Redefining Visibility in the Age of AI: From SEO to GEO

The Shift from SEO to GEO

For decades, digital visibility was governed by a familiar playbook: optimise for keywords, climb the rankings, and earn clicks. But the rise of generative AI has rewritten the rules. Today, visibility isn’t just about being found – it is about being cited.

Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO) is emerging as the new frontier. Unlike traditional SEO, which focuses on ranking in search engine results pages (SERPs), GEO is about earning a place in AI-generated answers. These answers (produced by platforms like Google’s AI Overviews, ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity) synthesise information from across the web to respond directly to user queries. And they’re changing how, where, and if users engage with your content.

What Makes Content “Visible” to AI?

In traditional SEO, visibility was largely a function of keyword relevance, backlinks, and technical optimisation. But generative engines operate differently. They don’t just index - they interpret. They don’t just rank - they summarise. And they don’t just link - they cite.

So, what drives visibility in this new paradigm?

• Trustworthiness and authority: AI platforms favour content that demonstrates expertise, experience, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness (E-E-A-T). Named authors, expert bios, and transparent sourcing all help signal credibility.
• Depth over breadth: AI engines prefer deep pages (those that go beyond surface-level content and explore topics in detail). In fact, 82.5% of AI citations link to pages that are two or more clicks away from the homepage (according to BrightEdge).
• Organic mentions: Even unlinked brand mentions on platforms like Reddit, LinkedIn, or Quora can influence AI citations. Google’s AI Overviews, for example, frequently cite Reddit threads and LinkedIn articles as trusted community sources (according to Search Engine Land).
• Platform-specific preferences: Each AI engine has its own sourcing tendencies. ChatGPT leans heavily on encyclopaedic and news sources, while Google’s AI Overviews draw from a broader mix, including blogs, forums, and social media.

In short, visibility is no longer about being on page one – it is about being part of the answer.

The New Metrics That Matter

As AI-generated summaries become the default interface for search, traditional metrics like clickthrough rate (CTR) are losing relevance. Why? Because users are increasingly getting what they need without clicking.

• Zero-click behaviour is rising: As mentioned in the previous blog, around 80% of users now rely on AI-generated summaries for at least 40% of their queries. In the U.S., only 374 out of every 1,000 searches result in a click. In the EU, that number drops to 360 (according to SparkToro).
• CTR is falling: Google search impressions are up 49% year-over-year, but CTR is down 30% (according to BrightEdge) - this is a direct result of AI Overviews. When an AI Overview is present, CTR for the top organic result drops from 13% to under 5% on desktop (according to Search Engine Land).
• Scroll depth is shallow: Most users skim only the top third of an AI-generated answer. The median scroll depth is just 30% (according to Kevin Indig & Eric van Buskirk). Also, AI overview itself takes up a lot of space on the screen

So, what should brands measure instead?

• Citation frequency: How often is your content being cited in AI-generated responses?
• Platform diversity: Are you being mentioned across a range of trusted sources: news sites, blogs, forums, and social platforms?
• Cross-query presence: Are you showing up in answers to multiple related queries, not just one?

These new metrics reflect a deeper truth: visibility is no longer about driving traffic alone. It’s about shaping perception, building trust, and being recognised as a credible voice in your domain (even if the user never clicks).

What This Means for Brands

The implications are profound. GEO isn’t just a technical challenge – it is a strategic one. It requires brands to rethink how they create, structure, and distribute content. It demands a shift from chasing clicks to earning citations. And it calls for a broader presence across the digital ecosystem, from deep content pages to community forums.

As generative engines increasingly satisfy user intent without a click, brands must also change how they define success. Traditional KPIs like traffic and CTR are no longer sufficient. Instead, success should be measured by influence without interaction - how often your brand is cited, how widely it's referenced across platforms, and how consistently it appears in AI-generated answers. In this new landscape, visibility is about presence, not just performance.

In the next post, we’ll explore exactly how to do that - with 10 actionable GEO tactics to help your brand earn visibility in the age of generative search.

Stay tuned.