Ask Mona Tutorial: Getting Started on Wikipedia to Stay Visible in the Age of Generative AI

Why Wikipedia Is Essential in the GEO Era

In the age of generative AI, cultural institutions’ visibility no longer depends solely on Google: it now emerges directly within the answers produced by engines like ChatGPT, Perplexity, or Gemini.

According to a Semrush study, Wikipedia alone represents 26.3% of the sources used by artificial intelligence systems. In other words, if your institution isn’t present on Wikipedia, or if its page is incomplete, its chances of being cited in AI-generated answers drop significantly.

Wikipedia acts as a core layer of reliability for models: it is an open, structured, and constantly updated database. For cultural institutions, being accurately represented there ensures visibility within “answer engines”, before a user even clicks on a link.

Best Practices to Get Started

Creating or enriching a Wikipedia page requires method and adherence to the platform’s principles. Here are the essential steps recommended by Ask Mona:

1. Create an institutional contributor account

Use your institution’s official name to publish and track your contributions transparently. This strengthens the credibility of your edits.

2. Follow the neutrality guidelines

Wikipedia is not a promotional platform: your content must be factual, well-sourced, and written in an encyclopedic tone, without superlatives or marketing language.

3. Cite reliable sources

Every statement must be supported by a verifiable external source: press coverage, academic publications, institutional reports, or exhibition catalogues. AI systems prioritize this kind of reliability.

4. Structure the article

Organize the page into clear sections—History, Collections, Exhibitions, Activities, References.

The cleaner the structure, the better generative models can understand and reuse the information.

5. Update the page regularly

AI engines favor recent content. Add your new exhibitions, educational programs, or awards: these updates ensure your page remains fresh and relevant.

Ask Mona’s Key Advice

“The goal is not to advertise, but to contribute to collective knowledge.”

A well-crafted Wikipedia article becomes a trusted resource, reused by generative models in their answers. The aim is not self-promotion, but strengthening the credibility of your institution.

Go Further

This tutorial is only a first step in boosting your visibility across AI-powered platforms.

Download the white paper: “GEO: How to Make Your Cultural Institution Visible in the Age of Generative AI” to explore:

• the three pillars of a successful GEO strategy,
• concrete examples of institutions already cited by AI systems,
• a downloadable checklist to implement your strategy,
• plus additional practical tips (Reddit, structuring content, mentions, etc.).

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