Every B2B and SaaS Marketer is obsessed with GEO as the future of search is inclined towards AI tools. SEO is no longer sticking only to optimizing for Google; you have to now optimize your brand visibility in Generative or AI engines like ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, and Google AI Overview.
OpenAI has reported that over 700 Million active users per week in August 2025. Even though the number of searches happening in ChatGPT is nearly 373 times lesser, the GenZ crowd in the USA is more profound towards these AI search engines.
At 7 Eagles, we have found around 10-15% conversion rate from ChatGPT across our 35+ active clients compared to 1-1.5% conversion from Google.
This is so serious that you can’t exclude your brand from these AI Search or Generative engines as they are growing at different pace. Are you ready to learn what GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) is, how it works, and how to dominate your brand in these AI search engines? Let’s deep dive.
What is Generative Engine Optimization (GEO)?
GEO or Generative Engine Optimization is the practice of optimizing your website or brand to be visible in AI based search engines. The major AI based search engines are ChatGPT, Google AI Overview, Perplexity, Claude, etc.
In Nutshell, the practice of getting visibility in all Generative engines is called GEO or LLMO (LLM Optimization) or AEO (Ask Engine Optimization).
Now, you don’t work only to rank in Google or Bing, but also to be visible in ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews and Perplexity. Each of these AI search engines has their own algorithms and ranking system, but 80-90% of the fundamentals are the same as Google or Bing.
Difference between GEO and SEO?
GEO and Traditional SEO have a couple of similarities, yet there are few contrasts to each other. Irrespective of their own definitions, SEO focuses on ranking the web pages on Google or Bing SERP by focusing on Keyword optimization, backlinks, technical hygiene— HTML meta tags, crawl accessibility, etc.
In contrast, GEO is to rank the content of your web page (with citation as source) in AI or Generative engines. These AI engines look at various signals like Semantic intent, Clear and Contextual Structure, content accuracy, better user intent mapping, brand mentions, and sometimes Schema markup.
Here are common practices that contribute to both SEO and GEO success,
- Topical Authority
- Sitewide Relevance signals.
- EEAT (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness).
- Content Hub (Pillar and Cluster linking)
- Mentioned on Listicles
- User experience and User signals
- Content Quality and relevance.
- Freshness of the content
- Technical Well-being of the website.
- Brand or Domain Authority.
Why is GEO Important?
In the fast paced tech world, the search has evolved to its next dimensions. Since the birth of ChatGPT in early 2023, users are more happy towards direct answers compared to the SERP listing of Google or Bing along with sponsored ads.
Billions of users are using ChatGPT every month, and 15-35% of Google’s searchers end with Google AI Overviews. It’s time for every SEO or Marketing professional to understand the importance of GEO to dominate 360-degree search space.
Partnering with the right LLM optimization agencies can accelerate this shift by ensuring your brand is technically and contextually ready for AI visibility.
1. Improved Visibility
As AI based searches are rapidly expanding, it’s always great to get additional visibility for your brand apart from Google. Traditional SEO (Google or Bing) may or may not guarantee a comprehensive online presence in future.
By optimizing for AI search engines like ChatGPT, Google AI Overview, and Perplexity, businesses can build trust, traffic, and MQLs with the help of modern generative engine optimization tools that track and measure visibility.
2. Audience Engagement and Trust
Most customers find a brand trustworthy when they are visible in AI platforms such as AI overviews or ChatGPT. As of the priority ranking system of these AI-based engines is Google’s E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness).
Producing well-researched, well-structured, deeply , credible content not only boosts visibility but also builds long-term trust with your audience.
3. Better Targeting and User Intent
The basic algorithm of LLM i.e. Generative engines are to provide the results based on the location, demography. Thus, GEO helps any business to reach its actual target audience when optimized with proper strategies.
As these AI search systems are conversational, it understands the user queries and the intent behind better than traditional search engines. Since these LLMs provide more precise answers and understand the critical aspect of the user query, audiences are swapping search from traditional models to Generative engine models.
4. Competitive Advantage
You’ll get a first mover advantage compared to your competitors when you implement Generative engine optimization today. It’s been observed the active users in these Generative engines are growing at a scale of 1500% compared to Jan 2023 to April 2025.
Even 15-35% of the searchers in Google land in Google’s AI Overview, and the CTR of 1st position of Google Organic results have come down from 30%-35% to 18-21%. This is the clear indication that, if you miss optimizing your web pages for generative search engines, you’re missing a lot of MQLs, and Visibility.
Use tools like Profound, Peec, Writesonic, or Semai to understand your visibility score.
Staying ahead of the trend by adopting GEO gives businesses a competitive edge. Those who optimize for AI search engines early will gain enhanced visibility, better engagement, and more conversions as AI-powered searches become the new norm.
How to Combine GEO with SEO?
Today, SEO is not Search engine optimization, it’s Search Everywhere Optimization – make sure your content is visible or mentioned or ranked in every medium with the help of a Generative Engine Optimization service. It’s been said, you need to work for both SEO and GEO – you can exclude neither SEO nor GEO as you get result from any one of these mediums.
80% of the ranking factors resembles same as Google’s tradition search ranking factor for any LLM Search engines – Google AI Overview, ChatGPT, and Perplexity
How does SEO help to get visible in Google’s AI Overview?
Many reported, that the clicks have come down from Google search console have come down despite of impressions and average positions are growing
The reason behind is the growth of the Google AI Overviews are swallowing most of your existing clicks by its “search generative experience”. You have to accept the fact that clicks will drop as zero click searches will be scaling in future.
Most of the informative intent user queries are answered by Google’s AI overview. In this case, can you stop SEO or can you stop writing for informative intent keywords?— a million dollar question every head of marketing or marketing directors are stuck in spending funds.
Here is the fact, you should understand “how to rank on Google AI Overview”
Search Engine Journal has recently stated, 43% of the pages linked in AI Overview are from Google 1st page. Also, AIO is triggered majorly for long tail & low-volume keywords. Almost 30% of the search queries are currently answered by AI overviews.
Beneath the stats above, the basic fundamental of AI overview is first visible in Google search results. Been working with 100+ clients, we at 7 Eagles have seen 90% of the AI overview citations are from the webpages ranking in 1-3rd page of Google, and rest 10% brands citations are from authority listicle web pages.
Besides ranking in Google, only thing you as a marketer should focus on is,
- Getting brand mentions in listicles as much as possible
- Focusing creating structure of web page that these LLM engines can read
- Building topical and domain authority.
- Omnipresent for your brand— Reditt, Quora, Substack, Medium, LinkedIn, Twitter, and more.
How does SEO help to rank in ChatGPT?
Around Feb 2025, Seer initiatives shared data that 87% of the ChatGPT answers or sources are taken from 1st 20 positions of Google & Bing. The recent data throws the light differently from Ahrefs, only 12% of the AI citations in ChatGPT, Perplexity are from Google’s Top 10 positions. That too for ChatGPT, only 8.1% matches Google’s 1st page results.
I personally feel, ChatGPT’s ranking system is more dynamic, and hacking it wouldn’t work, until keeping the basics of SEO hygiene so strong site-wide.
The next thing is to get strong citations from authoritative websites such as Wikipedia, listicles, news sites, niche directories, industry reports, Reddit, and LinkedIn Pulse.
80-90% of your traditional SEO continues to display your brand content for ChatGPT prompts, even though the ranking system and positions are not identical to Google’s SERP.
Any website that ranks in Google or Bing would have high authority signals, well-structured content, content depth, positive user signals, Pillar-cluster pages, topical authority, strong internal links, and technical hygiene – these are still ranking factors that get visible in ChatGPT.
Apart from this, the LLM understands the users’ search history, the tone of user queries, and answers with the help of NLP. One thing that you should exclude in your SEO practice, if ranking in ChatGPT with priority, is keyword optimization (over usage), and focus on semantic SEO.
Finally, keeping technical SEO in mind – structured data or schema markup, Core Web Vitals, crawl accessibility make your site easier for AI models to read, followed by Chunking and Indexing (for RAG).
In short, if your web pages are ranking on Google and Bing, the probability of being cited or visible in ChatGPT increases.
How to do generative engine optimization?
The basic step is to understand how generative engines like ChatGPT or Google AI overview, or Perplexity work. Each LLM has its own ranking system, and they differ from each other in their own way.
I would like to split the generative engine optimization into two parts— site-wide and page-wide.
Here is how you should look at how to build an authority site before optimizing content for a single page.
1. Build Topical Authority
Niche expertise is one of the core ranking factors for Google search, as well as for ranking in any LLM search engine in common. Make sure you write around the core topics of your product or around the same intent.
Try to cover A to Z around a pillar topic with their clusters, and make sure all the pages are interlinked contextually. This helps a website be the deepest content hub around a topic.
Thus, LLM or AI search engines find the website becoming a topical authority around the Pillar topics, and prioritize the brand for any user query around those topics.
2. Increase Brand Authority
Be it GEO or SEO, Brand authority or branded search volume is becoming a key factor in considering an authoritative website. In today’s world, SEO is Search everywhere Optimization. Generative engines algorithm considers a brand to be an authority when it has its presence in omnichannel like search engines, social media, forums, and communities. Etc.
Again, make sure you focus on building your brand in the target country. The metric to measure the brand value is the increase in search volume of your brand.
3. Domain Authority (Website-Wide Authority and Trust)
Site-wide authority is again another factor that helps the visibility in Generative engines. This comes with earning quality links from external sources that are relevant and of high authority (in layman’s language – Domain authority).
It’s not about the number of spam links on the website; it’s about quality, relevant links within the domain. Focus on earning links from brand listing or mentioning, listicle web pages, guest posting, etc.
Post this, you need to focus on optimizing every single web page for getting visible in ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI Overview (AIO).
4. Focus on User Intent and Context
LLMs are better at understanding the intent of the user’s query and answering the critical aspect of the query. To get into the source of these LLM search engines, make sure your content answers why, what, and how of the topic.
Keywords are only for search engine bots, and AI search engines only look at the intent and semantics of the web page around the core topic.
5. Create well-structured and highly readable content
Make sure the content is easy to read and understand by any layman. Also, focus on the structure of the content with required sub-headers like H2, H3, H4, etc. The sub-headers should be semantic to the core topic of the pages— to maintain consistent formatting.
The content under the sub-headers can be of bullet points, numbered lists, question and answer format, or short in sentences. It would be great if you could add a key takeaway or TL;DR
6. Content is for Humans, Keep them conversational
The only difference between AI-generated and human-written is the conversational tone. Humans can easily find any content that is AI-generated, and tend to exclude that content.
Try to write content in a conversational tone and answer the questions directly, along with the tone of the question, as it can match the user query in 100% of the cases. Avoid using non-relatable or jargon or tech-savvy language.
If your content is too good and conversational, your users’ session time will increase along with the scroll depth.
7. Freshness of the content
As same as Google search engine, Generative search engines also look for up-to-date content rather than decayed content. You might have heard about content decay— the performed web pages drop in clicks and positions. The biggest reason behind is non-fresh or web pages holding outdated content.
Keep updating your web page with recent updates such as insights, data, thought-leadership references, etc. AI loves to share the webpage that is relevant with updated content.
8. Schema Markup
Most of the websites we audit only had 1 or no schemas. There are more than 10 types of schema that help any crawlers, be it AI or search engines, to understand the intent of the page.
Many SaaS products don’t have a product schema or have an irrelevant schema for the product page. Make sure you implement the product, how-to, FAQ schema, organization, and article schema. This helps AI to understand the core aspect of the web pages and will be cited as a source.
9. Improve Crawability
Make sure the technical SEO is clean and clear that every page is crawlable and not blocked by llm.txt or any other internal sources. Keep every page easy to navigate with a menu, internal links— every page should be linked to relevant pages, and discovery is clear.
Also, make sure the web page loads faster, and doesn’t have redirect loops, 404 pages, and server errors.
10. User Engagement as top priority
The page solves the purpose to its intended audience only when the user engagement on the page is good. A well-structured, readable, and with relevant sources is always loved by the audience, and they tend to spend more time.
Focus on the metrics like session time or dwell time, scroll depth, social sharing, travelling between internal pages, triggers in the CTA button, form submissions, etc.
11. Image SEO
Image SEO does help AI to understand the intent of the images or videos through the Alt Text. Keep the alt text descriptive and relevant to the images used.
12. Optimize for Multilingual and Regional Queries
AI search engines can process queries in multiple languages. They often give results based on your location. If you have a global audience, optimize for different languages. Also, think about local query differences and local SEO tactics.
13. Optimize for Featured Snippets & AI Extracts
AI engines frequently pull data from featured or structured snippets. To gain featured snippet positions, develop content that comprises straightforward, brief answers and that is presented in the form of bullet points, tables, or concise definitions.
Limitations of Generative Engine Optimization
GEO offers brands a chance to boost visibility in AI Overviews. However, it also brings unique challenges that businesses need to handle. GEO differs from traditional SEO. It works in a changing ecosystem.
Here, algorithms, measurement methods, and ethics are still developing.
1. Technological Uncertainty & Adaptation
- Evolving Algorithms: GEO is still in its infancy. AI-powered search engines, such as Google’s Gemini, update often. This means businesses must keep changing their strategies.
- Opaque Systems: Generative engine algorithms are mostly proprietary. This forces marketers to depend on testing, observation, and adjustments. They can’t rely on established best practices.
2. Measurement & Analytics Challenges
- New Metrics Needed: Traditional SEO KPIs, like CTR and organic traffic, matter less now. AI gives direct answers, so we need new ways to measure success. Businesses should find new ways to measure brand visibility. For example, they can look at how often their brand is mentioned in AI responses.
- Difficult Tracking: Keeping tabs on content in AI Overviews needs special tools. It’s much more complex than just tracking keyword rankings.
3. Ethical & Trust Considerations
- Risk of Misinformation: AI models are likely to generate inaccurate or misleading summaries. This can misrepresent brand images and harm their credibility.
- Content Attribution: Businesses struggle when AI uses their content for answers without credit or payment.
- Transparency: GEO strategies must be authentic and add value for users. They shouldn’t just chase algorithmic visibility.
4. Operational & Strategic Complexity
- Steep Learning Curve: GEO needs marketing teams to gain new skills and training. It also requires investment in AI tools and resources.
- Balancing AI and Creativity: Relying on AI summaries too much can dull the unique creativity that sets brands apart. Finding the right balance is key.
- Monetization Gaps: AI Overviews often answer questions without clicks. Businesses must rethink their digital models to capture value in a “zero-click” world.
GEO presents both an opportunity and a challenge. Companies need to stay adaptable. They should redefine success. It’s crucial to maintain ethical content practices.
They must also balance AI efficiency with human creativity. Early adopters will gain authority in the AI-driven search era.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What are the key ranking factors for Generative Engine Optimization this year?
Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) focuses on making your brand visible in AI-driven search engines like ChatGPT, Google AI Overview, Perplexity, and Claude. While 80–90% of the fundamentals overlap with traditional SEO, generative engines use additional signals to decide which brands to cite.
Is GEO replacing SEO?
No, Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) is not replacing SEO; it’s expanding it. Traditional SEO remains vital for ranking on Google and Bing. However, search behavior is changing. AI-driven platforms such as ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI Overview offer fresh ways to explore. GEO helps ensure your brand appears on these platforms.
What kind of support is typically available for generative engine optimization users?
Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) support goes beyond traditional SEO by helping brands gain visibility within AI-generated answers on platforms such as ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, and Google’s AI Overviews. Users typically receive assistance in three main areas:
What are some common challenges faced when implementing generative engine optimization?
Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) is crucial for digital strategy. AI platforms, like Google’s AI Overviews, change how users find information. While opportunities are bright, businesses face many challenges in this new area.
