The 90-Day Sprint: How to Get Cited by ChatGPT, Google Gemini, And More

The introduction of AI has changed various industries, including the digital marketing (Search Engine Optimisation) space. As of mid-2025, OpenAI has confirmed that ChatGPT handles around 2.5 billion user prompts daily, highlighting how rapidly generative AI has become a primary interface for information discovery.

Now its marketer’s duty to increase the citations in LLMs. Before seeing how to get cited by ChatGPT, Google Gemini. Let’s see an introduction to the Generative Engine Optimisation and why it is super important.

What is Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO) and how is it different from SEO?

Traditional SEO focuses on ranking our website in the Search Engine Results Page (SERP) on search engines. Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO) focuses on increasing the likelihood that your content is referenced or cited by Large Language Models (LLMs) like ChatGPT, Google Gemini, and Claude during real-time response generation. Unlike traditional SEO, GEO does not “store” content inside LLMs but optimises content for discoverability, trust, and citation.

Why is GEO Important?

As mentioned before, there were 2.5 billion daily prompts. This data clearly shows a red signal for marketers to change their old strategies of traditional SEO and start to incorporate their content into LLMs.

1.     AI visibility: GEO ensures that your brand is mentioned and cited in daily prompts that users make with these LLMs.

2.     Strong conversion opportunities: When users search for top software in CRM, when your brand arrives in the top 10, which is great conversion opportunities, which directly impacts the business revenue.

3.     High-quality leads without paid ads: Organic marketing will help to increase your profits with less cost or without cost. GEO plays a major role for high quality leads without spending.

How to get cited by ChatGPT and Gemini in 90 days?

One of the good strategies to cite your site is the “Citation Hook Strategy.”

What is the Citation Hook Strategy?

Citation Hook Strategy is a specific way of writing and structuring a piece of information so that LLMs can understand the content and quote it in prompts.

Core Principles of Citation Hook Strategy:

[Question Header] + [Answer Capsule] + [Branded Insights]

Let’s break down the principles

1.     Question Header

Instead of using overly creative headings for H2 or H3 tags. Use a question-based heading like What are the primary engagement metrics for Instagram in 2026. This improves semantic matching and helps LLMs connect user questions with your content.

2.     Answer Capsule

After the immediate heading (H2/H3), LLMs usually prefer content that answers the question right away. If your first 30–60 words are clear and to the point, your chances of being referenced are much higher.

Example: In 2026, the primary engagement metrics on Instagram include likes, comments, shares, and saves, as these actions best indicate how users interact with content.

3.     Branded Insights (the secret weapon)

These branded insights act as trust signals, helping LLMs identify your content as original, authoritative, and worth citing over generic summaries.

90 Day GEO Sprint to Increase your citation

First, analyse your domain and pick the top 20 performing webpages.

Month	Action
Month 1	Deploy an LLMS.txt file and FAQ schema markup for 20 pages
Month 2	Content chunks: Rewrite the first 50 words of your top-performing articles to define direct answers
Month 3	Get mentioned in Reddit threads or an industry comparison list

Month 1: LLMs.txt and Schema Markup

An llms.txt file is an emerging best practice designed to guide LLM crawlers on how to interpret and prioritise your website’s content. While not a guaranteed ranking or citation factor, it can help improve AI content discoverability.

Update the FAQ schema markup or structure data for your top 20 web pages.

FAQ schema is structured data added to your site’s code to clearly define questions and answers.

Benefits:

• Improves machine readability

• Supports visibility in Google’s “People Also Ask.”

• Enhances clarity for AI systems consuming your content

 

Month 2: Rewrite Content for Answer-First Clarity

Rewrite the first 50–70 words of your key sections using:

• Question-based headers

• Direct answer capsules

• Clear, factual language

The goal is not more content but clearer content.

Month 3: Reddit Threads

Create the Reddit profiles that get mentioned in various Reddit threads and get cited in various top industries comparison tables and websites, like your story and more, because LLMs more cite the community discussions.

Wrap Up

Getting cited by ChatGPT or other large language models is no longer accidental; it’s strategic.

As search behaviour shifts from keywords to conversations, Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO) becomes essential for long-term organic visibility. By structuring your content around clear questions, concise answer capsules, and original insights, you make it easier for LLMs to understand, trust, and reference your content.

The 90-day GEO sprint outlined in this guide isn’t about gaming AI systems. It’s about clarity, accuracy, and authority, the same principles that have always driven high-quality content, now optimised for generative search experiences.

If your content answers real questions better than anyone else, citations will follow.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. How does ChatGPT decide which websites to cite?

ChatGPT cites sources based on content clarity, factual accuracy, structured formatting, topical authority, and external validation, such as mentions on trusted websites, forums, and industry lists.

2. What type of content gets cited most by ChatGPT?

Content that performs best includes:

·       Question-based headings

·       Short, direct answers (30–60 words)

·       Original data, frameworks, or expert insights

·       Well-structured FAQs and schema markup

3. Is SEO still relevant if I’m focusing on GEO?

Yes. Traditional SEO and GEO work together. Strong SEO fundamentals, clean site structure, crawlability, and authority make it easier for LLMs to reference your content.

4. Can small or new websites get cited by ChatGPT?

Yes. Smaller sites can get cited if they provide:

·        Clear answers

·        Niche expertise

·        Unique insights not widely available elsewhere

Authority is contextual, not just domain age.