GEO: 5 Questions About the Transformation of SEO

The astonishing rise of AI and its transition into a search tool means SEO had given way to a new practice called GEO - Generative Engine Optimization.  There is a lot of chatter about the topic. As search habits and research emerging, the landscape is rapidly changing.

This presentation reviews some of the most common questions and gives some insight into GEO monitoring and execution.  The 5 common questions that are covered include:

What is GEO—and how is it different from SEO?
What content formats and structures help AI pick up?
How do we influence retrieval without “gaming” it?
How do we measure success in GEO?
Who should owns GEO—and what process do we need?

1. GENERATIVE ENGINE OPTIMIZATION GEO: 5 Questions You Need Answered

2. INTRODUCTION Private & Confidential Experience ranges from User Experience, Content Strategy, SEO/GEO, email marketing, web solutions and online strategy Background in journalism and web programming Clients across B2B, CPG & B2C industries including Worldcom Group, Sherwin-Williams, Moen, GE, Vitamix, Sallie Mae, Tenet Health, and US Internal Revenue

3. What We’ll Cover What is GEO—and how is it different from SEO? How do we measure success in GEO? What content formats and structures help AI pick up content? How do we influence AI results without “gaming” it? Who should own GEO—and what process do we need?

4. What is GEO—and how is it different from SEO? Search has been evolving for decades and has begun to further integrate not only AI driven algorithms, but also AI driven interfaces directly exposing AI features.

5. SEO EVOLUTION OF SEARCH GEO Objective: To increase a website’s visibility and user traffic by aligning content with what search engines deem valuable. SGE Objective: To make search more efficient and user-friendly by leveraging LLM and AI to understand and anticipate user needs better. Objective: To ensure content is discovered, accurately interpreted and included in citations by AI search engines. Search Generative Experience

6. EVOLUTION OF SEARCH Why GEO IS Important! ChatGPT is the #6 website in the World 5.85 billion visits / month ask questions doing research writing content creating code

7. USERS HAVE MADE THE SWITCH 50% of traditional traffic will shift to AI by 2028.

8. USERS HAVE MADE THE SWITCH 6 m 45s average visit duration for the ChatGPT Google.com – 10s Gemini – 6 m 5s

9. USERS HAVE MADE THE SWITCH 60% of searches now end without clicking

10. WHERE ARE THEY SEARCHING?

11. WHAT ARE THEY SEARCHING FOR?

12. AEO? HOW GEO IS TRANSFORMING AI-POWERED SEARCH AND SEARCH RESULTS Changing User Behavior Instead of content links they want to get quick, summarized, precise, and smart answers. Zero-Click Results:  AI search will automatically reduce the clicks if your content is not accurately designed to appear in GEO. Hence, if you’re not cited or sourced in an AI response, you will not be seen.

13. AEO? HOW GEO IS TRANSFORMING AI-POWERED SEARCH AND SEARCH RESULTS

14. AEO? HOW GEO IS TRANSFORMING AI-POWERED SEARCH AND SEARCH RESULTS Data-Driven Authority:  AI prioritizes fact-rich, well-structured, and credible content. Brand Authority Without Linking: It also gives ‘brand’ authority without linking.

15. SEO IS THE FOUNDATION OF GEO Technical SEO Reliable Site Structure and Indexing Authority Citations, Digital PR, Trust and Reputation Signals Content Relevant Pages and Intent Focused Copy Expertise GEO uses broader clusters in results and not single page signals.

16. TWO COMPETING REALITIES Traditional Search SERP Pages Rankings = Visibility Inbound Linked build Authority Top 3 = Powerful Impressions, Clicks & CTR are KPIs Visibility to Queries Powered by Paid Search AI-Powered Search Direct Responses Composed Citations Determines Visibility Brand Recognition in Without Links Mentions = Mindshare New Attribution Model Emerging Lack of Visibility to Queries Monetization to be Determined

17. AI PRODUCT LANDSCAPE ChatGPT Gemini Claude Copilot Perplexity 5,846,000,000 723,000,000 148,200,000 148,400,000 95,000,000

18. AEO? EVOLUTION OF SEARCH Answer Engine Optimization Optimize to surface direct answers (featured snippets, assistants).

19. How do we influence AI results without “gaming” it?

20. Stay Transparent and Ethical Influencing AI ethically means creating a sustainable conversation by: Avoiding hidden manipulations (e.g., embedding misleading data). Being open when outputs are AI-assisted. Ensuring the influence aligns with truth, safety, and fairness. ETHICS

21. Characteristics of Content

22. PROVIDE QUALITY SIGNALS Accuracy Readability Engagement Recency

23. Clear Authorship: Named Experts Bios & Credentials Citations & References: Linking to authoritative sources (journals, government sites, trusted industry bodies). Domain Reputation: Established Domains Consistent Publishing High-quality Backlinks ACCURACY

24. Sentence & Paragraph Structure Aim for shorter sentences (15–20 words on average). Keep paragraphs 2–4 sentences long—long blocks are harder for AI (and people) to chunk. Prefer active voice over passive. READABILITY

25. Headings & Hierarchy Use clear, descriptive H1–H3 headers—each section should answer a distinct question. Frame some headers as questions (e.g., “What is Generative Engine Optimization?”). AI engines lift these directly into Q&A responses. Maintain a logical flow (intro → detail → examples → conclusion). READABILITY

26. Formatting for Scannability Use bullet points, numbered lists, and tables—AI can extract structured facts more easily. Highlight key terms in bold or italics to flag importance. Break complex concepts into step-by-step explanations READABILITY

27. Quick Answers & Utility FAQs (schema-friendly) How-To Guides with Step-By-Step instructions Checklists & Cheat-Sheets (Downloadable or Inline) Comparison Tables (Products, Features, Pricing) ENGAGEMENT – ON AI TOOLS

28. Deeper Understanding Explainer blogs with Diagrams, Videos or Visuals. Case Studies showing Real-World Application, Facts, Data Expert Data, Q&As or Interviews Long-form Guides with Table of Contents ENGAGEMENT – ON WEBSITE

29. KEEP IT FRESH! AI Engines reward ‘fresh’ content. KEEPING IT FRESH

30. Reference Data and Sources

31. SITES AI IS CITING Social Websites

32. CONTROL REFERENCE DATA WIKIPEDIA Create company page if notable Update outdated information Include credible citations INDUSTRY DIRECTORIES Professional Associations Chamber of Commerce ISO / Certifying Bodies Partner Directories LOCAL BUSINESS TOOLS Google My Business Bing Places Apple Business Connect Yelp

33. CONTROL REFERENCE DATA BRAND MENTIONS Track Mentions Determine Site Authority Sentiment Analysis Clean up Brand References

34. REINFORCING YOUR BRAND CONSISTENCY = BRAND RECOGNITION AI Ranks Third-Party References 3x Higher compared to Brand Websites. Update External Sources: Brand Name Positioning Linking References 40% Visibility Increase

35. Changes in Queries

36. HOW QUERIES ARE CHANGING Average Number of Words in a Query Example 2020: CRM Software 2025: What’s the best CRM Software for a B2B SaaS startup with 20 employees under $100/month that integrates with Slack and had a mobile app (25)

37. IT’S MORE THAN JUST ONE QUESTION Query Fan-Out One Question involves Multiple Queries CRM SOFTWARE CRM v. Spreadsheets HubSpot v. Pipedrive v. Salesforce Small Business CRM CRM Reviews CRM Best of Listicles 15+ Additional Queries

38. IT’S MORE THAN JUST ONE QUESTION Query Fan-Out Take Note of Suggestions and Connected Content

39. IT’S MORE THAN JUST ONE QUESTION Query Fan-Out Take Note of Suggestions and Connected Content

40. IT’S MORE THAN JUST ONE QUESTION Query Fan-Out Take Note of Suggestions and Connected Content

41. CREATING TARGETED CONTENT CLUSTER HOW DO YOU TRANSITION FROM KEYWORD FOCUS TO TOPIC FOCUS?

42. WHERE DOES TRADITIONAL AND AI SEARCH OVERLAP

43. TOP RANKING ARE A BETTER INDICATOR

44. DO WHAT THE AI ENGINES DO Research shows that AI generated content often performs well. Look at the structure of AI generate content for hints. WATCH WHAT AI PRODUCES

45. WHAT IS THE ENGINE THINKING . . .

46. WHAT IS THE ENGINE THINKING . . .

47. USING KEYWORD RESEARCH TOOLS Use these questions in AI tools to find the related questions or the topics that are returned for these answers.

48. AI Estimate = Google Keyword Volumes x 0.15 Example: CRM System: Avg Vol. = 14,800 AI Prompts = 2,200 ESTIMATING AI SEARCH TRAFFIC Topic Example: Variations Total: Avg Vol. = 177,700 AI Prompts = 26,655

49. USING KEYWORD RESEARCH TOOLS

50. What content formats and structures help AI pick up content?

51. AI Platforms Use Different Indices WHERE DO THEY GET CONTENT? Brave’s Google Index Own Index MS 360 Own Index PLUS: Also uses Google Own Index + X

52. JAVASCRIPT IS THE SILENT ENEMY SHORTCOMING OF SOME AI ENGINES CANNOT INTERPRET AUDIO* CANNOT CRAWL VIDEO* PDFS . . . THE STRUGGLE IS REAL * Gemini has the capability due to Google and YouTube

53. CREATE WEB PAGES FOR YOUR VIDEOS / PODCAST DEALING WITH AI SHORTCOMINGS PROVIDE FULL TEXT TRANSCRIPTS FOR AUDIO AND VIDEO MAKE YOUR BRAND / WEBSITE THE OWNER OF THE TRANSCRIPT CONTENT MARKUP VIDEO WITH SCHEMA TO PROVIDE DATA LINK TO RELEVANT CONTENT ON YOUR SITE

54. WHY YOU NEED TO EMBRACE SCHEMA

55. FEEDING DATA INTO THE MACHINE WEBSITE CONTENT SCHEMA DATA

56. Organization NewsArticle (Press Release) Article (Web Content) Video Recipes Reviews IMPORTANT MARKUPS TO UNDERSTAND Schema.org

57. Schema Markup is snippets of code to help your content to be understood explicitly by search and AI engines. Using structured data helps to ensure your content is understood. 57 WHAT IS SCHEMA MARKUP

58. LEVERAGING WEBSITE VIDEO

59. USING COMPARISON CONTENT

60. How do we measure success in GEO?

61. GOOGLE AI OVERVIEW

62. GOOGLE AI OVERVIEW

63. SEMRUSH AI VISIBILITY TOOLS

64. SEEING AI BEHAVIOR USE AI domains: ^.*\.ai/.*|.*\. openai .*|.*copilot.*|.* chatgpt .*|.* gemini .*|.*perplexity.*$

65. SEEING AI BEHAVIOR

66. SEEING AI BEHAVIOR USE AI domains: ^.*\.ai/.*|.*\. openai .*|.*copilot.*|.* chatgpt .*|.* gemini .*|.*perplexity.*$

67. CALCULATING AI BRAND MENTIONS What it Measures Every time AI mentions a brand name in an answer Why it Matters More mentions = more visibility Presences has replaced position Users see a brand name repeated across queries on a topic Calculating Citation Rate Your Website Pages Cited / Total Pages Cited x 100

68. WEEKLY AI MENTION TRACKING SYSTEM PICK 20 PROMPTS Select 20 various prompts for testing TEST ON 3 AI PLATFORMS Evaluate responses from those platforms based on audience USE INCOGNITO MODE Since AI tools can build responses based on past behavior, use Incognito mode and do not be logged in DOCUMENT FINDINGS Record responses in a spreadsheet and keep track of weekly citation sources.

69. TURN PROMPTS INTO CHATGPT TASK

70. Who should own GEO—and what process do we need?

71. GEO DISCIPLINES OFF-PAGE AUTHORITY Build authority through external site mentions and links. ON-PAGE AUTHORITY Develop content to support AI queries and query fan out. TECHNICAL Work with the development team to ensure all owned content can be found and crawled. Implement and manage schema setups for website content. Schema: Organization, Product, Person, Article, FAQPage , HowTo Clean sitemaps, Canonical URLs, Internal Linking Clusters Accessible PDFs with metadata

72. GEO TEAM Web Developer Content Strategy / Writer Media Relations including Social Analyst for Reports, Keywords and GEO Tracking

73. Thank You!