What Is Generative Engine Optimisation? (GEO)

The world of digital marketing as we know it is changing. With each passing month, it seems the power of traditional SEO is slowly being chipped away at by the rise of generative AI. AI search engines aren’t just disrupting how online searchers are finding their information, they’re changing the very nature of how answers are generated and delivered.

This means it is no longer enough optimising your website for search engine results pages (SERPs). Digital marketers and businesses must now optimise for Generative AI search engines like ChatGPT and Perplexity AI to maximise their online visibility. Fail to appear in the synthesised responses generated by these platforms, and your business could get left behind in the new AI-dominated era.

This has birthed a whole new way of optimising your website’s online presence: GEO. But what exactly is GEO? In this blog, we’ll explain what GEO is, how it’s changing the digital marketing landscape, and why it’s important for SME’s, so you can position your website for success when traditional SEO alone no longer seems enough.

What is GEO (Generative Engine Optimisation)?

GEO stands for Generative Engine Optimisation. By Generative Engine, we’re referring to Large Language Models (LLMs) like ChatGPT and Perplexity AI. These AI platforms are now rivalling traditional search engines like Google and Bing by acting as search engines in their own right.

You can ask them all the same questions as Google, and they’ll provide you with more tailored, information-rich answers synthesised from a variety of sources instantly. If ever Google was to develop an inferiority complex, now would be the time. 

How Generative AI Is Changing User Behaviour

Generative AI takes the leg-work out of traditional online searching. Where users would traditionally ask Google a question, and then manually click through various weblinks to obtain their information, they’re now getting AI to do all the heavy lifting for them. They’ll ask AI to find, evaluate and synthesise information for them without needing to click on a single weblink.

This has led to the rise of zero-click searches, where users don’t even need to click on a weblink to obtain information. As a result, websites are losing less and less organic traffic, and so the future of digital marketing is one where GEO becomes just as important as SEO when it comes to maintaining online visibility. 

How Do Generative Search Engines Work?

Unlike the old world of SEO where ranking factors were mostly predictable, generative engines like ChatGPT rely heavily on contextual signals, semantic clarity, topical authority, and answerability.

These models don’t simply crawl a webpage and rank it. They interpret meaning and evaluate the clarity of a piece. They therefore work harder to examine the usefulness of content for users’ queries. 

This means the rules of the game are changing. Where the aim of SEO is to get your site listed as high up on SERPs as possible, GEO focuses on ensuring your website is chosen as a trusted source for AI-generated answers. Simply having a high backlink count and being well-optimised for your keyword is no longer enough.

Your content needs to go beyond traditional ranking factors and offer something that AI models are going to want to actively cite and surface. Think of it less like climbing a ladder, and more like becoming quotable.

The Shift To AI-Dominated Search

Generative search engines provide a level of convenience and personalisation never before seen in the digital world. It’s not difficult to envision a future where the majority of online searchers prefer AI platforms to traditional search engines for their ability to give them direct, personalised answers to their burning questions.

We can already see this shift taking place. Websites are getting less and less traction on traditional SERPs, and this is partly thanks to the rise of generative AI. AI overviews such as those synthesised by Google’s Gemini have led to a spike in zero-click searches, and these overviews also occupy the very top of SERPs, known as ‘position zero’. This, combined with abundant SERP features and other rich snippets, means that the first page of Google is being heavily diluted.

This saps the power of traditional weblink listings. Before, ranking in positions 3-10 were enough to receive a healthy amount of clicks through to your website. Now, even positions 3-5 are in danger, being pushed down SERP’s so far as to be considered ‘low’ rankings.

With the power of traditional SEO declining, it’s therefore more important than ever to get ahead of the curve and position your website for maximum online visibility in generative AI responses. 

Want to find out how? View our blog here on how to optimise your website for AI overviews.

Advantages of Generative AI

Through generative AI, online searchers can obtain a more personalised, streamlined way of obtaining information. This opens the door to an entirely new online experience, one that allows users to do all of the following effortlessly:

• Find bespoke product recommendations.
• Compare the pros and cons of a particular service.
• Assess the credibility of a business or website.
• Discover how-to guides or step-by-step instructions.
• Consume a digest of an entire topic.

The Need for an SEO-GEO Hybrid Approach

Whilst many users will be able to obtain their information without needing to click on a single link, these AI platforms still pull their information from traditional weblinks. Perplexity AI for example cites all of the sources that it pulled from, and so your website can still gain significant exposure and traffic through generative AI. 

There is also a strong cross-over between the links that traditional search engines would select for SERP placement, and those that AI platforms surface in their generated answers. This is because AI platforms still rely on many of the ranking factors used by traditional search engine algorithms. 

It’s therefore not the case that SEO is dying; a website that is well-optimised for SERPs is also likely to be one that is optimised for generative AI. It’s just that the extent won’t be the same, and there will be room to significantly improve your AI visibility outside of traditional ranking factors. 

Consequently, the world of digital marketing is morphing into an SEO-GEO hybrid. Here, those who come out on top will be those who are able to maintain maximum SERP exposure, whilst at the same time maximising their appearance in generative AI responses.

Why GEO matters for SME’s & local businesses

Whilst this may all sound very scary to those who rely on traditional SEO for web traffic, fear not; the dawn of generative AI actually holds huge potential for small-to-medium-sized businesses. 

In traditional SEO, larger websites often dominate through their sheer size. Large backlink counts and high authority scores means big brands don’t always have to produce an A1 piece of content to appear in position 1. And this is where generative AI holds the promise of a fairer future.

If your website can clearly explain a topic, provide context-rich insights, and align perfectly with user intent, you will stand a much stronger chance of being selected by LLM’s in the form of cited sources and website recommendations.

This marks a huge opportunity for SME’s. Because generative models prioritise clarity, depth, and context, not just ranking signals and domain strength, even a business with a small but well-written website can become a valuable source for AI-driven responses.

Put simply, GEO could provide a more level playing field when it comes to competing with the giants in your industry. Here at Chameleon, we’re helping small businesses stay ahead of this seismic shift by crafting content that doesn’t just rank—but also performs well in generative search engines, too.

What Is GEO? Get In Touch With Chameleon Web Services Today

Here at Chameleon Web Services, we’re helping small businesses stay ahead of this seismic shift by crafting content that doesn’t just rank—but also performs well in generative search engines, too. Get in touch with us if you want to get ahead of your competitors in the new era of GEO and AI-dominated search, and find out what a leading digital marketing agency can do for your business.