The digital transformation: How AI is changing online searches

Making website content AI-ready: How to optimize texts so that ChatGPT & Co. recognize and recommend your brand (GEO strategy).

“Which brands offer sustainable clothing?” If you had googled this question a few years ago, you would probably have received a long, uncommented list of links. This is precisely why companies have invested a lot of money and time in SEO (Search Engine Optimization) – to appear as high up in Google’s results list as possible. Because if you only end up on page two, you are practically untraceable for many.

But the rules of the digital search game have changed!

Generative AI optimization explained: How GEO works

ChatGPT, Perplexity and Microsoft’s Copilot are no longer gimmicks. These artificial intelligence (AI)-based tools are increasingly influencing how people find products – and which brands they perceive. This has consequences: If you want to remain visible online, you not only have to optimize for Google, but also ensure that your brand is recommended by AI-supported chatbots.

Chatbots generate their answers based on their training data – and this comes from sources that they classify as trustworthy. So if you want to be mentioned as a brand, you have to be present where chatbots collect information.

How to translate specialist knowledge into AI-compatible content

This is where a new term comes into play: Generative AI Optimization, or GEO for short. It comprises strategies that prepare content in such a way that generative AI models (GenAI) recognize, understand – and ideally recommend – it. GEO thus expands traditional SEO to include new requirements and questions: What do I need to change about my website, my content and my PR so that AI systems classify me as a relevant source?

Basically, the steps required to be noticed by AI-supported chatbots can be summarized in three central levers:

1. Create high-quality content
   Platforms such as ChatGPT, Perplexity or Copilot often draw on content from specialist media, blogs, forums or comparison portals. If your content is present there, your chances of being mentioned in responses increase.
   2 tips: Show off your expert knowledge! For example, in the form of white papers, studies, specialist articles or practical application examples. Share your experience – for example with cases, customer examples or product tests.
2. Adapt your PR strategy to
   Traditional advertising or SEO are no longer enough today. What counts is relevance in trustworthy sources. Make sure that your brand appears on independent platforms, review portals or in well-founded articles – not just in your own channels.
3. Be authentic
   Honesty, transparency and clear communication strengthen trust – not only with real people, but also with GenAI systems. Brands that are associated with credible sources come out on top when it comes to AI-based recommendations.

 

 

GEO vs. SEO: Two strategies, one goal

In general, these so-called E-E-A-T signals (experience, expertise, authoritativeness, trustworthiness) are trust indicators that make content relevant for a GenAI. Aspects such as semantic clarity and structured content also come to the fore. Semantically clear content is content that is clearly understandable and free of ambiguity. Structured content is content that contains organized, machine-readable data, such as tables. These factors distinguish GEO from traditional SEO, which focuses primarily on keywords, backlinks and rankings.

GEO in practice: Five steps to an AI-compatible content structure

The first concrete building blocks for a GEO strategy can already be derived from these foundations:

• Step 1 – Create structure:

FAQ formats, clearly structured headings and bullet points help to structure content in such a way that AI models can extract specific information.

• Step 2 – Create transparency:

Transparency creates trust: Information on authors, traceable sources or citations strengthen the E-E-A-T signals.

• Step 3 – Improve machine readability

Semantic markup – i.e. structured data formats such as JSON-LD or Schema.org – make it easier for AI systems to recognize and correctly classify content.

• Step 4 – Provide answers instead of just information

Content should be formulated in such a way that it is directly suitable as an answer or recommendation by an AI model.

• Step 5 – Open access creates visibility

Important content such as white papers, studies or data sheets should not be hidden behind forms, but should be freely accessible – this is the only way an AI model can access them.

 

GEO does not replace SEO – it enhances it

However, this does not mean the end of SEO!

With around 82 billion visits per month, Google remains a dominant player in online searches. A good ranking in the search engine remains a key objective in digital marketing. However, developing and implementing a GEO strategy is just as important for sustainable success today. After all, ChatGPT has already overtaken the Bing search engine (5.0 billion) with 5.72 billion monthly visits – and the influence of generative AI models on the visibility and perception of brands is growing from week to week. And Google now also shows an AI summary at the top of searches.

If you want to be digitally visible today, you need both: a well thought-out SEO strategy and a smart GEO strategy. Analyze which of your content is already GEO-compatible – and where you can make targeted improvements. It’s worth it. Because today’s AI is tomorrow’s recommender.