How to Optimize Your Content for GEO and Get Cited by DeepSeek, Doubao, and ChatGPT

What GEO Is

Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) structures content so AI assistants such as ChatGPT, Perplexity, Doubao, and DeepSeek can quote it directly when answering user queries. Unlike traditional SEO, which aims to rank in web‑search results, GEO adds a layer that makes AI retrieve, rank, extract, and embed the content in its final answer.

AI‑driven traffic typically has a conversion rate 23 times higher than traditional search because users ask very specific questions. In China, Doubao (1.72 billion MAU) and DeepSeek (1.45 billion MAU) form a distinct AI search ecosystem that does not overlap with international platforms.

Only about 26 % of marketers have optimized for AI citation, making early adopters likely to secure a positional advantage similar to early SEO.

Writing Styles That AI Prefers

Non‑optimal example: A vague narrative paragraph about weight loss that lacks concrete data.

减肥是一个复杂的话题，涉及很多方面，包括饮食、运动、睡眠等各种因素。每个人的情况都不一样，所以没有放之四海而皆准的方法，需要根据个人情况来调整……

AI‑friendly example: Each sentence contains a specific fact, a source, and a concise conclusion.

成年人每周减重 0.5—1 公斤是健康速率（世界卫生组织 2023 指南）。核心方法：每日制造 500—750 卡路里热量缺口（减少主食 1/3 + 步行 30 分钟）；保证 7—9 小时睡眠（睡眠不足会使饥饿素水平上升 24%，来源：《柳叶刀》2022）……

The AI‑friendly version provides numbers, sources, and standalone statements that can be directly extracted.

RAG Architecture – The Four‑Step AI Answer Process

AI first retrieves relevant documents, then ranks them, extracts snippets, and finally composes an answer. GEO works by ensuring your page is easily retrieved, highly ranked, and contains extractable snippets.

Why AI Trusts Certain Content

Ahrefs data shows that 80 % of ChatGPT citations come from sites that do not appear in Google’s top‑100, indicating that strong SEO alone does not guarantee AI citation.

Only 11 % of sites are cited by both ChatGPT and Perplexity, highlighting platform‑specific source pools.

Three High‑Impact Writing Optimizations

Add sources to every key number. Princeton’s 2023 GEO experiment reported a +115 % citation lift when sources were added.

Put the conclusion first. AI often extracts the first 40‑60 characters of a paragraph.

Include an FAQ section. The Q&A format mirrors AI output, boosting citation probability.

Why Chinese Platforms Need Separate Strategies

Doubao, DeepSeek, Kimi, Yuanbao, and Qwen each rely on different content ecosystems and authority signals, so a one‑size‑fits‑all SEO approach fails.

Doubao

Core sources: Toutiao, Douyin, Douyin Baike (ByteDance ecosystem).

Strategy: Publish clear, structured articles on Toutiao, embed authentic user reviews and usage scenarios, and ensure video descriptions are text‑rich for Douyin crawling.

DeepSeek

Core sources: Industry websites, authoritative media, high‑quality self‑media.

Strategy: Use structured formats (tables, lists, data comparisons) to showcase deep analysis.

Qwen (Qianwen / Quark)

Core sources: Alibaba e‑commerce reviews, Quark search index, academic papers, industry reports.

Strategy: For e‑commerce topics, provide highly structured product details; for scholarly content, cite academic sources.

Yuanbao (Tencent Yuanbao)

Core sources: WeChat public accounts (36 billion articles) integrated with Tencent Docs and Meetings.

Strategy: Consistently publish high‑quality public‑account articles.

Kimi

Core sources: Zhihu (UGC) + mainstream media (Sohu, Sina, NetEase).

Strategy: Combine deep professional answers on Zhihu with authoritative media endorsements.

Special Considerations for Chinese Platforms

Cross‑platform consistency multiplies citation odds by ~4.7 ×; synchronize core content across Toutiao, Zhihu, and public accounts.

A heavy advertising tone reduces citation priority; frame content as problem‑solving information.

Video captions and descriptions are also crawled; provide comprehensive text alongside short videos.

Technical Configuration – Let AI Crawlers See You

robots.txt

The robots.txt file at the site root tells crawlers what to fetch. Using Disallow: / blocks AI bots.

# ── 默认规则 ─────────────────────────────
User-agent: *
Disallow: /admin/
Disallow: /login/
Disallow: /api/
Disallow: /private/
Disallow: /*?*
Allow: /

# ── OpenAI ─────────────────────────────
User-agent: GPTBot
Allow: /

# ── Anthropic ─────────────────────────
User-agent: ClaudeBot
Allow: /

# ── Perplexity ────────────────────────
User-agent: PerplexityBot
Allow: /

# ── Google AI ─────────────────────────
User-agent: Google-Extended
Allow: /

# ── Meta AI ──────────────────────────
User-agent: Meta-ExternalAgent
Allow: /

# ── 国内爬虫 ──────────────────────────
User-agent: QwenBot
Allow: /
User-agent: Bytespider
Allow: /

# ── Sitemap ───────────────────────────
Sitemap: https://yourdomain.com/sitemap.xml

WordPress users should verify that “Discourage search engines” is unchecked and can edit robots.txt directly via plugins such as Yoast SEO or RankMath.

llms.txt

Proposed by Jeremy Howard in 2024, llms.txt is a Markdown file placed at the site root that tells AI the site’s most important pages and how to interpret them.

Template:

# 你的网站名称

> 一两句话介绍网站做什么、面向什么人群。
> 例：我们是专注于个人理财的中文教育平台，提供从入门到进阶的投资指南，
> 面向 25—40 岁的上班族。

## 核心内容

- [文章标题1](https://你的域名.com/文章1/)：一句话说明这篇文章讲什么
- [文章标题2](https://你的域名.com/文章2/)：一句话说明这篇文章讲什么
- [文章标题3](https://你的域名.com/文章3/)：一句话说明这篇文章讲什么

## 产品 / 服务

- [产品名称](https://你的域名.com/product/)：产品的核心功能和适用场景

## 关于我们

- [关于页](https://你的域名.com/about/)：团队背景、专业资质、成立时间
- [联系方式](https://你的域名.com/contact/)：邮箱和社交媒体账号

## Optional

> 以下内容不重要，AI 可以跳过
- [标签页](https://你的域名.com/tags/)：文章分类标签
- [归档页](https://你的域名.com/archive/)：按时间排列的文章列表

Schema Structured Data

Insert JSON‑LD inside the <head> of each page to explicitly convey author, publish date, and page type to AI.

Article Schema (recommended for every article)

<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Article",
  "headline": "你的文章标题（和 H1 保持一致）",
  "description": "用 1—2 句话总结文章内容，AI 可能直接引用这段",
  "datePublished": "2025-06-01",
  "dateModified": "2026-03-29",
  "author": {
    "@type": "Person",
    "name": "作者姓名",
    "url": "https://你的域名.com/about/"
  },
  "publisher": {
    "@type": "Organization",
    "name": "你的网站或品牌名",
    "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://你的域名.com/logo.png" }
  },
  "image": "https://你的域名.com/images/文章配图.jpg",
  "mainEntityOfPage": { "@type": "WebPage", "id": "https://你的域名.com/这篇文章的URL/" }
}
</script>

FAQPage Schema (often yields the biggest lift)

<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "FAQPage",
  "mainEntity": [
    {
      "@type": "Question",
      "name": "问题一的完整文字？",
      "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "回答一，建议 50—200 字，先说结论再展开。" }
    },
    {
      "@type": "Question",
      "name": "问题二？",
      "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "回答二。" }
    }
    // 继续添加，建议 5—8 个问答
  ]
}
</script>

Validate with Google Rich Results Test to ensure no errors.

How to Write Effective FAQs

Five Principles

Use language real users would say. Ask “What is X?” instead of “Define X.”

Give the answer in the first sentence. AI truncates early content.

Include numbers. “Usually takes 3—5 working days” is more cite‑worthy than vague timing.

Keep each answer 50—200 words. Cover what, how, cost/time, and pitfalls.

Provide 5—8 solid questions. Quality beats quantity.

Two Formatting Options

HTML version:

<section class="faq">
  <h2>常见问题</h2>
  <details>
    <summary>问题一：用户最常问的第一个问题？</summary>
    <p>直接给出答案，第一句话就说清楚。例：这个过程通常需要 3—5 个工作日，具体取决于……</p>
  </details>
  <details>
    <summary>问题二：另一个常见问题？</summary>
    <p>回答二的内容……</p>
  </details>
</section>

Markdown version:

## 常见问题

**Q：问题一的完整表述？**

直接给出答案，第一句话说清楚结论。
例：通常需要 3—5 个工作日，费用约在 XX—XX 元之间。
步骤：① 先做什么 ② 然后做什么 ③ 最后做什么。

---

**Q：问题二（多少钱 / 多长时间类）？**

给出具体范围，而不是"视情况而定"。
例：通常需要 2—4 周，影响时间的因素主要有：① XX ② XX。

Action Checklist (≈½ day to complete basic GEO setup)

robots.txt: Visit yourdomain/robots.txt, ensure GPTBot, PerplexityBot, ClaudeBot, and Bytespider are not blocked.

llms.txt: Create the file in the root and list 5—10 core pages with one‑sentence descriptions each.

Article Schema: Add JSON‑LD to the <head> of core articles, filling in dateModified and author fields.

FAQPage Schema: For pages with FAQs, embed the FAQPage JSON‑LD.

Schema validation: Run Google Rich Results Test and fix any errors.

Content rewrite: Pick 3—5 pillar articles and apply “conclusion first + sourced data” style.

Platform distribution: Publish the same core content on Toutiao, Zhihu, and public accounts for each target platform.

Analytics setup: In GA4, create a channel group to track traffic from Perplexity, Doubao, DeepSeek, etc.

Regular maintenance: Refresh core data and dates every 30 days to keep freshness signals high.

Because llms.txt adoption and open robots.txt for AI crawlers are still low, completing these steps gives a competitive edge with relatively little ongoing effort.