Generative engine optimization: how to get cited by ChatGPT and AI search

What is generative engine optimization?

It is the work of appearing inside the answer an AI engine writes, not just inside a list of links. When a buyer asks ChatGPT, Perplexity or Google’s AI summary which tool fits their job, the engine returns a paragraph and cites a handful of sources. GEO aims at those citations.

The practical consequence is that the unit of measurement changes. You no longer track a rank on a keyword, you track prompts: full questions whose answers you check. The two verified tools in our database sell exactly that. Otterly.AI tracks 15 prompts on its Lite plan at $29 a month, and Semrush tracks 25 prompts in its AI Visibility Toolkit at $99 a month per domain.

How is GEO different from classic SEO?

On three points you can measure. First, what you track: a keyword is three words, a prompt is a whole sentence, so you need far fewer of them to cover a topic. Compare the published volumes. The Semrush SEO plan tracks 500 keywords daily; its Starter plan tracks 50 prompts daily.

Second, the result: there is no position one, there is a mention or nothing. Otterly.AI says as much in its own stated limits, where the tool measures a sample of prompts and promises no citation.

Third, the scope: you have to watch several engines at once. Otterly.AI covers 4 engines with daily tracking from the Lite plan, but Claude, Gemini and AI Mode are add-ons rather than engines included at that tier. Semrush reports mentions in ChatGPT, Google AI, Gemini and Perplexity.

One thing to check if you already pay for SEO tooling: at Semrush, the SEO plan at $139 a month ($117.33 billed yearly) includes no AI tracking, no prompts, no sentiment, no AI reports. You move up to Starter at $199 a month, or buy the AI module separately.

What do these tools actually measure?

Appearances, plus the context around them. The Semrush AI Visibility Toolkit, at its $99 a month per domain Base tier, gives you 25 tracked prompts with daily AI rankings, 1 domain for brand performance analysis, up to 300 AI analysis reports per day, AI competitor analysis, prompt research and a site audit for AI readiness. Otterly.AI offers daily citation tracking and brand reports, with unlimited members from the Lite plan, then the API and unlimited workspaces from Standard at $189 a month.

In our reading, these are measuring instruments rather than acquisition channels. They tell you whether you are cited and by whom; they do not produce the citation. Paying $160 a month to record an absence only pays off if someone, in house or at an agency, then works the report. The same logic applies to the projects covered in our guide to AI workflow automation: the tool does not replace the work.

What does GEO tracking cost, exactly?

The add-ons matter as much as the sticker price. At Semrush, each extra user starts at $45 a month, and on the AI Visibility Toolkit an extra domain costs $99, 50 more prompts cost $60 a month, and each extra team member costs $99 a month on top of the user cost. Both vendors quote their Enterprise tiers on request, with the Otterly.AI version announced from 1,000 prompts. Semrush states that all its prices are in US dollars.

Can you try it without paying?

Partly, and less easily than with most tools in this category. Semrush offers a free plan with no credit card, limited to 1 demo project and 10 reports per day across the core tools, plus a 7-day free trial on the SEO, Starter and Pro+ plans. There is no trial for the AI Visibility Toolkit bought on its own, which makes the cheapest route into AI tracking the one route you cannot test first. Otterly.AI has no verified permanent free plan, only a free trial.

That shows up in our scores: 3/5 for the free tier at Semrush, 2/5 at Otterly.AI. If you want to see the product before committing a budget, the 7-day trial on Starter is the widest door.

Where does your data live?

This is the clearest gap between the two. Otterly.AI states that it stores data on AWS eu-central-1 in Frankfurt, with a DPA on request and standard contractual clauses for subprocessors outside the EU, noting that some subprocessors may process data outside the Union. We score that criterion 4/5.

Semrush reports service data stored in data centers in the United States (Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud Platform and Digital Reality DC, per its security page), with no European hosting option published. The vendor states GDPR compliance since May 2018, a DPA with EU standard contractual clauses, a published subprocessor list and PCI DSS Level 1 certification, but its security page cites neither ISO 27001 nor SOC 2. Our GDPR score: 2/5.

If your leadership requires European residency on marketing tools, the decision is made before you compare a single feature.

Which one fits your profile?

Freelancer or small business taking a first measurement. Otterly.AI Lite at $29 a month ($25 billed yearly), with 15 prompts and unlimited members. It is the lower entry point of the two, and hosting sits in Frankfurt. Check which engines are actually included at that tier, since the others are paid add-ons. Full plan details on our Otterly.AI page.

Marketing team or agency already running SEO. Semrush Starter at $199 a month ($165.17 billed yearly) puts classic SEO (5 websites monitored, 500 keywords daily) and 50 AI prompts a day in one subscription, with an AI-ready site audit. We score its features 5/5 and its price 2/5: broad coverage, high cost. Details on the Semrush page.

You want AI visibility only, not SEO. The AI Visibility Toolkit Base at $99 a month per domain, or Otterly.AI Standard at $189 a month ($160 billed yearly) if 100 prompts and the API are useful to you. In our reading, below roughly a hundred tracked prompts Otterly.AI is the easier choice to justify; above that, the math depends on how many domains and team members you need to add.

You do not have a solid site yet. Start there. Citation tracking on a thin site will not measure anything you can act on, and our guide to building a website with AI describes work that costs less to carry out than any of these plans.