SEO vs GEO: What Changed and What to Do Next

What Is GEO and Why Does It Matter?

Search engine optimisation has always been about ranking on Google. But a new layer has emerged: Generative Engine Optimisation, or GEO. As AI tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google's AI Overviews increasingly answer questions directly, they're doing so by pulling from sources they deem authoritative. If your brand isn't in that set, you're invisible to a growing share of your audience.

Where traditional SEO rewarded keyword density and backlinks, GEO rewards clarity, authority, and structured information. AI models surface brands that are consistently mentioned, well-described, and cited across credible sources. This changes how you should create content and build your online presence.

What Changed in the Last 18 Months

Google's rollout of AI Overviews to over 200 countries marked a turning point. Millions of searches that previously returned ten blue links now surface a synthesised AI answer at the top — often with no click required. Brands that rank on page one for a keyword can find themselves bypassed entirely if they're not cited in the AI response.

Perplexity and ChatGPT's browsing mode operate similarly, drawing on a smaller pool of highly trusted sources. Research shows these tools disproportionately cite brands with clear, factual, well-structured content — not those with the most backlinks or longest articles.

How to Optimise for Both

SEO and GEO are not in conflict. A strong technical SEO foundation — fast load times, clean architecture, structured data — still matters. But layering GEO on top means adding clarity: defining what your brand does in simple language, earning citations on third-party publications, and ensuring your key facts appear consistently across your site and external sources.

Think of it as optimising for how a knowledgeable human would summarise your brand in one paragraph. If your website makes that easy to extract, you're well positioned for both traditional search and AI-led discovery.