By Olivia Cox
Content Marketing Specialist, Lessiter Media
ocox@lessitermedia.com
262-782-2443
Is Your Content Ready for the AI Search Shift?
You may be familiar with the term SEO, or Search Engine Optimization — the time-tested practice of improving your website’s visibility in traditional search engines like Google and Bing. SEO focuses on keywords, backlinks, and site structure to help your pages rank higher and drive organic traffic.
But as AI-powered tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google’s AI Overviews gain popularity, the way people search for and consume information is changing dramatically. Instead of simply clicking through search results, users are increasingly relying on AI-generated answers that summarize, synthesize, and recommend content directly. This shift calls for a new kind of optimization: Generative Engine Optimization, or GEO.
GEO builds on the foundation of SEO but adapts it to the unique ways AI engines read and present information. It’s about creating clear, authoritative, and well-structured content that AI models can easily interpret and use to answer users’ questions.
Our Digital Media team recently completed training on best practices for SEO and GEO in the emerging AI era. The infographic below outlines the key differences between the two and what you need to know to keep your content findable in the age of generative search.
Sources: Bill Dugan, Foundation Marketing Inc.
