Generative engine optimization: 9 techniques

Generative engine optimization: 9 techniques

SEO & AEO
Slate
All nine name a change you can make to a page today, starting with adding citations and injecting statistics an engine cannot generate itself.
Source
Slate
Tools
AI platforms, Search Console
Runs
Per page, then monthly
Cost
Free guide
Last updated
August 7, 2026

What it is.

All nine are changes you make to a page: add citations, inject statistics, add attributable quotations, smooth the prose so it parses, use the technical terms of your field, write with earned confidence, link to high-trust domains, add original insight, and keep the language plain.

Around them sits an execution loop. Identify the 20 to 30 queries your buyers are most likely asking AI engines, apply the techniques to the pages that should answer them, then monitor across platforms, because visibility can vary 4-6x for the same query set.

Slate's own guide and Slate sells AI visibility software. The nine techniques are changes to your own pages, so they cost nothing to test.

What you get.

  • Nine named techniques, each with the change to make on the page.
  • A starting query set size of 20 to 30 questions your buyers ask AI engines.
  • The platform variance figure, at 4-6x for the same query set, which is why single-platform checks mislead.
  • The recency finding: content updated within 2 months earns more citations.
  • An audit, improve, and monitor loop to run the nine techniques inside.
HOW TO USE IT

How to set it up.

1

Write down the 20 to 30 queries your buyers are most likely asking an AI engine.

2

Check who gets cited on each of those queries across all four major platforms.

3

Pick the pages that should be answering those queries and audit them against the nine techniques.

4

Start with citation addition and statistics injection, because both add something a model cannot generate on its own.

5

Add attributable quotations, since concrete language gives an engine something to quote directly.

6

Refresh anything older than 2 months on those pages, then re-check the same query set monthly.

Use cases

Make a change today

Pick one of the nine techniques and apply it to a page this afternoon.

Size your query set

Start with the recommended number of questions your buyers ask.

Work through in order

Take the techniques as a sequence instead of a menu.

Best for

Pages that rank and never get cited

The nine techniques are page-level changes, so you can test them on content already ranking.

Deciding where to start on GEO

Nine ranked techniques beats a list of principles when you have one sprint.

Setting up monitoring

The 4-6x variance between platforms is why checking one engine tells you almost nothing.

Open the original.

Hosted on Slate, free to open.
Open the Tool

Questions about Generative engine optimization: 9 techniques

Should I apply all nine techniques?
What do I check first?
Is the technique list evidence?

Questions about SEO & AEO

How is GEO measured if there are no rankings?
Does GEO work carry over between assistants?
Strengths
  • Every technique is a change to a page, so none of it depends on buying anything.
  • It gives the query set size, 20 to 30, and the platform variance, 4-6x, as numbers.
  • The recency finding is specific: content updated within 2 months earns more citations.
Limitations
  • Slate's own guide, and Slate sells the monitoring layer it recommends.
  • Nine techniques applied at once make it impossible to tell which one worked, so change them in batches.
  • The technique list comes from published research, so it is no substitute for a controlled test on your own site.
Skip this if
  • Skip it if you already have the page-level changes from a GEO audit on your list.
Ideal for
  • SEO leads
  • Content strategists
  • Stage: Any stage

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