The way we search the internet for answers to questions and queries is changing and evolving – and very quickly, at that.
We all know that search engine optimisation (SEO) helps your content to rank higher in Google’s search results. The new kid on the block is GEO (generative engine optimisation). This helps your content and website feature in AI answers from language learning models (LLMs) like Chat GPT, Google AI and Perplexity. This blogs aims to help explain what GEO is, why it's important and why businesses should be optimising for GEO and SEO.
What is GEO?
GEO stands for generative engine optimisation. It's basically SEO but slightly evolved towards the AI era. SEO focuses on getting a website to rank highly on a Google search results page, while GEO focuses on ensuring your content is clearly structured, reads well and has authority. This means it can be easily understood, read and cited by AI-powered search engines
The word on the street is that SEO is in decline and that GEO is now the priority. Forget traffic volume and click-through rates – what really matters is authority, citation and trust signals. According to Gartner, in 2026 traditional search engines will see a drop off of 25% as more people use solely AI tools to find answers to their queries. By 2027, Google's AI overviews will feature in around 75% of results. Good GEO means optimising your content so that AI tools can find and understand it, then summarise it and display it in their answers. This drives brand trust and helps users to connect with your company.
GEO, SEO, or both?
Yes, you should be optimising for both. While some may claim that SEO is dead – it really isn't and won't be for years to come. AI results can still be wrong. LLMs can still hallucinate, so it's still worth checking their answers against proper research that relies on SEO. The best thing to do is to optimise the content on your site for 'discoverability' generally – so either way it can be 'found' by either a search engine or an AI.
While GEO may sound like a new trend, when you break it down, it mainly sticks to strictly enforcing SEO fundamentals – with bigger consequences for if you don't have them. It's basically giving us a strong reminder of what we've all known in marketing for years – a successful website needs to have structured data, a clean user experience, authority, fresh content, brand trust, a clear story and useful feedback for the user.
Why does GEO matter?
GEO matters because AI is changing how people discover, compare and shop for services and products. AI assistants and LLMs can now evaluate products across features, pricing, reviews and performance in mere seconds. They can fact-check claims, identify strengths and weaknesses and recommend options that best matches a user's needs. As a result, brands have less control over the narrative and fewer opportunities to rely on marketing messages that aren't backed by evidence.
This means businesses need to be far more transparent. Product information, specifications and value propositions must be clear, accurate and easy for both people and AI systems to understand. Competitive advantages need to be visible, credible and supported by real customer experiences and reviews.
At the same time, brand strength becomes even more important. When AI compares products with similar features and pricing, trust often becomes the deciding factor. Brands with successful websites generate the signals that AI systems look for, including authority, credibility, customer satisfaction and positive reputation. In many cases, these trust signals can influence which brands are recommended and ultimately chosen.
GEO also increases the importance of a unified content strategy. Businesses need a deep understanding of their audience's questions, needs and interests, and that understanding must be reflected consistently across websites, content, PR, social media, reviews and advertising. The brands that communicate clearly and consistently across all channels are more likely to be discovered, trusted and recommended by both people and AI.
How does this affect paid search?
GEO doesn't replace paid search, but it does change its role. As more people switch to AI-powered searches, users are increasingly getting answers, recommendations and product comparisons directly within their search experiences. This means brands can't solely rely on paid ads to drive visibility. They also need to ensure their products, content and website are being consistently found and recommended within AI-generated responses.
Paid search is still an important channel, but success will depend on more than bidding for keywords. The quality of your content, the strength of your brand, customer reviews and the clarity of your product information all become factors that influence visibility in AI-driven discovery.
This means that paid search and GEO need to work together. Paid campaigns can still generate awareness, traffic and demand, while GEO helps to make sure your brand is included when AI systems compare, recommend and evaluate options. The brands that combine strong paid media with strong AI visibility will be best positioned as search continues to change over the coming years.
How to optimise your content for GEO: a checklist
- Create content that answers questions that may be entered into natural language prompts (i.e. what someone would type into Chat GPT).
- Use clear language and avoid jargon or empty phrases.
- Demonstrate your knowledge of your subject area/industry. Include related topics and FAQs.
- Cite original research and sources as much as possible, as well as case studies, quotes, commentary, etc.
- Link to other websites and articles you've written.
- 'Chunk' information into clear paragraphs. Use numbers, bullet points, lists or tables to break information down into a digestible format.
- Place summaries at the beginning of articles.
- Use headings like h2s and h3s that cover topics people may be searching for.
- Include an FAQ section where necessary.
