Forget SEO, it’s time to think about GEO

Passing the time on a recent train journey with a friend, he shared his extensive conversations with ChatGPT requesting various pitches for films based around our former schoolteachers. Leaving any judgment aside, what stood out was how often certain names came up; in particular, Mark Addy of Game of Thrones fame appeared a remarkable amount (not only for his uncanny resemblance to a hirsute teacher of ours). And this got me thinking about how valuable AI recommendations are now - not just for jobbing actors, but for anyone selling anything, whether it’s a recipe, a holiday destination or new shade of paint.

This is because when asked, AI doesn’t serve up a list of links (even if you can see which websites they’ve referenced) or send you down a Pinterest rabbit hole but will usually just give you a neat, confident answer or two. This means that where companies once poured resources into SEO (search engine optimisation) to climb the Google rankings, there’s now a new acronym to worry about - GEO (Generative Engine Optimisation).

As AI-generated answers become the default way people make decisions - about what to buy, where to go, what to watch or eat or wear - strategies that once focused on SEO rankings and influencer partnerships now target AI mentions. 

But unlike SEO, which often relies on paid promotion, MuckRack’s latest Generative Pulse research shows that over 95% of the sources AI cites are non-paid coverage, with more than a quarter being journalistic content. That means GEO success is far less about advertising budgets, and far more about being written about and referenced in trusted media, potentially providing a boost for PRs. 

Because unlike search engines or social feeds, designed to show you plenty of curated (and often paid-for) options, AI assistants are focused on narrowing things down. They’re not trying to create a browsing experience but are trying to be useful; a shift that has major implications for brands. This narrowing effect is reinforced by how AI chooses sources: authority outlets such as Reuters, AP, the FT and Axios are disproportionately cited, meaning that a brand’s presence in high-credibility coverage carries even more weight.

That’s because generative AI tools like ChatGPT don’t really work like search engines, instead they blend past training data with recent web content, surfacing what it deems most relevant. If your brand or product happens to be well-represented in the data or search results (making getting on the first page of results increasingly important), you might get lucky. But if not, you’re effectively invisible, and this invisibility can happen quickly: OpenAI’s models, for example, prioritize coverage published within the last 12 months, especially for topical or advice-driven queries. Brands need a constant flow of fresh mentions to stay in the AI ‘memory’. 

So how do marketing and comms teams make sure your product or service is the one that gets mentioned? The answer lies somewhere in a blend of content, credibility, and presence. But content, credibility, and presence look different depending on the industry you’re referring to. For example, in healthcare, AI leans heavily on government and NGO sources, whereas in hospitality, owned media ranks more prominently, and in technology and media, it’s mostly journalism. GEO strategies therefore need to be industry-specific rather than one-size-fits-all. 

We’re still in the early stages of this revolution, but the direction of travel is clear. As more people turn to AI tools for recommendations, suggestions and decisions, the stakes for being included in those responses will only grow. This may well be a fundamental shift in how people find and trust information, leading to the end of search or social as we know it.  

Earned media, authoritative coverage, and recency are now the levers that determine whether AI mentions you or ignores you. And while the tools and tactics may change, the underlying goal stays the same: when someone asks for a recommendation, you want the answer to be yours.