The digital marketing world loves a new acronym, and GEO – Generative Engine Optimisation – is the latest buzzword making rounds in industry circles.
Some early adopters are reporting promising results, with academic research suggesting GEO can boost visibility by up to 40% in generative engine responses. I’ve also seen people excitedly sharing statistics about an ‘800% year-over-year increase in referrals from LLMs’, but let’s be honest here, percentage increases without context can be misleading.
An 800% increase sounds enormous, but without knowing how this compares to other traffic channels, these statistics are essentially meaningless for strategic decision-making.
So, before you rush to hire a ‘GEO expert’ or completely overhaul your digital strategy based on these early signals, let’s examine what GEO actually is, and whether it’s genuinely different from traditional SEO.
The reality of GEO
Generative Engine Optimisation refers to the practice of optimising content and website structure for AI-powered search engines and chatbots like ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, and Google’s AI overviews. The theory is that as people increasingly use conversational AI tools to find information, businesses need new strategies to ensure their content appears in AI-generated responses.
However, here’s the uncomfortable truth for those selling GEO services: it’s not fundamentally all that different from SEO. GEO is simply another way people search for information, albeit through a more conversational interface. The underlying principles remain remarkably similar.
AI search engines and changing user behaviour
Several AI companies have launched search engines to challenge traditional players like Google and Bing. Perplexity and others are positioning themselves as ‘AI-first search experiences’, whilst established players are integrating ‘AI overviews’ into their existing platforms.
The impact is already being felt. Google’s AI overviews, which appear at the top of search results, have begun affecting website traffic patterns. Some sites report decreased click-through rates as users find their answers directly in the AI-generated summaries, whilst others have seen increased traffic from being featured prominently in these overviews.
This shift represents a fundamental change in how people access the web. Large language models (LLMs) have presented a different way of using the internet. Apple integrates ChatGPT with Siri, Meta’s Instagram and Facebook now incorporate Llama into search bars, and Google Chrome’s URL bar connects users directly to Gemini. The result is a move towards ‘zero-click’ results, where consumers get their answers without visiting websites.
Gartner predicts brands will see a 50% loss of search traffic over the next three years, whilst platforms like Perplexity are introducing one-click shopping to keep users from leaving for branded websites. This shift in user behaviour is significant – people are becoming more comfortable asking conversational questions and expecting comprehensive, contextual answers rather than a list of blue links. But this doesn’t mean the fundamentals of good content and website structure have changed.
The agentic shopping revolution
Big tech companies are exploring agentic AI shopping capabilities, with both Google and OpenAI developing AI agents that can research, browse, and even make purchases on behalf of users. This development, being referred to as ‘agentic commerce’, should be something e-commerce businesses keep an eye on, as it can directly impact their bottom line.
For online retailers, this means:
- Ensuring your product information is comprehensive and structured – AI agents will need clear, detailed product descriptions, specifications, and pricing information to make informed recommendations.
- Optimising for conversational queries – Instead of just targeting “running shoes”, consider how someone might ask an AI agent: “What are the best running shoes for someone with flat feet who runs on pavements?”
- Focusing on reviews and social proof – AI agents are likely to consider customer reviews, ratings, and testimonials when making recommendations, making reputation management more crucial than ever.
- Maintaining competitive pricing and availability – Agents will likely compare prices across multiple retailers, so ensure your pricing strategy and stock levels are competitive.
However, this is really no different from the focus of an overall digital marketing strategy.
The myth of guaranteed GEO results
Here’s where we need to address the elephant in the room: anyone claiming to be a ‘GEO expert’ with guaranteed results is, quite frankly, talking tripe and onions.
Unlike traditional search engines, where we can study ranking factors and algorithm changes, AI systems are largely black boxes with constantly evolving training data and decision-making processes.
The challenge is compounded by the inherent instability of LLM responses. Unlike Google’s relatively consistent search results, LLMs don’t always provide the same response even when the same user uses the same prompt (not to mention the rate of hallucinations). This variance makes it nearly impossible to guarantee specific outcomes or develop foolproof optimisation strategies.
Furthermore, unlike traditional search, where keyword data is readily available, the specific questions and conversations that drive LLM responses are often hidden from view. This ‘black box of prompts’ creates significant hurdles for understanding user intent and measuring the effectiveness of brand visibility in AI-generated responses.
GEO tools from established companies like Ahrefs and Semrush that claim to measure ‘AI visibility’ should be used as guides rather than gospel. These tools can provide interesting insights, but they shouldn’t drive your entire digital marketing strategy!
The obvious recommendations
When you dig into most GEO advice, you’ll find recommendations that sound remarkably familiar:
- Get your business mentioned on authoritative and relevant websites
- Collect case studies and customer reviews
- Create thought leadership content to position your business as an industry leader
- Optimise your website from a technical perspective
- Ensure your content is comprehensive, well-structured, and speaks to your target demographic
- Focus on content that answers your audience’s questions
- Include quotes, research, and statistics in your content
Sound familiar? These are the same recommendations SEO professionals have been making for years. Good SEO has always been about creating valuable, authoritative content that serves user needs, and that’s exactly what AI systems are looking for, too.
The sensible approach
Rather than chasing the latest GEO fad, businesses should focus on fundamentals:
- Continue your existing SEO efforts – Quality content, technical optimisation, and building authority remain crucial whether humans or AI agents are consuming your content.
- Diversify your marketing channels – Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Email marketing, social media, paid advertising, and direct traffic sources remain important.
- Create genuinely valuable content – Focus on answering your customers’ real questions comprehensively and helpfully. This serves both human users and AI systems.
- Ditch vanity metrics and focus on what moves the needle – Stop obsessing over ‘AI visibility scores’ or whether you’re mentioned in ChatGPT responses. Instead, measure what actually matters: leads, conversions, revenue, and customer lifetime value. A drop in organic traffic means nothing if your sales remain steady or grow through other channels.
- Monitor but don’t obsess – Keep an eye on how AI overviews and new search behaviours affect your traffic, set up reports in GA4 to see what percentage of your overall traffic comes from AI agents, but don’t make drastic changes based on early data.
GEO isn’t a revolutionary new discipline requiring completely new strategies. It’s simply the latest evolution in how people find information online.
The businesses that will succeed in this new landscape are those that continue focusing on the fundamentals: creating excellent content, building authority, and serving their customers’ needs.
Rather than frantically trying to ‘optimise for AI’, concentrate on what you should already be doing: building a website and content strategy that adds genuine value to your users. That’s been the secret to long-term success in digital marketing for decades, and it’s not changing now, regardless of what the latest crop of self-proclaimed ‘GEO gurus’ might tell you.