---
id: "question-geo-rules"
type: "open-question"
source_timestamps: ["§ From SEO to GEO"]
tags: ["search-strategy", "best-practices"]
related: ["concept-geo"]
resolutionPath: "Will be resolved through extensive A/B testing by early adopters, reverse-engineering of LLM citation behaviors, and eventual publication of best-practice frameworks by marketing analysts."
sources: ["geo"]
sourceVaultSlug: "hbr-seg-geo"
originDay: 3
articleStem: "hbr-ext-13-ai-upending-marketing"
sourceUrl: "https://hbr.org/2026/02/ai-is-upending-marketing-on-two-fronts"
sourceTitle: "AI Is Upending Marketing on Two Fronts"
---
# What are the definitive rules of Generative Engine Optimization (GEO)?

**Open question.** The author notes that "nobody really understands GEO yet" and "the rules are still being written." While structured data and clear categorization are *hypothesized* to matter more than link-based authority, the exact weighting algorithms of chatbots remain opaque. See [[concept-geo]].

**Resolution path:** Extensive **A/B testing** by early adopters, **reverse-engineering** of LLM citation behaviors, and eventual publication of best-practice frameworks by marketing analysts.

**Enrichment note:** Industry guides (Semrush, HubSpot, UC Davis, Reply) agree GEO is emergent, offering provisional best practices rather than definitive algorithms. Google explicitly warns against speculative "AEO/GEO hacks" and reiterates that generative-AI ranking remains grounded in broader (opaque) Search policies.