What is GEO? The New Way of Looking at AI in Search

The world of search is evolving, again. But this time, the shift is more fundamental than an algorithm update or a core web vitals refresh. Welcome to the era of Generative Engine Optimisation, a new framework for digital marketers who want to stay visible in an AI-first search landscape.

With platforms like Google’s Search Generative Experience (SGE), ChatGPT, Perplexity, and others reshaping how information is found and presented, generative AI is transforming the rules of visibility. In this article, we’ll explain what GEO is, how it differs from traditional SEO, and what marketers can do today to optimise for these new generative engines.

What is GEO?

GEO (Generative Engine Optimisation) is the practice of optimising your content so that it’s discoverable and referenced by AI-powered search engines that generate answers, rather than just linking to pages.

Never heard of it before? It was only coined in 2024 in a research paper by a Princeton team (source). But has become increasingly popular with the rise of LLMs.

Think of GEO as the next evolution of SEO, but instead of focusing solely on Google’s traditional blue links, GEO targets search platforms that summarise, synthesise, and answer user queries using natural language models. That may sound complicated but in reality, it’s referring to the platforms like ChatGPT and Perplexity.

This means that content is no longer just ranked, it’s absorbed, interpreted, and reproduced as part of an AI-generated response.

Why is GEO Important?

Search behaviour is shifting. And it’s shifting fast.

• Google processes around 14 billion searches per day, but ChatGPT is already seeing 2.5 billion prompts per month (source). Not all prompts are searches, but the trend shows people are going beyond traditional search engines to find answers.
• Generative AI models are increasingly trusted as “front doors” to information, with younger demographics especially willing to search in ChatGPT, Perplexity, and similar tools first.
• Visibility depends not just on your rankings, but on how well your content informs the AI’s response.
• Google’s own move towards AI Overviews is accelerating the rise of zero-click searches, where users get the answer without visiting a website.

Your brand can appear in these answers in two ways:

1. Mentioned within the AI-generated text (even without a link).
2. Cited as a source with a clickable link.

Both are valuable. Brand mentions build awareness, while citations drive both traffic and authority signals. The challenge is ensuring your content is good enough, structured enough, and authoritative enough to be selected in the first place.

How Does Generative AI Assist in Search Engine Optimisation?

Generative AI assists in search by restructuring how information is retrieved and delivered.

Instead of returning a list of links like Google or Bing, platforms like ChatGPT and Google’s AI Mode do the following:

• Scan the web for high-quality, authoritative content
• Generate a summary answer using that data
• Cite sources selectively (or not at all)

This changes the user journey. They’re getting answers without clicking through, which makes brand mentions, structured data, and topical authority more important than ever.

GEO vs. SEO in this context:

• With SEO, you need to think: “How can I rank on page 1?”
• With GEO, you need to think: “How can I become part of the AI’s answer?”

To succeed, your content needs to be:

• Highly trustworthy
• Contextually rich
• Easily parseable (readable) by AI systems

How GEO Differs from Traditional SEO

Let’s break down a few key differences:

This doesn’t mean SEO is dead — GEO works alongside it and is becoming increasingly vital as search evolves.

Best Practices for Generative Engine Optimisation

Here’s how digital marketers and content creators can adapt for GEO:

1. Write Clear, Authoritative Content

• Be factually accurate, well-researched, and cite reputable sources
• Use expert quotes, first-party data, and original insights

2. Use Structured Data (Where Applicable)

• Schema markup helps AI understand relationships and entities
• Especially important for product pages, FAQs, how-tos, and reviews
• Aim for at least three schema types per page where applicable.

3. Optimise for “Answerability”

• Structure pages with one H1 and clear H2/H3 headings.
• Use bullet points, tables, and short definitions to make content easy to lift into an AI answer.
• Place concise summaries above longer explanations, charts, or tables.

4. Build Topical Authority

• Focus on clusters of related content, not just individual keywords
• Interlink related articles to strengthen contextual signals.
• Cover your niche comprehensively to become a go-to source for AIs

5. Increase Brand Mentions & Citations

• Secure placements in authoritative editorial sites via PR, thought leadership, or partnerships (Even unlinked mentions can influence AI-generated responses).
• For ecommerce brands, invest in retail media placements and enhanced marketplace profiles.
• Engage in UGC conversations to seed brand mentions in trending topics.

6. Keep Content Fresh

• ChatGPT typically surfaces content from the last 3 years.
• Perplexity prefers content from the last 7 months.
• Regularly update key pages to stay relevant to retrieval models.

What’s Working Right Now in GEO?

Here’s what early adopters and digital teams are doing to stay ahead:

• Answering long-tail queries with content that anticipates AI-generated questions
• Auditing existing content to identify whether it’s structured and complete enough for generative engines
• Using tools like ChatGPT and Perplexity to simulate AI queries and test what kinds of content get cited
• Emphasising authorship and expertise (EEAT), human credibility still matters
• Avoiding embedding collisions as rewording competitor content alone isn’t enough; AI embeddings may treat similar content as equivalent. Instead, differentiate with unique data, angles, and expert perspectives.
• Building retrieval confidence is when you make content so complete, clear, and authoritative that an AI model “trusts” it as a primary reference source. This often means answering both the main question and all related sub-questions in one place.
• Auditing competitor citations in AI-generated answers and producing fresher, more complete content on the same topics.
• Chunk-based formatting is writing in self-contained sections that can be easily quoted
• Semantic density means ensuring all relevant subtopics are addressed in one place

As generative engines evolve, we expect greater emphasis on content freshness, multi-format content (e.g., video and code snippets), and real-world data.

Key Takeaways

At Verkeer, we’re already optimising clients for AI-native visibility. We combine traditional SEO fundamentals with advanced GEO strategies.

Whether it’s re-structuring your content for AI retrieval, building brand mentions in key sources, or mapping competitor citations, we ensure you don’t just rank — you get included in the answers people actually see.

• GEO is how marketers optimise for AI-native search platforms.
• It’s not about links and rankings; it’s about being included in AI-generated responses.
• To optimise for GEO, focus on clarity, authority, structured data, and brand presence.
• Traditional SEO is still useful, but GEO ensures your content survives and thrives in the AI-first search future.

If you’re still asking, “What is generative engine optimisation?”, it’s time to stop thinking in keywords and start thinking in contextual answers. If you want to future-proof your search presence, contact us today to talk about your GEO strategy.