Ethical GEOImprove discoverability without compromising trust
AI search depends on the information it reads being true. GEO that corrupts that information harms users, damages clients when it is discovered, and erodes the channel for everyone. These principles are requirements of the GEO Standard, not suggestions.
What certified practitioners refuse to do
- Guaranteed AI rankings
- No one controls what AI systems write. Promising placements misleads clients.
- Deceptive manipulation of AI systems
- Hidden instructions, cloaked content or prompt injection aimed at models.
- Fabricated citations and data
- Invented studies, statistics or sources, including ones seeded to be cited back.
- False reviews
- Paid, incentivised or fake reviews, and suppression of genuine ones.
- Fake authority
- Invented credentials, experts, awards, or press coverage.
- Spam
- Mass-produced pages or posts designed to flood retrieval rather than help people.
- Fraudulent entity signals
- Fake businesses, personas, profiles or sites that pretend to be independent.
- Misleading reporting
- Cherry-picked samples, undisclosed methods, or results presented without their limits.
What they commit to
- Transparent measurement
- Every number comes with the query set, systems, dates and sample size behind it.
- Human oversight
- AI-assisted content is reviewed by a person accountable for its accuracy.
- Accuracy first
- Correcting what AI systems get wrong about a client matters as much as being mentioned.
- Honest scope
- Clients are told what GEO can and cannot do before they pay.
Breaches can lead to suspension or revocation under the governance process. Read the full code of conduct.
Seen GEO practices that cross the line?
Report a certified party, or tell us about a tactic the Standard should address.