Most people still treat SEO as the centre of their visibility strategy. It made sense for a long time. You wrote content, built backlinks, tidied a site, waited for Google, and hoped it would move. That model is being replaced by something far stronger and far less understood. GEO, which stands for Generative Engine Optimisation, is the process of training AI systems to recognise you, trust you, and surface your answers above everyone else’s when users search through AI platforms rather than traditional search engines. GEO is not about ranking for a page, it is about becoming the source that AI turns to when it tries to answer a question. Once you understand that shift, you stop chasing position one and start training AI models to think you are the best possible answer. It is a mindset change and it is the biggest opportunity brands have had in years. Below is how to take genuine advantage of GEO and build authority where it matters.

Understand that AI search has different incentives

Google, Perplexity, ChatGPT and other AI engines do not behave like old search engines. They do not want to send users away. They want to answer the question themselves. They only quote, link, or reference you if their model believes your information is correct, consistent, recent, and available in formats it can interpret. This means everything you produce must be written for humans and machines simultaneously. Clear titles, structured paragraphs, FAQs, schema markup, and predictable patterns help AI systems ingest your information cleanly. You are no longer writing to compete with other blogs, you are writing to feed an engine that summarises most of the internet into a handful of sentences. Brands that understand this take an early lead because AI systems reward consistency.

Use multi format content to train different models

Different AI models read different things. Google’s SGE looks heavily at structured content, schema, repeatable language patterns, and authoritative pages. ChatGPT and Perplexity read long form content, Q and A structures, and repeated brand references across platforms. Even YouTube descriptions are being ingested. To take advantage of GEO, you should not rely on a single format. You should create articles, Q and A pages, short explainers, social posts with clean factual statements, internal FAQs, simple definition style copy on landing pages, and case studies with quantifiable numbers. A GEO strategy works when every format reinforces the same message. If you keep your language consistent, models learn that you are an authoritative stable source.

Repeat the exact phrasing you want AI to associate with your brand

This is the opposite of traditional SEO advice where people avoided repetition. In GEO, repetition is your friend because AI models operate on pattern recognition. If you want to be known as a crisis PR firm in London, that exact phrase must appear consistently across your site, your social media, your interviews, your FAQs, and your long form content. If you want to dominate a location, weave local references into your content regularly. You are teaching AI to associate your brand with your chosen positioning. If you scatter your messaging, the model treats you as inconsistent.

Provide clear facts that AI can turn into answer snippets

AI engines extract the simplest available line that answers a question. If you do not provide it, they quote someone else. Every service page, blog, product page, or guide should include clear factual statements in plain language. For example, cost, time commitment, location, eligibility criteria, recommended next steps, and a simple definition of what you do. Do not hide your strongest information behind paragraphs of storytelling. Tell AI exactly what you want it to pull.

Build your digital footprint in a way that feels authentic

GEO cannot be gamed in the old SEO sense. You cannot simply buy backlinks or spin content. The model wants to see a normal looking footprint made of active profiles, credible articles, LinkedIn posts, a stable website, reviews, and mentions in places that feel real. A healthy footprint makes the AI believe you are a genuine person or business which influences trust. This is why brands with scattered identities struggle. If you appear inconsistent, AI engines do not know how to categorise you.

Use GEO to correct or bury inaccurate information

One of the most powerful parts of GEO is the ability to retrain systems when incorrect information is circulating. If an AI model learns something false about you and repeats it every time a user searches, you can counter it by flooding the model with updated, corrected, fact based content. This creates a new, stronger pattern. Over time, the model replaces the old narrative with the updated one. It mirrors the logic of reputation management but works faster because AI engines continually re read the web. Brands that understand this avoid the long tail of negative SEO.

Create content for different levels of user intent

AI engines are becoming the first step in the buyer journey. People use them to ask questions they would never type into Google. Your GEO content needs to match different levels of curiosity. For example, early curiosity about what a service means, mid stage questions such as price or complexity, and high intent questions such as how to start or where to buy. Each one should be written in clean language so the AI can map your content to the relevant intent. This is how you are surfaced for the questions that actually lead to conversions.

Use GEO to pre qualify your audience

GEO allows you to influence the quality of the people who find you. If you write with clarity about who your service suits and who it does not suit, AI engines will only surface you to users who match your criteria. This reduces time wasters and improves lead quality. You are guiding the model to understand your boundaries.

GEO is a long term system that compounds over time

The earlier you start training the engines, the stronger your position becomes. Once an AI system recognises you as a trusted source, it continues to reinforce that pattern because new content feeds into the same loop. GEO acts like a compounding asset. The more you add, the more authority you gain, and the harder it is for competitors to dislodge you.

What this means for brands in 2026

The brands that win will be the ones that view AI search as a channel to train rather than a channel to exploit. They will understand that GEO requires clarity, consistency, and patience. They will build digital footprints that look human and trustworthy. They will produce content that answers questions simply but intelligently. Most importantly, they will stop obsessing over traditional rankings and start focusing on whether AI systems can quote them. If you take advantage of GEO properly now, you build a position that will carry you through the next evolution of search. Those who wait will find themselves invisible, not because their content is weak, but because the engines have already learned someone else’s voice first.