Win the recommendation, not the click: what AI answers mean for your brand
Generative engine optimisation means being the brand an AI assistant names when your buyer asks for advice. It builds on SEO rather than replacing it. And most of what feeds it is the marketing you should be doing anyway: a clear position, real reviews, and enough presence that other people talk about you.
Deciding where your marketing money goes next? Talk it through with us.
Start with a live demo
When a client asks about GEO, we skip the strategy deck and open ChatGPT, Gemini or Perplexity in front of them.
We type a long, specific question their customer might ask, such as "What's the best local matcha supplier for this exact situation?", and check whether their brand appears.
Seeing a competitor recommended instead makes it real in seconds.
We ran this test on ourselves and published the results in why ChatGPT recommends some brands and ignores yours. This post is about what to do next.
Why the recommendation matters more than the click
This is how we put it to clients. We're not winning the click anymore. We're winning the recommendation.
A traditional searcher scans ten blue links and does the reading. A modern buyer asks AI to do it for them. If an AI cannot read, quote and trust what your brand says, you are invisible in that conversation, even if you rank decently on Google.
The shift is measurable. Pew Research Center tracked 900 US adults and found they clicked a search result on 8% of visits when Google showed an AI summary, against 15% when it did not (Pew Research Center, 22 Jul 2025).
Fewer clicks. More decisions made on the page.
The naturopath test
Wellness shows this best, because people rarely search for one thing anymore.
Traditional SEO is the biggest, brightest sign on the high street. Drive past looking for a wellness centre and you see it.
GEO is someone telling a trusted naturopath their symptoms, budget and lifestyle, and hearing: "Based on exactly what you just told me, go to this brand." AI is acting as that expert now.
Compare two searches.
The old search: "best organic magnesium supplements". You get links, directories and ads, and do the research yourself.
The new question: "I'm a 40-year-old exec dealing with severe burnout, poor sleep and lower back pain. I want a supplement that focuses on nervous system regulation and good nutrition. What are my top options?"
With the second, the AI reads websites, forums and reviews and answers like a consultant. If your site only says "we offer wellness retreats", it has nothing to work with. If it clearly answers questions about executive burnout and nervous system regulation, you give it a reason to recommend you.
You do not need to start again
Last week a client asked whether this meant throwing out their marketing budget. It does not.
GEO sits on top of SEO. A clean technical site, fast pages and solid content are still the entry ticket, because they let AI tools find you. What changes is how specifically you describe what you do, and for whom.
Where your advertising fits
We are a media agency, so plainly: no ad buys your way into the answer itself.
But AI answers are built from what the web says about you, and your marketing shapes that.
Brand. People who have seen your ads search for you by name and mention you in forums and articles. That is the material AI reads.
Reviews. Paid media brings in customers, and customers leave reviews. AI leans on reviews when it compares options.
Positioning. Your one sentence should match in your ads, on your site and in every listing. An AI cannot repeat a story you tell three ways.
Paid media. Search, social and audio reach people while they form opinions, and those opinions end up online.
That is why we plan brand and media together. The work that fills your pipeline today feeds what AI says about you tomorrow.
Measure success differently
Old SEO cheered for traffic: 1,000 people clicking a blog post about what ashwagandha is, even if none of them bought.
With GEO, visits may flatten as AI answers more questions on the screen, while intent grows. So we track your share of voice in the answers that matter, and the conversions from people who arrive.
Our view: when an AI recommends your burnout programme to a stressed CEO who asked a detailed question, that person is most of the way to booking before they click your link.
FAQ
What is generative engine optimisation?
Making your brand easy for AI assistants such as ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity to find, understand and recommend. In practice: clear positioning, specific answers to your customers' questions, real reviews and mentions on sites people trust.
GEO vs SEO: which does my brand need?
Both, and SEO comes first. It keeps your site crawlable, fast and useful, which AI tools rely on. GEO makes you specific enough that an AI chooses you for a detailed question.
Can advertising get my brand recommended by AI?
Not directly. Ads build the awareness, reviews and conversations that AI answers draw on.
How do I check whether AI recommends my brand?
Ask ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity your best customers' detailed questions, a few times each, in different words. Note who is named and which sites are cited. Repeat in a month.
Next step
For a straight read on how your brand shows up when buyers ask AI for advice, contact us.
Book a free Growth Plan. Thirty minutes with the person who would do the work. No deck, no pitch.