The emergence of artificial intelligence engines upsets the foundations of SEO. Far from a simple extension of the SEO, the generative Engine Optimization (GEO) significantly redraws the rules of the game. Brands must now deal with an enlarged competitive universe, where visibility is no longer measured only in clicks but in mentions, impressions and brand credibility.
Unprecedented competitive intensity
The SEO has historically structured itself around a limited number of keywords for high intention, concentrating most of the advertisers’ efforts. The geo reverses this logic and each user query is now broken down into a multitude of micro-sewers, considerably expanding the competitive field. Brands can no longer hope to cover a wide spectrum but must identify precise niches on which emerge.
Example : In insurance, “cheap auto insurance” concentrates on Google the battle between comparators and insurers. On Chatgpt or Perplexity, the query becomes “What car insurance is the most suitable for a young driver in Lyon with an electric car?”. Here, Allianz or Maif must produce specific content to appear, and no longer rest on the generic keywords.
The website relegated to the background
While the SEO was based on the technical and editorial optimization of the site, the Geo dilutes this central role and visibility is now played on all digital ecosystems with social networks, consumer opinions, Earned but also the PAID Media, and the specialized press. The IA engines favor external quotes and signals, forcing SEO, communication and P departments even more closely to build a distributed authority.
Example : Decathlon can no longer count solely on its official website to highlight an Artengo tennis racket. The IA engines will meet players notices on Trustpilot, videos on YouTube and press articles, the strategy must therefore integrate these ecosystems.
The end of the generic content era
Evergreen content, long useful to capture continuous traffic, lose geo from their effectiveness, because the latter values fragmented and hypercontextual formats with self -supporting paragraphs, customer testimonies, comparisons or case studies. This editorial granularity corresponds to the needs of the generative models, which favor precision and contextual relevance.
Example : In tourism, “Hotel Paris Pas Cher” is a classic SEO request. In Geo, it becomes “which hotel in Paris with Spa and close to the Louvre for a couple weekend?”. Accor or Airbnb must produce contextualized and comparative content, far from the generalist “Hotel Paris” pages.
The click is no longer the grail
With click rates less than 1 % on chatgpt and continuous traffic erosion from engines, the “On -site” visit ceases to be the central performance indicator. The KPIs evolve towards the measurement of the presence, the contextual exposure and the positive mentions. Efficiency is no longer reduced to the volume of visits, but to the quality of the quote and in place of the brand in the informational ecosystem.
Example : traditional media already find a drop in traffic from Google Ai Overviews. Their articles are summarized directly in AI responses, without click. Success no longer lies in the number of visits, but in the frequency of citation of the source.
Branding, keystone of the geo
Differentiation is no longer based alone in mastery of SEO techniques. In a saturated environment, the brand’s strength becomes decisive again. Mentions, reputation and media partnerships take precedence over backlinks. Public relations resume a strategic role, while the media in particular specialized find an essential authority for brands.
Example : SEO research on “CRM SaaS Entreprise” could still allow challengers to position themselves via aggressive optimization strategies. With the GEO, a request like “What CRM Cloud is the most suitable for an industrial SME in Europe?” will put forward Salesforce, HubSpot or Zoho, established brands and strongly cited in analyst studies or the specialized press. Emerging actors must then invest in branding, press relations, sponsored content in media and customer opinions to hope to be mentioned by IA engines.
A discipline still under construction
The GEO is added to SEO and imposes new reflexes but above all a strategy to respond to it. Technical, editorial and branding logics converge to meet the criteria of IA engines. Advertisers capable of orchestrating this hybridization will have a decisive competitive advantage. In this new Search grammar, the brand is no longer only referenced: it must be cited, invited and judged in spaces where confidence takes precedence over traffic.
