SEO & GEO: Building dual visibility now pays off later
Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO) has emerged as the new frontier, but traditional search is far from dead yet. Google still dominates with more than 5 times more searches per day than ChatGPT.
However, the balance is shifting fast. Semrush projects that by 2028, website visitors arriving via AI search will outnumber those from traditional search engines.
In other words, you can’t abandon SEO quite yet. You must build GEO alongside it
Chat-based search is quickly becoming a new gateway to the internet, a conversational interface where users expect instant, trustworthy answers rather than links. For now, traditional search engines and AI search coexist, which means brands need to work in parallel across both channels.
By building content that’s optimised for AI tools and for Google, you’re effectively future-proofing your visibility. Brands that start early gain a critical edge: their content will already be trusted, cited, and embedded in AI responses by the time the shift to AI search reaches full force.
1. Comparison of SEO and GEO tactics
Goals:
SEO: Rank webpages in search engine results pages (SERPs)
GEO: Be cited and referenced inside AI-generated answers
Target platforms:
SEO: Google, Bing, Yahoo
GEO: Google AI Overviews, ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Gemini
User behavior
SEO: Click-through from search results to websites
GEO: Direct answer consumption inside AI chat or summary
Metrics
SEO: Impressions, rankings, CTR, backlinks
GEO: Inclusion in AI responses, citation frequency, brand sentiment, topical authority, competitor visibility
Optimisation focus
SEO: Keywords, backlinks, meta tags, technical SEO
GEO: E-E-A-T, structured data, comprehensive and evidence-rich content, off-site authority
PRO:s
SEO: Consistent traffic driver, builds long-term authority, proven playbook, measurable
GEO: Early mover advantage, positions brand as a trusted source, captures future-facing traffic streams
CON:s
SEO: Competitive and slow to show results, vulnerable to algorithm updates, requires ongoing upkeep
GEO: Hard to attribute direct traffic, AI citation rules are still evolving, requires off-site presence, not just on your domain
2. GEO emerged, but Google still dominates 5 times (for now)
The rise of GEO is tied directly to the growth of chat-based and AI-powered search. But while AI search is surging, traditional search still holds the crown.
Search vs chat search: The numbers
Google still dominates with 9.5 million searches per minute (13.7 billion per day), according to the Semrush study 2025.
Chat-based AI tools: ChatGPT alone handles 2.5 billion searches per day across 750 million weekly users (NBER paper). Claude, Perplexity, Gemini, and other LLMs are also growing fast.
The projection: By 2028, AI-driven website visits will surpass traditional search traffic (Semrush, 2025).
ChatGPT has 750 million weekly users (NBER paper: How people use ChatGPT 2025).
Google’s AI Overviews: A bridge between search and chat
Google’s AI Overviews, launched in July 2025, is Google’s own step toward merging the two worlds. These summaries:
Aggregate information from multiple sources into one answer at the top (or middle) of results.
Trigger mainly for complex or open-ended queries.
Represent Google’s effort to keep users in its ecosystem even as chat-based AI grows.
Like other AI tools, Overviews can “hallucinate” or generate inaccuracies, making evidence and credibility vital.
Advertising in AI Overviews:
Search ads can appear above or below AI Overviews today.
Ads within AI Overviews themselves are live in the US and rolling out to English-speaking markets.
Placement is determined by ad relevance to the user’s query.
What this means right now
At present, search engines and AI search tools operate in parallel. People still turn to Google first for the bulk of their queries, but chat-based AI is becoming the new interface where users expect instant, conversational answers.
Google dominates today, but chat-based AI is rapidly scaling. Brands that invest in both SEO and GEO will capture today’s search demand on Google and be prepared for tomorrow’s AI-driven discovery, already embedding their content in AI summaries and chat responses.
According to the QuestionPro 2025 survey, the data doesn’t show a lot of switching yet. I guess old habits die hard.
3. How to succeed at GEO
If SEO’s toolkit was keywords + links, GEO’s toolkit is user query understanding + evidence + structure + authority.
A. Make your content AI-friendly
Allow AI crawlers (GPTBot, OAI-SearchBot, Claude-Web, PerplexityBot, GoogleOther) in robots.txt.
Optimise speed — under 2 seconds load time recommended.
Use schema markup: FAQ, How-To, Product, Article.
Direct answer format:
Start with a 1–3 sentence answer, then expand.
Answer questions in 40–60 words
B. Target long-tail, conversational queries
AI engines favour precise answers to specific questions. Use AlsoAsked or ChatGPT to research consumer prompts. You can also discover long-tail queries in Search Console.
Shift focus from keywords to understanding your audience’s search context:
Think of the primary keyword as a hub topic: it should encompass all the long-tail variations users could search when looking for related products or services.
Map and answer clusters of long-tail, question-based searches
Produce content that matches long-tail search terms:
Who the content is for and in what context
Which problem does it solve
How the problem is solved (instructions, advice, data, examples)
C. Build evidence-rich authority
Include statistics, case studies, and links to reputable sources (Semrush E-E-A-T guide).
Update content regularly with fresh data, a visible “last updated” tag, and new FAQs.
Strengthen your author bios and credentials to signal expertise.
D. Extend authority beyond your site
PR, guest blogs, partnerships, and influencer mentions each act as a trust signal for AI.
Update external company profiles (Google Business Profile, LinkedIn, Bing Places, etc.) for consistency.
Aim for thought-leadership placement in reputable industry outlets to build “semantic equity” — the gravitational pull that helps AI engines associate your brand with a topic.
Build SEO + GEO in parallel for now
Chat-based search is becoming the new UI for the internet, a conversational interface where users expect immediate, trustworthy answers. While SEO still drives the lion’s share of traffic, GEO is your ticket to future-proofing your brand visibility.
By building content optimised for both AI tools and Google, you gain the early-mover advantage:
SEO ensures you rank in traditional search results today.
GEO ensures you’re cited, quoted, and trusted in AI answers, and ready for the big shift when AI traffic surpasses the search traffic.
