AI Decoded Series: Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO)

Snack-sized summary:

Humans are using Generative AI (Gen AI) tools to search the internet. The number of us using them is increasing because they’re faster and give us easy summaries – super appealing when you’re in a rush. These tools generate their answers from online content like your website so it’s important to optimise your content to encourage Gen AI tool to use it and have your business show up.

If you’re thinking, ‘what fresh acronym hell is this’ fear not – we’ll unpack.

Generative AI (Gen AI) vs. Answer Engine vs. Search Engine?

As mentioned in the last post about AI and SEO, humans have been dumping content onto online sites since the internet was invented. That content includes everything from well-researched facts to the latest cat video. The amount of content has become so vast that we’ve created ways to sort through it.

Gen AI generates new content (text, images, audio, video) based on what you ask. They work by rummaging through huge datasets of information and creating a summary based on the patterns it finds. Gen AI tools include ChatGPT, Google Gemini, Claude, and DALL·E.

Answer Engines on the other hand, search the web or structured databases, find the best-matching answer, and show it to you. The snippets at the top of a Google search are an example, others include Alexa, Siri, and Perplexity.

Search Engines crawl over the internet collecting information and then present a list of online sites that ‘match’ the question you’ve typed in. Think Google, Bing, and DuckDuckGo

A simple way to think about it is:

• Generative AI = writer, explainer, and summarising machine

• Answer Engine = assistant that fetches you an answer and shows the source

• Search Engine = collector of online information that presents results in a list

So then, what Is Generative Engine Optimisation?

In the same way you want your website to show up in search results and the short snippets in Answer Engines, you also want it to appear in Generative Engine summaries. That means making your website content easy for the AI tools to read, understand, and use when they’re answering people’s questions. From a business perspective, it’s the behind-the-scenes work that helps you show up when someone asks a question like:

“Who’s the best dog groomer in Brisbane?”or“How do I choose the right mortgage broker?”

Unlike how we use standard search engines like Google, customers have conversations with Generative AI tools asking follow up questions and side queries. Your aim is to be the most helpful answer in your industry niche.

For example:

• A dog groomer who answers “How often should I wash my cavoodle?” on their blog = great GEO.

• A mortgage broker who explains “fixed vs variable rates” in plain English = great GEO.

• A Pilates studio with a page titled “What to expect in your first class” = 👏 chef’s kiss

Don't forget Structure!

Your content not only needs to be relevant to that question, but written and structured in a way that AI tools will like.

5 GEn AI Optimisation Tips

1. Write Like a Human (For Robots)

AI loves well-structured, factual, easy-to-understand content. So write in plain, natural language. Think: “How would my customer phrase it?”

2. Answer Real Questions

Create FAQ pages, blog posts, or guides that answer common customer questions in full sentences. Bonus points if your tone sounds more “friendly expert” and less “corporate brochure.”

3. Be Findable by AI

Your site should be technically sound: fast loading, mobile-friendly, and ‘crawlable’.  This is one for your web developer.

4. Get Mentioned in the Right Places

AI trusts sources that are trusted by others. So try to get your site or business mentioned in respected directories, review sites, media, or industry blogs.

5. Label Everything Clearly

Use headings (H2, H3), summaries, and simple formatting. AI loves a clear outline. Think of it the same way you would structure a document – with a Page Heading that is compelling and sums up the page content, subheadings to make the content skimmable, and summaries and links to alternate  add credibility.

Conclusion...

Gen AI is quickly becoming the new normal in internet search. They're the perfect fix for our desire for snack-sized answers. As users, customers, change their behaviour it's critical for businesses to shift too and optimisation is the first step. As with anything 'tech' there's a part for your developer to play in keeping your website relevant, so make sure check in with them as well and changing your content.

The trick with all of this is trust. An easy summary doesn't equal veracity. Particularly when we're asking leading questions of an eager-to-please AI tool. So how do you tackle that as a user?

Tune in next week when we'll be diving into the world of hallucinations, misinformation, and disinformation.