AI Search

LLM SEO

LLM SEO is the practice of optimising websites, content, and entity signals so that large language models (LLMs) retrieve, cite, and recommend your brand when generating answers.

LLM SEO is a practical subset of the broader GEO discipline, focused specifically on how brands can influence the retrieval and citation behaviour of large language models. While GEO addresses the full ecosystem of AI answer engines, LLM SEO is particularly concerned with the mechanics of how LLMs select and prioritise sources.

Key LLM SEO tactics include: publishing clear, definitional content that establishes your brand as the authoritative source on specific topics; building a dense knowledge graph of brand entities (product names, founders, company history) across Wikipedia, Wikidata, and authoritative directories; earning citations from high-authority publishers that are likely to appear in LLM training data; and structuring content with explicit question-answer pairs that match conversational query formats.

LLM SEO also involves prompt testing — systematically querying AI systems with your target queries to measure brand visibility and identify gaps where competitors are being cited instead of you.

Why it matters for marketers

LLMs are increasingly the first interface buyers use when researching products and services. A brand that is consistently cited in LLM responses builds a compounding visibility advantage as more users adopt AI-first research workflows.

How to measure it

Run a systematic prompt testing programme: select 20-50 queries your buyers ask, run them weekly across major LLMs, and record whether your brand is cited, how often, and with what sentiment.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between LLM SEO and traditional SEO?

Traditional SEO focuses on ranking pages in search engine results pages via signals like backlinks and on-page optimisation. LLM SEO focuses on getting your brand cited in AI-generated answers, which requires building entity authority, publishing definitional content, and testing brand visibility across AI systems.

Which LLMs should I optimise for?

Focus on the LLMs your target audience uses most. ChatGPT (OpenAI), Perplexity, Google AI Overviews, and Claude (Anthropic) collectively cover the majority of AI search usage as of 2026.