Free 7-lesson GEO course. Start here.
A free, ~1-hour course on Generative Engine Optimization — the practice of getting cited by ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews, Gemini, and Copilot. Built by the team running Reffed, the citation tracking platform.
No credit card. No upsell mid-lesson. Just the framework, the 8 prompts every business should win, and the 4-Pillar mental model serious operators use to decide what to work next.
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Seven lessons. About an hour.
Each lesson stands alone and gives you something concrete to apply. Take them in order or jump to what you need.
- Explain why AI search changed the rules and what AI engines actually reward, in plain language you can use with a client or a boss
- Describe the signals AI engines use to decide which brands to cite — and why backlinks alone no longer carry the weight they did
- Run the 8 citation prompts against your own brand to see where you appear, where you don't, and where competitors beat you
- Read a Reffed audit and translate its scores into a prioritized action list
- Apply the 4-Pillar framework to decide what to work on next, instead of guessing
What GEO is (and how it's different from SEO) →
The plain-language definition. What Generative Engine Optimization means, where the term came from (the Princeton research), how GEO, AEO, and "AI SEO" relate, and the one difference from SEO that tells you what to actually change: SEO wins the click, GEO wins the citation.
Why "search" already changed →
The data behind the shift: 58% of Google searches now end without a click, AI Overviews appear on 30%+ of queries, and a Seer Interactive study found organic CTR fell 61% on those queries. Why ranking on Google no longer guarantees AI mentions — and what that means for any business still measuring success in clicks.
How AI engines actually pick brands →
The general mechanics underneath the magic — how engines retrieve, rank, and select sources to cite. Why cross-platform citation overlap is lower than most people expect, and why brand authority signals beat raw backlinks for AI citations.
The five AI engines and how each one cites →
The practical tour, engine by engine. ChatGPT and Copilot both run on Bing's index; Perplexity is retrieval-first; Google AI Overviews and Gemini ground in Google Search; Claude cites conservatively. Why the same page can win in one engine and vanish in another — and what to do about it.
The 8 citation prompts every business should win →
The exact 8 prompts to run on ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity to audit whether you are being cited, misrepresented, or ignored. Brand identity, category leader, comparison, problem-first, alternatives, reviews, buying decision, and context-specific recommendation.
Reading your Reffed audit →
How to interpret the overall score (0-100), the per-engine breakdown, the four subscores (mention rate, entity signal, content extractability, citation diversity), and the mention check section. Walking through which numbers to fix first.
The 4 Pillars of AI Search Visibility →
The mental model that organizes every GEO tactic worth doing. Pillar 1 (technical readiness — what Reffed measures), Pillar 2 (brand authority), Pillar 3 (content authority), and Pillar 4 (community signal). How each engine weights the four differently. Why Stripe gets cited at score 67 and a perfect-score competitor gets ignored. The framework you use to pick which pillar to work next.
Built for three people.
If you're one of these, Foundations is for you. If you're not, Foundations might still help, but it wasn't designed for your context.
In-house GEO competence
You run marketing at a company that depended on SEO. Your traffic is flat or down. You need to understand what's actually happening with AI search and build GEO capability inside your team.
Adding GEO to your services
You consult on SEO, content, or digital marketing. Clients are asking what to do about ChatGPT. You want a clear framework you can apply to client work without re-learning everything.
New service line
Your agency is adding GEO as a billable service. You need a shared vocabulary across the team and a methodology that matches what AI engines actually reward, not just SEO with a new label.
Email gets you in.
All 7 lessons live now. Sign up to get the access link emailed to you — plus founding-member discounts on Quickstart and Certification when you're ready to go deeper.
Ready to go deeper?
Foundations gives you the framework. Quickstart gives you executional skill. Certification graduates you with a portfolio.
Build executional skill →
Six modules, 26 lessons, ~5 hours. Technical foundations, content production, off-page authority, measurement. Includes 30 days of Reffed Watch. Live now — $147 founding price (one-time, lifetime access). Going to $197 retail once founding seats fill.
Graduate with a portfolio →
12 advanced lessons + 60-day capstone with a real client. Operator Directory listing on pass. Live now — $747 founding price (one-time, lifetime access). Going to $997 retail once founding seats fill.
Foundations questions.
What does GEO Foundations cost?
GEO Foundations is free. Email signup only. No credit card required.
You get lifetime access to all 7 lessons including the 4-Pillar framework lesson, plus the downloadable workbook.
How long does Foundations take to complete?
About an hour of core content split across 7 lessons of 7 to 10 minutes each.
Most students complete it in one sitting. Lessons are self-paced — you can finish in one afternoon or take a week.
What's in the 7 lessons?
Lesson 1 defines what GEO is and how it differs from SEO. Lesson 2 covers why search already changed and what zero-click means for your business. Lesson 3 explains how AI engines actually pick brands to cite. Lesson 4 tours the five major AI engines and how each one cites differently.
Lesson 5 maps the 8 citation prompts every business should win. Lesson 6 walks through a live Reffed audit so you can read your own. Lesson 7 is the 4-Pillar framework — technical readiness, brand authority, content authority, community signal — that organizes every GEO tactic worth doing.
Will Foundations make my business get cited by ChatGPT?
Foundations gives you the framework to understand what makes AI engines cite a business and a concrete way to diagnose which of the four pillars is your bottleneck.
Real citation gains typically take 90 to 180 days of consistent work. Foundations is the starting point, not the finish line.
Do I need to be technical to take Foundations?
No. Foundations is written for marketing leaders, business owners, and consultants without a technical background.
Schema markup and crawler access are explained in plain language with concrete examples. If you can update a website or hire someone who can, you can apply what you learn in Foundations.
What's next after Foundations?
If you want to go from understanding GEO to executing it competently, Quickstart ($147 founding) is the next step. 26 lessons across 6 modules covering technical foundations, content production, off-page authority, measurement, operator business model, and scaling.
Quickstart is live now at $147 founding price (going to $197 retail once founding seats fill).
Is there a certificate?
Foundations includes a free completion certificate when you finish all 7 lessons. The certificate is for personal records and proof of completion.
It is not the same as the Reffed Academy Certified Operator credential, which comes from completing the Certification tier ($997) including a 60-day capstone project.
When does Foundations launch?
Foundations is live now. All 7 lessons are accessible immediately after email signup — no credit card, no waitlist, no waiting.
Email signup gives you the access link plus founding-member discounts on Quickstart and Certification when you're ready to go deeper.
Start with the framework.
About an hour. Free. Lifetime access. The framework you'll come back to every time AI search changes.