No, SEO isn’t dead, but it is evolving. Traditional tactics alone won’t cut it anymore. The rise of AI-powered search and answer engines like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google SGE is reshaping how content is found, ranked, and surfaced. That shift is giving rise to GEO: Generative Engine Optimisation.
For years, SEO focused on keyword targeting, backlinks, and technical signals to rank in Google’s 10 blue links. While those fundamentals still matter, they’re no longer enough in a world where users are getting direct answers from LLMs – often without clicking a single link.
Instead of hunting for the top SERP position, marketers now need to ensure their content is visible to AI models and useful enough to be quoted or summarised in answers. That’s where GEO comes in.
Here’s what that shift looks like:
- From keywords to questions: LLMs thrive on natural language. Optimising for how people ask, not just what they search, is key.
- From long-form to clarity-first: Concise, direct answers are more likely to be pulled into AI-generated responses.
- From backlinks to context: Semantic relevance and topical authority help LLMs identify trustworthy content.
- From page ranking to AI visibility: Your content might not rank #1 in Google, but still get quoted by ChatGPT or shown in SGE.
Structured data (like FAQ schema, how-to markup, and entity tagging) helps machines understand your content better. But formatting alone won’t win, your copy needs to communicate clearly to both humans and AI.
Tip for marketers: Revisit your content strategy with GEO in mind. Focus on answering real user questions in plain language. Break big ideas into bite-sized explanations. The future of search isn’t just about where you rank, it’s about how you’re included in the answer.