From SEO to GEO: how to show up as a brand in AI output

How does an AI tool generate relevant output?

AI assistants such as ChatGPT, Copilot or Perplexity are based on a large language model. They work in three layers:

1. Foundation model: the fixed knowledge the model learned during training. This is not loaded from your website in real time and is separate from updates. Your content comes into this only if it was online at the right time and relevant enough to train with.
2. Real-time search: tools like Perplexity and ChatGPT (with browse) also search online if a question requires up-to-date info. In that case, the model uses your page as a source - if your content ranks well in the search results.
3. Synthesis: the AI model turns both layers into one logical answer. In doing so, it chooses which fragments are relevant. Sometimes verbatim, sometimes rewritten.

So to become visible in AI answers, your brand's content must be findable and processable. Not only for Google but also for AI bots, although in practice they do not differ that much.

How does your content end up in AI answers?

AI models can process your content in three ways:

1. Through model training

This is the slowest but most sustainable path. Your content enters the memory of a subsequent AI model if it:

• public and was crawlable,
• often quoted or shared,
• thematically fits within the training dates.

That usually only works out every 1-2 years for a major model release. (GPT-4, for example, was trained with dates through the end of 2023).

Once ingrained in the model, your content can show up in responses years later - even without source citation.

2. Through model updates or fine-tuning

Between major updates, AI companies make smaller improvements. They add recent or domain-specific info. If your content fits in there, it can become visible faster. But this path is unpredictable and hard to control.

Finetuning is done every few months. (GPT-4.0 appeared in March 2023 and GPT-4-turbo a few months later. The other models also update more frequently than before).

3. Through real-time web search

This is the fastest and most influential route. AI models that live search show content that now ranks well in search engines. So this is where classic SEO comes back into play: structured content, backlinks, speed, mobile-first. Bonus: you sometimes get a visible source citation in the AI response.

Along these lines, your content can be picked up within hours or days of being indexed.

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Also read
This is how to optimize your content for SEO in 2025

As a B2B marketer, how do you apply key GEO principles?

Use these GEO tips to increase your visibility in generative search environments step by step:

1. Choose even more radically clear and sleek

• Use clear text structures with clear H2s and short paragraphs. (This is even more important for GEO than for SEO.)
• Build additional pages around specific questions (FAQ, how to).
• Work with bullet points, tables, summaries and explanatory diagrams or images.

AI models prefer to extract bite-sized chunks from your content. Make it easy for them.

2. Think in semantic clusters, not single keywords

Large language models recognize and process content based on entities (units of products, brands, applications) and semantic clusters: groups of closely related concepts within a topic.

• Make sure your brand name, product categories and names are well named and in clear context. Incorporate your offerings and the framework around them explicitly in your content.
• Use relevant technical terms or synonyms.
• Write vernacular and capitalize on (long tail) searches that match how people search. Think from answers rather than keywords.

That helps AI assistants interpret your brand correctly and mention it more often.

3. Publish outside your own site as well

Also post on:

• Medium (ranks well in Google)
• LinkedIn (authority and reach)
• Sector platforms or communities

Spread your content smartly and strategically. That's how you strengthen your digital footprint.

4. Build harder on your brand profile

AI models do not cite just anything. They prefer to choose brands with a clear and reliable online identity. That means:

• Provide a Wikipedia page if you can.
• Publish on domains with authority within your industry.
• Refer in your content to esteemed specialists/researchers for your topic. This increases your authority and indicates "helpful content.
• Encourage mentions in press, blogs and podcasts.

Quality presence on various platforms makes your brand recognizable to AI models. And recognition is a prerequisite for being listed as a trusted source.

5. Optimize your technical base

Visibility in AI starts with a good technical foundation. LLMs only use content they can find, understand and trust. And so your website must:

• be crawlable for AI bots (check robots.txt, sitemaps and possibly provide an LLMS.txt file - a new standard for AI bots);
• load quickly and be mobile-friendly;
• include schema markup for FAQs, articles or products.

6. Measure your visibility in AI tools

AI traffic is less easily tracked than traditional search traffic. ChatGPT does not offer a variant of Google Search Console that displays how your Web site is performing. Still, there are ways to gain insight:

• Set up GA4 to measure traffic from AI platforms (such as Copilot or Perplexity) separately.
• Use tools like Rankshift to see when and how your brand shows up in AI responses.
• Monitor where and how your brand is mentioned and systematically ask new customers: where did you learn about us?

Your KPIs also evolve with you. With zero-click content in the AI responses, less traffic is sent to your website. The focus shifts from clicks and rankings, to tracking your visibility, mentions, branded searches and increased engagement on your site.

So working on your GEO is not radically different from working on your SEO. For both, as a brand you need to stay focused on quality, authority, search intent and content relevance. The new KPIs are perhaps the biggest adjustment.

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Also in need of an update of your content approach? We would love to help you out!