Generative Engine Optimisation: The Future of Being Found Online

For years, businesses have been told the same thing: if you want to be found online, you need to invest in Search Engine Optimisation (SEO). That meant climbing the Google rankings, building backlinks, and making sure your website was set up to impress both people and algorithms.

But the way people search for information is changing — fast. Instead of typing a query into Google, more and more users are asking AI-powered assistants like ChatGPT, Google’s Search Generative Experience (SGE), or Microsoft Copilot. The answers they get don’t look like a page of blue links. They’re direct, conversational, and often pull from just a handful of sources.

This shift creates a new challenge. If your business isn’t one of those trusted sources, you risk being less visible. This is where Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO) comes in.

What exactly is GEO?

GEO is the practice of making sure your business is included when AI engines generate answers. It’s about optimising your online presence so that, when someone asks an AI a question, your content gets cited, recommended, or even used directly in the response.

If SEO helped you rank for keywords, GEO helps you rank for answers.

Why should businesses care?

The short answer: because behaviour is shifting and visibility is shrinking.

• Younger audiences are already moving away from traditional search. Gen Z consumers, for example, are turning to AI tools first for quick recommendations.

• Organic website traffic is under threat. If an AI tool provides a full answer on the page, many users won’t bother clicking through to your site.

• There’s less space to compete. Traditional search might have given you ten results to aim for. A generative engine might only reference two or three sources.

Recent research shows that this shift is more than hype. Surveys suggest that around 27% of US users and 13% of UK users already use AI tools instead of traditional search engines, particularly for quick or simple queries. For complex searches, traditional engines still dominate, but AI is catching up fast — with over a fifth of users saying they now turn to AI search or chatbots. Google’s own numbers underline the change: its new AI Overviews reach 1.5 billion people every month and appear in roughly 13% of all searches.

Visibility is moving away from the familiar list of “blue links” and towards a handful of AI-selected answers. If your business isn’t included, your competitors will be.

What do generative engines look for?

Generative engines don’t just care about keywords. They’re built to favour content that feels credible, structured, and helpful. Here’s what makes a difference:

• Authority – Are you recognised as an expert? Do others link to or reference your content?

• Structure – Is your content easy for machines to understand? Schema markup, FAQs, and clear headings all help.

• Clarity – Do you actually answer the question? Rambling or keyword-stuffed content won’t cut it.

• Evidence – Do you back up claims with data, references, and examples?

• Trust signals – Do you show who wrote the content, who your business is, and how you can be contacted?

How to start with GEO

The good news is, many GEO practices build on what you’re (hopefully) already doing with SEO and content marketing. The difference is the focus on being useful, structured, and trustworthy enough for AI tools to quote you directly.

1. Write for questions, not just keywords. Think about the way people ask AI assistants for help. They use full questions in natural language. Build FAQ pages, write blog posts that start with “how,” “what,” or “why,” and make sure your answers are clear and complete.

2. Publish authoritative content. Invest in long-form guides, case studies, and practical resources that show off your expertise. The deeper your content, the more likely it is to be selected as a credible source.

3. Use structured data. Adding schema markup and structured data to your website makes it easier for machines to parse your content. If an AI can quickly understand what your page is about, you’ve got a better chance of being included.

4. Show your credibility. Make it obvious who wrote the content. Include author bios, credentials, and company details. AI engines are increasingly looking for signals of trust and transparency.

5. Build reputation outside your website. Mentions in press articles, listings in directories, and reviews on trusted sites all feed into your authority. If you’re cited in multiple credible places, AI will view your brand as a safe bet.

6. Test how AI answers today. Start asking AI tools the same questions your customers ask. See which businesses get mentioned. If you’re not there, you’ve got work to do.

What this means for marketing as a whole

GEO doesn’t replace SEO — but it does raise the bar. To be included in generative answers, your content needs to be:

• Evidence-based rather than fluffy.

• Clear and structured rather than vague.

• Trusted and transparent rather than anonymous.

It also means your wider brand presence matters more. Being quoted in the press, having good online reviews, and earning third-party mentions all strengthen your chances of being cited by AI engines.

The takeaway

Search is changing, and businesses need to change with it. Generative Engine Optimisation is about earning your place in the answers that AI assistants generate.

If your content is helpful, structured, and trustworthy, you’ll be rewarded with visibility in a space where attention is increasingly scarce. If not, you risk slowly disappearing from view — even if your SEO is strong.

The winners in this new era will be the businesses who recognise that GEO isn’t just a technical exercise. It’s a reflection of something deeper: being a brand that people — and now machines — can genuinely trust.

If you need help developing a content strategy to help you with this then get in touch.