Author
Samy Ben Sadok
Founder, GEO ToolboxBarcelona, Spain
I'm Samy Ben Sadok, founder of GEO Toolbox and an SEO and growth strategist with over a decade of experience, having led more than 150 projects across some of the most competitive industries, including crypto and CBD. Based in Barcelona, I host the Collaborator.pro podcast and write GEO Toolbox's research on generative engine optimization and getting brands cited in AI search engines like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews.
Articles by Samy
96 articles
Best Perplexity Rank Trackers (2026): An Honest Comparison
The best Perplexity rank trackers in 2026, compared honestly: what each tracks, which ones gate Perplexity behind a higher tier, the free way to check, and how to pick.
The Best Open-Source Tools for Claude Code (2026)
The open-source repos that make Claude Code better: MCP servers, subagent frameworks, cost trackers, and hooks, with the security caveats most roundups skip.
DeepSeek Pricing in 2026: Free App, Cheap API, Is It Worth It?
DeepSeek pricing, current to July 2026: the free app, V4 Flash and V4 Pro API costs, cache-hit vs cache-miss billing, and how it compares to ChatGPT and Claude.
Grok 4.5: Specs, Benchmarks, Pricing & the Honest Verdict (2026)
Grok 4.5 is xAI's cheaper, faster 'Opus-class' coding model, out July 8, 2026. An honest look at specs, real benchmarks, true cost, EU access, and AI search.
How AI Models Actually Think (What's Really Going On Inside)
Not autocomplete, not a conscious mind. How AI models actually think inside: next-token prediction, the concepts they build, and what new interpretability research reveals about an LLM.
The State of AI Search in 2026: What the Data Actually Shows
The state of AI search in 2026, reconciled from every major study: AI Overview traffic, which engines cite what, and how to measure your visibility.
What Is Agentic AI? A Plain-English Guide for Brands
Agentic AI explained without the hype: what it is, how AI agents work, how it differs from generative AI, and what it means for whether AI finds your brand.
Claude vs Gemini: Which Is Better? An Honest Look Under the Hood
Claude vs Gemini, compared honestly: how each is built, how they search and cite the web, who wins which task, and which one to show up in. June 2026.
Microsoft Copilot Pricing in 2026: Plans, Free Tier & Cost
Microsoft Copilot pricing in 2026: the free tier, Microsoft 365 Premium, the $18/$21/$30 business plans, the base-license trap, plus Studio and Cowork credits.
Claude Code Context Window: What It Is and Why It Controls Costs
What the Claude Code context window is, how big it gets (200K vs 1M), what fills it, and how to read the /context meter before it degrades your output.
How to Reduce Claude Code Token Costs (and Why They Add Up Fast)
Claude Code burns tokens fast because it re-reads your whole context on every step. Here is the mechanism, plus the highest-impact ways to cut your token bill.
Open Weights vs Open Source: The Real Difference (2026)
Open weights and open source are not the same thing. See what each term means, which 2026 AI models are which, the license catches, and why it matters.
What Is Claude AI? Anthropic's AI Assistant, Explained
What is Claude AI? Anthropic's assistant explained: the models (Haiku, Sonnet, Opus, Fable 5), pricing, limits, privacy, and what it means for your brand.
ChatGPT Pricing in 2026: Plans, API Cost, and Is It Worth It?
Every ChatGPT price for 2026: Free, Go, Plus, the two Pro tiers ($100 and $200), Business, Enterprise, and API token costs, plus which plan is worth it.
Claude Pricing in 2026: Plans, API Costs, and Is It Worth It?
Every Claude price for July 2026: Free, Pro, Max, Team, Enterprise, and API costs for Opus 4.8, Sonnet 5, Haiku 4.5, and Fable 5, plus which plan is worth it.
Gemini API Pricing in 2026: Every Model, Tier, and Hidden Cost
Gemini API pricing 2026: every model's token cost, the four service tiers, the free tier, Vertex vs Developer API, and the hidden costs that inflate your bill.
Gemini Omni: What It Is, Pricing, and How to Get Access (2026)
Gemini Omni is Google's any-input-to-video AI model. What Omni Flash does, which Google AI plans include it, API pricing at $0.10/sec, and what breaks.
Google AI Mode SEO: How to Get Cited and Track It
How Google AI Mode picks and cites pages, what actually changes for SEO, how to measure visibility Search Console barely breaks out, and what you can control.
Claude Sonnet 5: Pricing, Benchmarks & Real-World Review (2026)
Claude Sonnet 5 is out. Pricing, benchmarks vs Sonnet 4.6 and Opus 4.8, the real per-task cost after Sept 1, and what the first independent reviews reveal.
GPT-5.6 Explained: Sol, Terra, Luna & AI Visibility
OpenAI's GPT-5.6 is a three-model family (Sol, Terra, and Luna) now generally available in ChatGPT, the API, and Codex. What each model does, the pricing, who gets which tier, and what it means for AI search.
Best Free SEO Tools (2026): The Honest, Job-Based List
The best free SEO tools in 2026, by job, labeled honestly: actually-free vs freemium vs free-trial, plus the free way to check your AI-search visibility.
Copilot SEO: How to Get Cited in Microsoft Copilot
Copilot SEO means getting cited in Microsoft Copilot's answers. How Copilot grounds on the Bing index, what to structure, and how to track citations.
What Is Microsoft Copilot Studio? A Plain Guide (2026)
What is Microsoft Copilot Studio? A plain guide to the agent builder: what it does, how it differs from Copilot, what it really costs, and its honest limits.
Microsoft Copilot vs Google Gemini: Which Is Better? (2026)
An honest, current comparison of Microsoft Copilot and Google Gemini: models, pricing, coding, privacy, and which AI assistant actually fits your work in 2026.
Gemini 3.5 Pro: Release Date, Specs & What's Confirmed (2026)
Gemini 3.5 Pro is not out yet. A dated look at what Google confirmed, what's only rumored (2M context, Deep Think, pricing), and what it means for AI search.
What Is Grok Imagine? xAI's AI Image & Video Generator
Grok Imagine is xAI's AI image and video generator. Here's how to use it, whether it's free in 2026, what it can do, and how it stacks up against Sora and Veo.
Microsoft Copilot vs ChatGPT: Which Is Better? (2026)
Microsoft Copilot vs ChatGPT, honestly compared for 2026. Same OpenAI brain, different body: models, pricing, Office, privacy, and which one cites your brand.
Perplexity Comet: The AI Browser, Explained
What is Perplexity Comet? An honest guide to Perplexity's AI browser: what it does, is it free, is it safe, and what agentic browsing means for your site.
Perplexity Pricing 2026: Plans, Pro, Max, and Is It Worth It?
Perplexity's 2026 pricing explained: Free, Pro ($20), Max ($200), the $10 student plan, the credit system, and an honest take on whether Pro is worth it.
What Is Microsoft Copilot? Versions, Pricing & Models (2026)
What is Microsoft Copilot? A plain guide to all the Copilot products, what they cost, how it works, Copilot vs ChatGPT, and how to show up when it answers.
What Is Perplexity? The AI Answer Engine, Explained
What is Perplexity AI? A current guide to the answer engine: who owns it, Comet, pricing, Perplexity vs ChatGPT, accuracy, and what it means for your brand.
Chinese AI Models Compared: DeepSeek, Qwen, GLM, Kimi (2026)
An honest, current comparison of the top Chinese AI models - DeepSeek, Qwen, GLM, Kimi and more - covering capability, cost, safety, and AI visibility.
Gemini SEO: How to Get Cited in Google Gemini
Gemini SEO means getting cited in Google Gemini's answers. How grounding, the Google index, Google-Extended, and the four Gemini surfaces actually work.
Grok Pricing in 2026: Plans, Free Tier, and Is It Worth It?
Grok pricing explained, current to July 2026: the free tier, SuperGrok ($10/$30), Heavy, X Premium vs standalone, API token costs, and how to use Grok.
Best Content Optimization Tools (2026): Rank and Get Cited
The best content optimization tools in 2026, tested: what each does, real pricing, who should skip it, and where they fall short on getting cited by AI.
Best Link Building Platforms (2026): The 5 Types, by Job
The best link building platforms in 2026 by type: research tools, outreach software, marketplaces, and managed PR. Who to skip, and what earns AI citations.
Gemini Pricing in 2026: Plans, API Costs, and Is It Free?
Gemini pricing for June 2026: the free tier, Google AI Plus ($4.99), Pro ($19.99), Ultra ($99.99-$199.99), and the Gemini API token cost by model.
Grok vs Gemini: Which Is Better? An Honest Comparison (2026)
Grok vs Gemini, compared for July 2026: current models, pricing, real-time data, coding, image and video, and which engine actually ends up citing your brand.
Gemini Gems: What They Are and How to Build One (2026)
Gemini Gems are reusable custom versions of Google Gemini. What they are, how to build one, what knowledge files really do, and how they compare to custom GPTs.
Gemini vs ChatGPT: Which Is Better? Honest Comparison (July 2026)
Gemini vs ChatGPT, honestly compared and current to July 2026: models, pricing, context, coding, privacy, and which engine actually ends up citing your brand.
What Is Query Fan-Out? How AI Search Turns One Question Into Many
Query fan-out is how AI search splits one question into many parallel sub-queries. What Google documents, which engines do it, and what it means for citations.
Scrunch AI Review (2026): Features, Pricing & Alternatives
An honest Scrunch AI review: what the tool does, its 2026 pricing and Sitecore acquisition, who it's worth it for, and the best Scrunch AI alternatives.
What Is Peec AI? Features, Pricing, and Alternatives (2026)
What Peec AI does, its 2026 pricing and funding, who it's for, its real limits, and the best Peec AI alternatives, reviewed by a competing tool's makers.
Agentic Commerce: Will AI Agents Recommend Your Brand?
Agentic commerce in 2026: how AI agents find, judge, and recommend brands, what's live after the ChatGPT Instant Checkout pullback, and how to check yours.
E-E-A-T for AI Search: What Actually Makes Content Citable
E-E-A-T is not a ranking factor or a score. But the trust signals behind it decide whether ChatGPT, Perplexity, and AI Overviews cite you. Here is what works.
Grok 5: Release Date, Specs & What's Confirmed (July 2026)
Grok 5 isn't out yet. A dated look at xAI's next model: the slipping release date, confirmed-vs-rumored specs, the AGI claim, and what it means for AI search.
Grok vs ChatGPT: Which Is Better? Honest Comparison (July 2026)
Grok vs ChatGPT, compared honestly and current to July 2026: real-time data, coding, writing, context, safety, pricing, and which AI to optimize your brand for.
What Is x402? Coinbase's Payment Protocol for AI Agents
x402 lets AI agents pay in stablecoins over HTTP. What it is, how the 402 handshake works, whether it's a token, and how it compares to ACP, AP2 and MCP.
Grok vs Claude: Which Is Better? An Honest Comparison (July 2026)
Grok vs Claude, compared honestly and current to July 2026: real-time data, coding, writing, context, safety, pricing, and which AI to optimize your brand for.
What Is DeepSeek? China's Open-Weight AI, Explained
What is DeepSeek? The Chinese open-weight AI explained: R1, V3, and V4, the $6M myth, is it safe, the China and bans question, and what it means for you.
What Is Google Gemini? Models, Pricing & Features (2026)
What is Google Gemini? A current guide to Google's AI: the models, pricing, how to use it, privacy, Gemini vs ChatGPT, and why it matters for your brand.
What Is GLM 5.2? China's Open-Weight AI, and Your Visibility
What is GLM 5.2? Zhipu's open-weight AI explained: the specs, honest benchmarks, the China question, pricing, and what it means for your AI visibility.
What Is Grok? Elon Musk's xAI Chatbot, Explained
What is Grok? A current guide to xAI's chatbot: who makes it, the models, pricing, Grok vs ChatGPT, the controversies, and what it means for your brand.
What Is Kimi AI? Moonshot AI's Open-Weight Model, Explained
What is Kimi AI? Moonshot AI's Kimi K2 explained: the models, pricing, is it safe, the China question, open weights vs open source, and what it means for you.
What Is Qwen? Alibaba's Open-Weight AI Family, Explained
What is Qwen? Alibaba's open-weight AI family explained: the Qwen3.7 lineup, the open-vs-closed Max split, safety, and what it means for your AI visibility.
What Is Temperature in AI? Why You Get Different Answers
What is temperature in AI? The real mechanism behind why ChatGPT and other LLMs give a different answer every time, and what that variance means for your brand.
Claude Fable 5 Is Back: The US Ban and Why It Was Lifted (2026)
Claude Fable 5 is back after a 19-day US export ban. Why it was pulled, why the ban was lifted, the new code-flagging classifier, and Mythos 5's status.
Claude vs ChatGPT: Which Is Better? An Honest Look Under the Hood
Claude vs ChatGPT, compared honestly: how each is built, how they search and cite the web, who wins which task, and which one to show up in. June 2026.
How Does Claude Work? An Honest Look Under the Hood
How does Claude work? The honest mechanism: the transformer, Constitutional AI, what interpretability found, and why even its self-explanation is a guess.
How Does ChatGPT Actually Work? The Transformer, in Plain English
How does ChatGPT work? The honest mechanism: tokens, embeddings, attention, and next-token prediction, and what each step means for your AI visibility.
What Are Tokens in AI? Why ChatGPT Miscounts Strawberry
What are tokens in AI? The chunks models read instead of words, why they make ChatGPT miscount letters, and what tokenization means for AI visibility.
What Is RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation)?
RAG (retrieval-augmented generation) is the engine behind AI search. What it is, how it works, and how to be the content that gets retrieved and cited.
Content Chunking: What It Means and What Google Says to Skip
Content chunking is a real RAG-pipeline concept and a shaky SEO tactic. What Google's AI guide says to skip, and what page structure still earns citations.
Schema Markup for AI Search: What It Does and Doesn't Do
Schema markup for AI search, minus the hype: which engines actually use JSON-LD, what the studies show, the types worth adding, and how to verify it arrived.
What Are Vector Embeddings? How They Shape What AI Search Cites
Vector embeddings explained for SEOs: how AI search engines turn content into vectors, retrieve passages by similarity, and what you can actually optimize.
How ChatGPT Cites Sources (and Why It Gets Them Wrong)
How ChatGPT cites sources: what a citation is, how it decides what to cite, why so many citations are wrong, and how to track which sources it shows you.
ChatGPT vs Perplexity: How Each Finds and Cites Sources
ChatGPT vs Perplexity, compared on what matters for visibility: how each retrieves, ranks, and cites sources, and how to get your brand into both answers.
Profound Pricing: What It Costs in 2026 (and Is It Worth It)
Profound pricing reconciled tier by tier: the $99 Starter, $399 Growth, and custom enterprise plans, the June 2026 shift to public prices, and whether it is worth it.
Answer Engine Optimization Best Practices: A 2026 Checklist
Answer engine optimization best practices for 2026, as a checklist you can audit a page against. Each practice marked tested or claimed, reachability first.
Agentic Browsers Are Here: Is Your Site Agent-Ready?
Comet, ChatGPT Atlas, and Gemini now navigate and buy on your site for users. Here's what breaks, how to make your website agent-ready, and how to check.
AI Share of Voice: How to Measure Your Slice of AI Answers
AI share of voice is your slice of brand mentions in AI answers vs competitors. How to calculate it, what counts as good, and why the denominator is the catch.
What Is an AI Visibility Score (and How It's Calculated)
An AI visibility score rates how often AI engines mention your brand, 0-100. What it measures, how it's calculated, what counts as good, and why tools disagree.
GEO Services vs Software: Hire an Agency or Use a Tool?
Compare GEO services vs software: what a generative engine optimization agency does, what GEO tools cost, and how to choose between hiring out and DIY in 2026.
GPTBot: What It Crawls and How to Allow or Block It
GPTBot is OpenAI's training crawler. What it crawls, how to allow or block it in robots.txt, and why blocking GPTBot does not remove you from ChatGPT search.
llms.txt: What It Is and Whether It's Actually Worth It
llms.txt is suddenly everywhere. The honest, evidence-backed answer to what it is, what Google actually says about it, and whether your site needs one.
AI Crawlers: The List of AI Bots & How to Control Them
AI crawlers fetch your pages for ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, and Google. The list of every major AI bot, what each does, and how to control it in robots.txt.
AI Content Optimization: Writing Pages LLMs Cite (2026)
AI content optimization, the writing-craft version: structure sentences, frame data, and add the originality that gets a page cited by ChatGPT and Perplexity.
AI Overview Tracker: Tools, Free Methods, and What They Miss
Track Google's AI Overviews in 2026: the metrics that matter, free methods, the best AI Overview trackers compared, plus AI Mode and the check most tools miss.
AI Rank Tracker: How to Track Your Brand Across AI Engines
An AI rank tracker monitors your brand across ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, and AI Overviews. Why a single AI rank is a myth and what to track instead.
AI Visibility Audit: How to Run One (Step-by-Step Checklist)
An AI visibility audit checks whether AI engines can reach, read, and cite your site. A step-by-step process, a free checker, and how to avoid vanity scores.
Best AEO Tools (2026): An Honest, Job-Based Guide
The best AEO tools in 2026, by the job you need: track brand mentions, monitor citations, optimize to be cited, or check that answer engines can reach you.
Profound Alternatives: Choosing an AI Visibility Tool (2026)
Profound alternatives for 2026, chosen by the job you need done: budget tracking, SEO-suite add-ons, action tools, or whether AI can even reach your pages.
Claude SEO: How to Get Cited in Claude
Claude SEO means getting cited in Claude's answers. How Claude's web search and the three Anthropic crawlers work, what gets cited, and whether it's worth it.
GEO vs AEO vs SEO: What's the Difference?
GEO vs AEO vs SEO compared: what each one optimizes for, how much of the work overlaps, which to prioritize for your site, and whether SEO is actually dead.
How to Measure Your AI Visibility
How to measure your AI visibility: the metrics that matter, a free way to track brand mentions in ChatGPT and Perplexity, and when a paid tool is worth it.
What Is Answer Engine Optimization (AEO)?
Answer engine optimization (AEO) means getting cited in AI answers from ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews. What it is, how it works, and what's hype.
What Is LLMO (LLM Optimization)?
LLMO (large language model optimization), also called LLM SEO, means getting cited by ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini. What it is and what's genuinely new about it.
AI Hallucinations: Why AI Gets Your Brand Wrong & How to Fix It
AI tools confidently state false facts about brands. Here's why AI hallucinates about your company, how to find it, and how to reduce and correct it fast.
Best Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) Tools in 2026
The best generative engine optimization (GEO) tools in 2026, grouped by what they do: AI visibility tracking, SEO add-ons, free graders, and reachability.
Entity SEO & the Knowledge Graph: How AI Engines Understand Your Brand
Entity SEO makes search and AI engines resolve your brand to one clear entity in the knowledge graph, so they recognize and cite you correctly. Here's how.
How to Get Cited in Google AI Overviews
How to get your pages cited in Google AI Overviews: why ranking #1 isn't enough, what Google officially says, the citability checklist, and how to measure it.
How to Optimize for AI Search: A Step-by-Step Playbook
How to optimize for AI search, step by step: confirm AI bots can reach your pages, restructure for extraction, add citable substance, and measure citations.
Perplexity SEO: How to Get Cited in Perplexity
Perplexity SEO means getting cited in an answer engine that shows its sources. How Perplexity picks sources, allowing PerplexityBot, and the Publishers Program.
SEO for ChatGPT: How to Get Cited in ChatGPT Search
SEO for ChatGPT means getting cited in ChatGPT's search answers. How it picks sources, which crawlers to allow, and how to appear, per OpenAI's own docs.
What Is Generative Engine Optimization (GEO)?
Generative engine optimization (GEO), also called AI search engine optimization, gets your brand cited in ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews.
How Does AI Search Work? A Plain-English Breakdown
ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, and Google AI Overviews all run the same four-step loop: read the question, search, pick sources, write a cited answer.