Search engines like Google and Bing have long been tools to drive people to a business’ website and convert browsers into buyers. If you wanted to keep your business high in search results, you needed to beef up your website’s SEO, so you rank high in search results.
Then came AI. Clicking through blue links is a thing of the past for many. Users are increasingly seeking curated, conversational answers from AI platforms, like OpenAI ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini, and virtual assistants.
But now is not the time for doom and gloom! This challenge is an opportunity to move your business’ websites above the competition and optimize your digital marketing strategy.
At TDF, we know that data and technology are powerful tools — but only when they serve the needs, emotions and experiences of real people. Marketing that prioritizes genuine human connections isn’t just ethical; it’s effective. Our clients and the communities they serve with products and services give meaning to our work.
Google desktop searches per user fell nearly 20% year over year. AI is changing search behavior, with search marketing losing market share to platforms like ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and even Google’s AI Overview.
There are 500 million search-like prompts in ChatGPT per day, with the LLM providing answers, summarized content and recommend services. Even when attempting a Google search, your first result is now an AI Overview that displays answers directly on the results page. Those answers don’t guarantee accuracy, but the result is the same: users are not clicking away to individual websites unless they want deeper information.
If fewer users are clicking on organic search results, then businesses that rely on SEO alone may start seeing declines in web visits, leads and engagement. The traditional model of “ranking high = more clicks” is no longer a guarantee.
Don’t be intimidated. AI searches and chatbots still need a source of truth. Being “AI-ready” means creating websites that are technically sound, semantically structured and rich with trustworthy content. As well, you want to curate your presence beyond your website with content and activity that will be likely to be cited or pulled into AI-generated answers.
Being AI-ready means:
Staying visible in this new environment requires agility, analytics and forward-thinking execution. You can stay ahead of the competition with a dedicated partner.
Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) is rapidly becoming an essential component of modern digital marketing strategy. AI Engine Optimization (AEO) refers to preparing your website and content for AI-driven platforms, tools and assistants beyond traditional search. Understanding and executing on both can ensure that brands are discoverable, accurately represented and contextually surfaced in generative search results powered by large language models.
Adapting to AI’s influence on search can be a strategic evolution. A skilled digital marketing agency brings expertise in:
“Everyone used to use Google — to the point that it’s become a verb for performing an internet search,” says Karen Meyers Holzer, President of The Deciding Factor (TDF) digital marketing agency. “In our experience working with clients, we’ve seen the rise of AI tools reshaping consumer behavior. You need forward-thinking experts who can align your business with an AI-first digital strategy and deliver content in ways that AI tools can digest and disseminate it.”
Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) focuses on making your content discoverable and usable by AI-powered search engines and chatbots. Instead of just ranking for keywords, GEO ensures your content is structured, conversational and authoritative so AI models can confidently pull from it when generating answers.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO), on the other hand, is about ranking well on traditional search engines like Google and Bing, optimizing for clicks through meta tags, keywords and backlinks.
In short:
SEO = ranking in search engines
GEO = being cited and surfaced in AI-driven answers
Google’s search volume is still 28X to 32X more than ChatGPT. It’s important to continue SEO while also adding GEO/AEO to our toolkits.
No — AI will not replace SEO, but it is reshaping it. Traditional SEO tactics like keyword optimization and link building still matter, but they’re no longer enough on their own.
AI is changing how people search. Instead of clicking multiple links, users often get answers directly from AI overviews, chatbots or virtual assistants. That means websites need to optimize for both:
Making your website AI-ready means designing it so AI models can easily understand and trust your content. That includes:
Almost every industry can benefit from Generative Engine Optimization, but some are especially impacted:
The core principles of GEO apply to both B2C (business-to-consumer) and B2B (business-to-business), but the execution differs:
In short: B2C GEO is about discoverability and convenience; B2B GEO is about authority and expertise.
What is Generative Engine Optimization (GEO)?
Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) is the practice of optimizing content so it can be understood, cited and surfaced by AI-powered search engines and chatbots. Instead of focusing only on keyword rankings, GEO emphasizes structured data, conversational content and authoritative signals that help large language models (LLMs) pull accurate information into AI-generated answers.
What is AI Engine Optimization (AEO)?
AEO includes optimizing for voice assistants, generative AI models and smart agents that rely on machine-readable data and contextual understanding. AEO ensures your business can be discovered when users interact with AI systems like ChatGPT, Google’s AI Overviews or Siri.
What is Search Engine Optimization (SEO)?
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the process of improving your website’s visibility on traditional search engines like Google and Bing. It involves optimizing for keywords, backlinks, metadata and site performance so your content ranks higher in search results. The goal of SEO is to increase organic traffic by making your website more appealing to search engine algorithms and human users.
We offer a full suite of digital marketing solutions that work together. If you’re tired of managing multiple agencies and paying for overlapping initiatives, we can help!
We specialize in working with small to mid-market businesses to generate leads and revenue with online strategies.
Let’s look at what’s working in your marketing program – and what’s not. Then we’ll help you select the right marketing initiatives that will move the needle.
Get in touch and let’s have a discussion!
