GEO best practices for documentation sites and developer productsGuide2026-10-28