For years, businesses have been obsessed with cracking Google’s algorithm. Keywords. Backlinks. Meta tags. All the usual SEO stuff that built empires online.
That side still matters, but there’s a new side to search quietly taking over in 2025.
Because now, people aren’t just typing questions into Google… they’re asking AI.
ChatGPT. Perplexity. Grok. Gemini. Google’s own generative search. These tools don’t just list results, they create them.
And that means visibility is evolving.
It’s no longer just about ranking high. It’s about being part of the answers these AI engines generate.
Marketers are calling it Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO), and it’s changing how smart brands get found online.
Let’s be clear: traditional SEO is still alive and well. Google remains the world’s most used website.
People still search for products, services, and information every second of the day.
But the way people interact with search is splitting. Generative AI tools are intercepting queries before they ever reach the search bar. Instead of clicking ten blue links, users are now asking full, natural language questions and getting single, cohesive answers.
In the same way Google disrupted print directories and banner ads, LLMs are now disrupting traditional search habits.
This doesn’t replace SEO. It adds a new layer. GEO doesn’t cancel out search engine optimisation, it complements and extends it into the world of AI-generated responses.
GEO is about making your brand more likely to be referenced, recommended, or surfaced inside answers generated by large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT, Gemini, Grok, Claude, and others.
These platforms don’t just index websites. They interpret meaning. They map entities, understand relationships between ideas, and generate summaries that feel like a conversation.
In short, they don’t need to quote your blog post verbatim. They just need to understand your brand well enough to consider you a credible, relevant part of the answer.
And that changes the game.
Old-school SEO focused on keywords. You tried to guess what people would type into Google and match your page to that phrase.
GEO starts from a different place. It focuses on how real people ask questions in conversation.
Things like:
These are prompts, not keywords. And they don’t point to one search result. They trigger a blend of sources, patterns, and context.
The LLM builds an answer by stitching together everything it knows about:
If your brand doesn’t show up in that mental map? You’re invisible.
GEO demands a shift in mindset. Instead of optimising for keywords, you’re optimising for entities.
An entity is a person, company, service, tool, location, or concept that can be uniquely identified and semantically understood by an LLM.
If your brand is a distinct, well-defined entity in the eyes of AI, it becomes easier to reference. If you’re just another generic agency or service provider, you’re unlikely to be included.
You want to build what might be called an “entity profile” in the ecosystem of online content:
If you do this well, LLMs learn to associate you with certain questions, use cases, and contexts.
Generative engines don’t rank content by backlinks alone. They’re more focused on:
LLMs prefer content that is easy to parse, clearly structured, and semantically rich. That means:
Structured content is easier to quote, paraphrase, or summarise. This includes:
LLMs use recency as a relevance signal. Brands that regularly update their content are favoured for fast-moving topics.
While not an official LLM guideline, similar principles apply:
LLMs don’t see through walls. They need signals that tell them, “This source knows what it’s talking about, and others agree.”
In the world of GEO, you’re not just optimizing your website, you’re optimising your brand’s entire online presence.
Because generative engines don’t rely solely on what you say about yourself. They consider what the rest of the web says too.
That means earned media and organic reputation signals are now core components of discoverability.
LLMs don’t have emotions or opinions, but they’re trained on data that reflects human trust. So when content about your brand appears in high-authority, contextually relevant places, it makes you more “recommendable.” Examples:
All of these feed into how confidently an LLM can suggest you as a credible, relevant answer.
Generative models aren’t just pulling from your site. They’re:
If five separate, credible sources say “Purple Bunny Marketing is the go-to agency for retention strategy,” that becomes a powerful signal, even if your own site is modest.
In short, treat your reputation graph as part of your optimization strategy. LLMs are watching, and learning, from the entire ecosystem you’re part of.
If you want to show up in LLM answers, your content must be:
These formats are gold for GEO because they mirror the structure of prompts. When someone asks an LLM a question, it often draws from:
The more of this you create, the more you’re likely to appear in AI answers.
Here’s a simple checklist:
1. Define Your Entity
Be specific about what your brand does, who you help, and what problems you solve.
2. Create Content That Feels Like an Answer
Anticipate the questions your ideal client is asking and answer them clearly.
3. Get Mentioned Outside Your Own Site
Build earned media. Get featured, interviewed, or cited elsewhere.
4. Use Structured Content Formats
Tables, templates, comparisons, and how-to lists are all LLM-friendly.
5. Refresh Your Core Pages Regularly
Add new examples, update tools and processes, reflect current language.
6. Optimise for Speed and Accessibility
Make sure AI tools can load, crawl, and understand your pages.
7. Track Where You’re Cited
Use tools to find mentions of your brand and build on those wins.
We’re not moving away from Google overnight. But we are moving toward a hybrid search landscape.
Traditional search still matters. But it’s no longer the only way people find things.
In 2025 and beyond, the most discoverable brands will be those that show up in both search results and answers.
They’ll be the ones who understand not just how to rank, but how to resonate with the next generation of search engines.
GEO is not a buzzword. It’s a reality. And it’s already reshaping what online visibility looks like.
The question is, when people ask AI something you should be the answer to, will you be part of that answer?
If not, it’s time to fix that.
We’ll be honest with you, GEO is still new territory.
No one has all the answers yet, and anyone who claims they do is probably bluffing.
But at Purple Bunny Marketing, we do everything we can to spot what’s coming before it fully arrives, and helping our clients show up early, sharp, and ready to win.
If you’re serious about staying ahead of how people find and trust brands in 2025, let’s talk.
We’re already weaving GEO principles into how we approach content, visibility, and strategic growth.
So if you’re interested, come reach out to us by clicking here and let’s have a chat about how we can help you.
