GEO for charities: how to ensure AI mentions your organisation
AI has changed the way we search on the internet. It used to be mostly about how high your website ranked in the search results (SEO). Now it’s about AI mentioning you as a source. This is called GEO (Generative Engine Optimisation). In this blog, you’ll read about exactly what GEO is, why it’s important for charities and how you can start using it today.
What is GEO and why is it important now?
GEO (Generative Engine Optimisation) is the optimisation of your website so AI systems like ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity and Google’s AI Overviews find your content and use it as a source in their answers.
AI is being used more and more to get answers to questions. Not just because people are using AI programmes more often, but also because search engines often give a single AI-generated answer to your question at the top of the search results.
When you ask an AI tool like ChatGPT, Claude or Perplexity a question, you only get a single answer.
This has immediate consequences for charitable causes. A potential donor who asks ’How can I help animals?’ or ’Is my donation tax-deductible?’ is increasingly seeing just a single answer. If you’re not mentioned as the source there, you’ll miss out on donors who would otherwise have found you.
That’s why it’s important to start focusing on GEO in addition to your existing SEO strategy.
How AI reads your content
People no longer give a list of keywords in their searches. They ask questions. AI then collects texts from various websites to provide an answer and evaluates them based on three things:
- How well does this match the intention of the query?
- How current is the information?
- How reliable is the source?
AI also looks for cohesion. Are you writing about monthly donations? Then it helps if related concepts are also shown on that page, for example: ANBI, tax benefits, direct debit, impact report. AI then sees the connection and recognises your page as a complete source.
The clearer and more logically your page is structured, the more likely it is that AI will use your organisation as a source of information.
Would you like to learn more about this? In our whitepaper entitled 5 steps: how to make your content fully AI-proof you can read the entire step-by-step plan.
Download the whitepaper
Three things you can start doing with GEO today
The good news: there is no need to revamp your entire website straight away. Many charities already have a knowledge base full of reliable information. It just needs to be converted into GEO-proof content. And you do that as follows:
1. Match your content to your visitor’s actual query
What task does your visitor want to complete? Donate, become a volunteer, understand what you do? You develop your content around that. For example, if someone wants to know ‘How do I change my monthly donation?’, a clear step-by-step guide works better than a background story.
2. Make trust visible
AI and humans are very similar in this respect: both want to know who they can trust. So be transparent.
- Give the publication date and date of the last update.
- Add information about the author to articles.
- Refer to your annual report or impact report and put the key figures on an easy-to-read web page.
- Ensure your facts, figures and links are correct.
3. Make your page scannable
Both AI and humans want to quickly understand what a page is about. So use:
- A clear title that refers to the query or topic
- A short summary at the top
- Clear sub-headings in H2 and H3
- One topic per paragraph (clearly separated blocks are easier for AI to quote)
- Tables where comparisons make sense
- FAQs with concise answers visible on the page, not concealed in an accordion
In our whitepaper, we explain how to make your website GEO-proof step by step.
Frequently asked questions about GEO
What does GEO stand for? GEO stands for Generative Engine Optimisation. It’s about optimising your content so AI systems like ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity and Google’s AI Overviews can find, understand and use your pages as a source in their answers.
What is the difference between SEO and GEO? SEO optimises your site to rank highly in Google’s classic search results and drives clicks. GEO increases the likelihood of AI systems like ChatGPT and Perplexity using your pages as a source in their answers. One does not replace the other, they complement each other. By focusing on both, you ensure you are findable everywhere.
How do you do GEO? GEO starts with three principles: match your content to your visitor’s actual question, make trust visible (author, date, sources) and make your page scannable with clear headings, short paragraphs and visible FAQs. The complete step-by-step plan is in our whitepaper, which you can download here.
Do I need to make my whole website GEO-proof at the same time? No. Start with a single page. For example, your donation page or the page about the project that most donors know you from. One well-optimised page can have an immediate effect.
Does AI also read PDF files, like our annual report? Many AI systems struggle more with PDFs (especially scanned documents) than they do with regular web pages. So publish a simple web page with the key figures and conclusions in addition to your annual report PDF.
Ready to get started with GEO?
GEO is not a one-off action, but a new way of thinking about your content. Start small, pick one important page and develop further from there.
You can read the full 5-step plan in our whitepaper:
- Step 1. Build trust and acquire a good reputation
- Step 2. Match your visitor’s search query (and intention)
- Step 3. Construct a topical map (your site as a source of knowledge)
- Step 4. Make your pages scannable
- Step 5. Improve and measure your visibility for AI
Download the whitepaper: 5 steps: how to make your content fully AI-proof
Do you have any questions about GEO for your charity, or do you need help creating a custom strategy? Contact us