Definition
LLM optimization (LLMO) is the practice of shaping how large language models describe, recommend and cite your brand. It covers the same ground as GEO but points at the model rather than the search product, which makes the scope a little wider: it includes assistants answering from what they already learned in training, not only answers built from a live web search.
Also called: LLM optimization, large language model optimization, LLM SEO, GEO, AI SEO
At a glance
- CategoriesStrategy
- AbbreviationLLMO
- Related fieldsGEO, AI Search
- DifficultyIntermediate
At a glance
- LLMO targets the model. GEO targets the search surface built on top of it.
- It covers two routes into an answer: training data and live retrieval.
- Training data changes slowly. Live retrieval can change in weeks.
- Most LLMO work is the same as GEO work.
Two ways a model learns about you
An assistant can mention your brand for two reasons. Either it learned about you during training, from everything written about you before its knowledge cutoff, or it found you just now by searching the web, using retrieval-augmented generation.
LLMO cares about both. The retrieval side responds fast to page changes. The training side reflects your long-term footprint: reviews, press, directories and how consistently you’re described across the web. That’s where entity optimization and digital PR earn their keep.
Parsnipp GEO / AEO shows how ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude and Perplexity describe your brand today.
How this term is used
LLMO came from industry rather than research, and it has no single agreed definition. In practice it’s used as a near-synonym for GEO, preferred by technical SEOs who want to name the model directly. You’ll also see it as “LLM SEO.” In Fractl’s survey of marketers, LLMO was the least-used of the terms, chosen by 8%.
The category is still new and these terms are used interchangeably across the industry. For a side-by-side of what each one means and who uses it, see AEO vs GEO vs AI SEO. All of them describe the organic branch of AI search marketing.
Frequently asked questions
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Is LLMO different from GEO?
Mostly in emphasis. GEO is about AI search answers. LLMO includes any context a model talks about you, including answers with no web search behind them.
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Can I change what a model learned in training?
Not directly, and not quickly. You can change what gets written about you, which shapes future training runs, and you can influence live retrieval now.