Generative Engine Optimization (GEO): AI search results

Why Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) belongs on your priority list now

Grab a coffee. I want to say something practical: the way people find information online is changing. Not just because “AI” is being added. But because users increasingly want an answer, plus the proof behind it, without first digging through ten links.

You can see that reflected in AI-driven search experiences and summaries. Google has explicitly shared guidance on generative AI features such as AI Overviews and AI Mode. Their message is clear: you still need to build on quality content and solid technical foundations, but you should make your pages more “readable” for AI-driven search results. (developers.google.com)

That is what Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) is about. Not a magic trick. It is a strategy to optimise your website so AI systems understand your content more often, use it more often, and can summarise it more accurately with less effort.

GEO in plain language: what it is, and what it is not

With GEO, you optimise your online marketing and online sales visibility for AI-driven search experiences. Think of scenarios where AI produces an answer and may cite or summarise content from your site.

Important: GEO is not just “adding more structured data”. Google stresses that you do not need special schema markup to participate in generative AI search results. Structured data can help as part of broader SEO, but it is not a separate switch that automatically turns on rankings or visibility. (developers.google.com)

GEO is also not writing content for a chatbot you never see. You build pages for people with a real question, with clear answers, your own expertise, and a structure AI can follow. You do that because AI systems ultimately need to rely on information that is consistent, traceable and usable.

What AI-driven search experiences want from you

Based on public guidance and our day-to-day practice, you see three recurring requirements:

• Relevance: the page must match the information request.
• Trustworthiness: your content must be explainable and checkable. In other words, you need to be able to substantiate what you say.
• Readability: pages need a logical structure so summaries and citations do not have to guess.

OpenAI, for example, also explains that ChatGPT can use web browsing to use and cite information when that feature is enabled, and that it can bring sources along. You can infer from that that “evidence” and source quality matter, including in the way AI answers are built. (help.openai.com)

The GEO strategy: from content to entity optimisation

Let us make this practical. GEO works best when you approach it as an improvement programme, not as a standalone project.

1) Start with the question behind the search intent

You do not start with keywords. You start with the problem someone wants to solve, and the questions that come with it. That determines:

• Which sections you need
• Which definitions you should provide upfront
• Which examples, steps or decision trees you should include

Google’s AI optimisation guidance is also built around the idea that you should present your content in a way that AI features can pick up relevant information in context. (developers.google.com)

Practical tip: create an “answer card” for each key page internally. Put in it: core answer, who it is for, what you do and do not promise, and which operational steps you recommend. This becomes your page structure later on.

2) Make your page “summarisable” with a tight content structure

AI-driven answers are often built from blocks. So you help yourself by dividing your page into logical blocks:

• Definition (short, maximum 2 to 3 sentences)
• When yes, when no
• Step-by-step plan (preferably numbered)
• Common mistakes
• FAQ (focused on buying, implementation or choice questions)

In our GEO work, we see that this not only helps AI summaries, but also the conversion flow. People find what they are looking for faster. And that lowers friction around the next step in your online sales process.

3) Optimise entities, not just text

By entity optimisation we mean: you help systems (and people) understand which topics, concepts and relationships belong on your page.

In practical terms, this means:

• Use consistent terms for your products, services, processes and concepts
• Mention relevant attributes in the same context (such as target audience, use case, deliverables, constraints)
• Work with clear headings that match the content beneath them
• Make sure your internal linking brings related topics together in a logical way

Google also recommends matching your structured data to the visible text on the page. That is one way to enforce consistency and reduce misinterpretation. (developers.google.com)

4) Structured data: use it smartly, not as your main strategy

Structured data remains relevant within traditional SEO. For GEO, it is supportive. Google states that there is no special schema markup you are automatically required to use to activate generative AI features, and that over-focusing on structured data can distract you. (developers.google.com)

When is structured data useful?

• If your pages already contain richly structured information (for example services, FAQ, organisation details, contact details, location)
• If your teams can update typed content and metadata consistently
• If structured data helps enforce your own entity consistency

Constraint check: structured data can introduce errors. So make it part of your QA round, and validate it with a test tool before rolling it out more widely.

Technical setup and tracking that genuinely support GEO

This is where it gets interesting for marketing and sales. Because if we do GEO, we also want to know what it delivers for your online sales optimisation, not just a vague feeling.

1) Measurability: combine visibility with conversion points

AI-driven search results sometimes change the user journey. You do not always get the “classic” click you see with standard organic results. That means your measurement strategy needs to shift towards proxies:

• SEO performance at page level (organic reach and engagement)
• New contact requests and qualification movement in your CRM
• Conversion impact around GEO pages (for example from visit to meeting)

Of course, we still look at SEO through Google Search Console (GSC), and where possible we connect it with Google Analytics 4 (GA4). Google’s AI features guidance discusses how data from Search Console and Analytics can be used together for analysis around AI features. (developers.google.com)

2) Content governance: prevent “AI summary with the wrong context”

GEO often fails not because of a lack of schema. GEO fails because of inconsistency. For example:

• You make a claim on the page, but the related sections do not clearly state the conditions
• You define a service slightly differently in multiple places
• Your internal linking sends the reader to an incomplete subtopic

Google’s guidance around generative AI content stresses that relevant metadata, structured data and other elements can influence how content appears, and that your page needs to provide context. (developers.google.com)

3) Automating for GEO, without letting your sales process get out of hand

If you take GEO seriously, there is work involved in information management and updates. That is where you can use Automation, meaning automated processes for online marketing and online sales activities. Not for “more AI”, but for less manual work and faster learning.

We often see gains from:

• Automatically updating FAQ content based on Sales conversations and customer questions
• Automatically tagging new enquiries in CRM, so you can see which GEO pages contribute
• Automated checks on content consistency (definitions and conditions)

If you want to develop this further, this topic fits well with Automating: Making Processes More Efficient.

What works in practice: GEO actions by page type

You do not need to go big everywhere at once. Choose your pages based on where the commercial upside is.

1) Service pages and solution pages

These are your “money pages”. They should not only explain things, they should also make decisions easier.

What you change:

• Add a short “what you get” section above the fold
• Add a selection section: when yes, when no
• Include a step-by-step plan for onboarding or implementation
• Use FAQ sections that address objections, timing and cost structure without exaggerated promises

Why this works: AI summaries benefit from direct, consistent information blocks. And people act faster when you answer their internal questions in advance.

2) Standard SEO landing pages (with extra context)

If you already have content that attracts traffic, now is the time to make that content “GEO-proof”. Not by rewriting everything, but by restructuring it.

What you change:

• Add a short summary with definitions
• Identify the core steps and turn them into a numbered list
• Remove or move fluff so blocks are easier to recognise
• Make internal linking task-oriented (from problem to solution, from question to implementation)

3) Comparison-style content, but honestly

Comparison is often where people turn search behaviour into a decision. GEO supports this, but the trap is that the content becomes too “comparative” without adding value.

Our recommendation: do not write an attack piece or a promo text. Write a “choice guide”:

• Which criteria do you use?
• What are typical success conditions?
• What does implementation require from your team?

You make it concrete. That increases credibility and reduces uncertainty for a potential enquiry.

4) Content that supports lead generation through the conversion flow

If you do GEO, ultimately you want it to lead to Lead Generation, meaning generating potential customers through online marketing and online sales activities.

Pay attention to definitions: a “lead” is only a lead once real commercial interest or contact details have been obtained. Website traffic is therefore not a lead. Your conversion and follow-up only become a commercial data point once you connect your marketing to CRM.

Practical GEO conversions:

• Page-specific call to action (CTA) that matches the stage (for example exploration, request, or demo)
• Forms with a short explanation, so you get less drop-off
• Fixed follow-up moments in your CRM so you can measure response and qualification consistently (Marketing Qualified Lead and Sales Qualified Lead)

If you want to bring SEO and commercial value closer together, then Marketing SEO: How SEO and Marketing Come Together is a good extra layer to include.

Your next step: a GEO audit that sets your next sprint

Here I want to give you a clear step-by-step plan you can execute tomorrow. No theory without action.

Step 1, choose 5 pages with commercial impact

Focus on pages that:

• Are made to generate leads (or should be able to)
• Already get organic traffic or capture relevant questions
• Are close to purchase decisions

Step 2, rebuild the information blocks

For each page, set up this structure:

1. Core answer (short)
2. Who it is for and conditions
3. Step-by-step plan
4. Common mistakes
5. FAQ with real decision questions

This is your “summarisability layer”.

Step 3, make entity consistency and internal linking task-oriented

Check 3 things:

• Are you using terms the same way everywhere?
• Are the definitions the same in the introduction and later on the page?
• Does your internal linking lead to the next logical step, not to a random blog?

Step 4, use structured data only where it makes sense

No structured data for the sake of structured data. Yes for:

• Pages with clear, repeatable information blocks
• FAQ content and organisation details where you already have reliable data

And always validate, because incorrect markup can do more harm than good.

Step 5, measure the effect in your online sales process

Record per page:

• Which conversion defines success (for example request or meeting)
• Which KPI belongs to it (for example Cost Per Acquisition, or Cost Per Lead, depending on your definitions)
• Which steps count as qualification in CRM

Note: in AI-driven search experiences, clicks can behave differently. That is why we do not only measure “traffic”, but the real follow-up and qualification movement.

Conclusion: GEO is a content and conversion discipline

If you take one thing away from this coffee chat, take this: Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) is not about a secret trick. It is a discipline that brings content, structure, entity consistency and measurement together for AI-driven search results.

Google’s guidance makes the foundation clear: do not over-focus on structured data as a magic key, but do focus on relevant, well-structured content that matches the information need. (developers.google.com)

Take your top 5 pages. Make them summarisable. Keep your definitions consistent. And connect it to Lead Generation and Sales Qualified Lead in your CRM so we know what works, not just what might work better.

And yes, you will still write a lot. But the difference is that you write with the goal that your content is not only found, but also usable. That is ultimately where online marketing and online sales optimisation come together.