Generative Engine Optimization

Who should consider it?

Generative Engine Optimization: The Definitive Guide to AI SEO is Ross Hudgens’ guide to getting brands mentioned and cited in AI answer engines such as ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Claude. Wiley names SEO practitioners, marketing leaders at technology companies, CMOs and content marketers as its readers. Wiley product page.

Hudgens founded Siege Media, a content and SEO agency. Siege Media’s page positions the book as frameworks applied to case studies rather than hacks. Siege Media book page.

What does it cover?

Wiley’s table of contents runs to nine chapters:

1. Why GEO, and how it differs from SEO
2. Generative engine basics and how to measure visibility, sentiment and position
3. How generative engines work: query fan-out, retrieval, reranking, chunking and freshness
4. Establishing a GEO strategy, including prompt sources, brand positioning and digital PR
5. Content creation, including structure for LLMs and schema markup
6. Digital and performance PR
7. Applied case studies: Zapier, Bluevine and Siege Media
8. Building a GEO-first organization, including roles and career paths
9. What comes next: agents, tool use via MCP and model content partnerships

Official contents (PDF).

Commercial interests to note

Chapter 3 is written by Josh Blyskal of Profound, a company that sells AI-visibility software. One of the three Chapter 7 case studies is Siege Media, the author’s own agency. Both are disclosed in the table of contents. Keep them in mind when weighing tool or agency recommendations. Official contents.

Edition and format details

Wiley lists the hardcover (ISBN 9781394439805) for October 2026 and the ebook (ISBN 9781394439812) for September 2026, at 320 pages. Wiley offers a free excerpt, and Siege Media offers a free chapter by email. Google Books record.

Who might choose something else?

• You want a step-by-step beginner introduction. AI SEO for Dummies (Wiley, 2026) covers both AEO and GEO for business owners and marketers, with a free companion toolkit.
• You need deep answer-engine implementation and measurement. Rodrigo Stockebrand’s Answer Engine Optimization (O’Reilly) is classed intermediate to advanced.
• You want an agency owner’s take focused on getting recommended. Compare CITED.

Disclosure: Top SEO Books is owned by Nathan Gotch, author of AI SEO for Dummies. How we handle this relationship.

AI search changes quickly. Treat named engines, statistics and freshness claims as a snapshot of 2026.