From SEO to GEO: the future of online visibility

More and more people ask ChatGPT, Perplexity, or Google AI Overviews their questions instead of clicking through search results themselves. Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) helps make sure your organization gets mentioned in those AI answers. Here's what GEO is, how it differs from SEO, and the steps you can take today.

A marketing manager at a B2B software company has watched her Google rankings hold steady for months. Then, on an intro call, a new lead mentions he built his vendor shortlist with ChatGPT. Her company wasn't on it, while two of her competitors were.

A missed mention like that never shows up in your dashboard. No visit comes in, so Google Analytics shows no drop either. You only notice the loss when prospects arrive with a shortlist you're not on, or don't arrive at all.

What is Generative Engine Optimization (GEO)?

Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) is the practice of optimizing content for AI-driven search and answer engines. The goal is for a large language model, the type of AI that reads and writes text, to use your information and mention your brand when it puts together an answer.

SEO targets algorithms that rank pages in a list of results. GEO targets models that write the answer themselves and look for reliable, well-structured sources to do it. The two work hand in hand: a page that's technically easy to find is also easier for AI systems to pick up.

SEO vs. GEO: the key differences

The table below puts the two approaches side by side.

How does GEO work in practice?

Say a buyer asks ChatGPT which agencies in the Netherlands build custom portals. He gets a short answer with a handful of names and sometimes a source or two. If you're not in that answer, you don't exist for that buyer at that moment, even if your website ranks on the first page of Google.

Each AI system picks its sources in its own way. Here's how the main platforms work.

ChatGPT

For many questions, ChatGPT searches the web in real time and shows the sources it used. For general questions, the model also draws on what it learned during training. Either way, content that's clear, well structured, and authoritative stands the best chance of making it into the answer.

Perplexity

Perplexity cites its sources with a link in every answer. Up-to-date pages that answer a question directly get cited more often, so a mention in Perplexity also brings in real visits.

Google AI Overviews

Google AI Overviews, formerly the Search Generative Experience (SGE), shows an AI-written summary above the regular search results. In it, Google links to a small number of sources. Pages that answer the question briefly and factually stand the best chance of appearing there.

Google AI Mode

Google AI Mode is a separate search experience where you have a conversation with Google, follow-up questions included. According to Google, AI Mode breaks a question down into subtopics and searches for sources on each of them at the same time. A page that gives a short, complete answer to one of those subquestions can show up as a source, even if it doesn't rank high for the main question.

Gemini and Microsoft Copilot

Google's Gemini and Microsoft Copilot also give answers with source citations. Copilot relies on Bing's search index for this, so visibility in Bing counts too, while many organizations only keep an eye on Google.

Why GEO matters more and more

A growing share of searches end without a click. The user reads the answer in Google or a chatbot and moves on, which means your carefully written page never gets the visit. For marketers who are measured on organic traffic, that's a tough trend.

• Zero-click searches are on the rise. Users get their answer without ever clicking through to a website.
• AI assistants guide buying decisions. People use them for product comparisons, research, and building shortlists.
• Trust carries a lot of weight. AI models favor sources that are consistent, current, and verifiable.

If you're missing from those answers, you lose visibility right when a prospect is preparing to make a choice.

Where do you start with GEO?

Most organizations already have plenty of useful content. The key point is often buried halfway down a long paragraph or tucked away in a PDF. Start with the pages that already drive traffic and leads: move the answer to the top, add FAQs, and check that your structured data is correct.

Take a look at the questions your sales team hears every week, too, because those questions, often phrased exactly the way a prospect would type them into a chatbot, are the best starting point for new articles and for the FAQs on your existing pages.

Curious how we approach visibility? Learn more about our work in SEO and content marketing and our AI solutions.