Published on November 13, 2025.

We are entering a new era of how people search. Now is the time to get ahead of GEO.

Does SEO Still Work?

For two decades, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) was the primary way businesses got discovered online. You picked the right keywords, earned backlinks, and fought for position on Google’s first page. The formula was simple: rank high, get clicks, win business.

But that world is changing — fast. Today, people aren’t just searching; they’re asking. Instead of typing “best plumber near me,” they’re saying to ChatGPT or Gemini, “Who should I call to fix a leaking pipe?” And instead of a list of links, they’re getting one answer.

So, does SEO still work? Yes — but it’s no longer enough. It’s evolving into something new: GEO (Generative Engine Optimization), where the goal isn’t just to rank — it’s to be recommended.

How SEO Got Us Here

SEO has always been about visibility. You optimized your website and listings so that Google could find, understand, and display them to human searchers. For years, this worked beautifully.

But SEO was built for a search engine, not a recommendation engine. It assumed people would scroll, compare, and choose from ten blue links. AI has collapsed that behavior. Users now ask a question and get one synthesized answer — drawn from the most trusted, machine-readable sources on the internet.

That shift changes the rules. Ranking #1 matters less if no one clicks. What matters now is whether AI systems understand and cite you in their answers. That’s the difference between being visible and being chosen.

Why Traditional SEO Alone Isn’t Enough

Traditional SEO focuses on signals like backlinks, page speed, and keyword relevance. These are still valuable — but they only speak to search engines. AI systems look for something deeper: evidence and structure.

AI doesn’t “rank” websites; it reconstructs knowledge. It cross-checks facts, verifies identities, and cites trusted entities. If your business hasn’t built those machine-readable proofs — schema markup, verified reviews, structured citations, and authoritative connections — you risk being invisible in AI results, even if your SEO metrics look strong.

In short: SEO gets you seen. GEO gets you trusted.

How GEO Extends SEO

GEO, or Generative Engine Optimization, builds on everything SEO taught us — then retools it for AI. Instead of optimizing for keywords, GEO optimizes for clarity, credibility, and context.

Where SEO asked, “How do we rank on Google?”, GEO asks, “How do we get recommended by ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity?”

That means shifting your focus from ranking factors to entity signals — the verified proofs that AI systems use to build answers. A strong GEO strategy includes:

• Structured data: Schema and JSON-LD that make your business machine-readable.

• Evidence hubs: Pages that consolidate verifiable reviews, credentials, and awards.

• Frontline attribution: Proof that connects reviews to real employees and locations.

• Citations and trust signals: Consistent listings across Google, BBB, and industry sites.

  
  

GEO doesn’t replace SEO — it completes it for the AI era.

SEO vs. GEO: Different Tools, Different Outcomes

Here’s the key distinction:

• SEO helps humans find your website.

• GEO helps AI understand and recommend your business.

SEO operates in a click-driven world. GEO operates in a decision-driven one. When an AI model responds to “Who’s the most reliable solar company near me?”, it’s not showing 10 links. It’s making a recommendation.

That recommendation is shaped by structured data, reputation velocity, and cross-verified trust signals — not just by how well your meta tags are written. In this new context, SEO becomes one piece of a broader ecosystem powered by evidence.

Why GEO Is the Future

The rise of AI-driven search marks the biggest shift since Google itself launched. Already, AI assistants are being built directly into phones, cars, and smart home devices. In those environments, there’s no screen, no scrolling, no “page one.” There’s just an answer — and only one brand can occupy it.

GEO prepares your business for that world. It ensures your content, credentials, and customer experiences are understood, cited, and trusted by AI.

Think of SEO as optimizing for visibility and GEO as optimizing for selection. The businesses that adapt early will own the recommendation layer — the invisible frontier where decisions now happen.

So… Should You Stop Doing SEO?

Absolutely not. SEO still forms the foundation of online discovery. Your site still needs to load fast, use the right keywords, and have strong backlinks. But those tactics should now support a larger goal: being verifiable and recommendable by AI.

It’s not SEO or GEO — it’s SEO and GEO. SEO makes you discoverable; GEO makes you defensible.

Together, they form a continuum:

1. SEO gets your content indexed.

2. Schema and evidence make it machine-readable.

3. GEO turns that data into trust — the currency of AI recommendations.

FAQs About SEO and GEO

Does SEO still drive traffic?
Yes — but organic traffic is declining as AI Overviews and chat-based search reduce clicks. You’ll still get traffic from traditional search, but the growth opportunity now lies in being cited within AI answers.

Can SEO and GEO be done together?
They should be. Think of GEO as the evolution of SEO — the next layer that connects your existing optimization work to AI systems.

If GEO is the future, why not abandon SEO?
Because AI still pulls much of its context from traditional search signals. The two work hand in hand. You need SEO for structure and GEO for interpretation.

How do I know if GEO is working?
You’ll start to see your brand appear inside AI-generated summaries and conversational results — on ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, and more. It’s measured by Share of AI Recommendations (SOAR), not just clicks.

What if I’m a small business?
GEO levels the playing field. AI doesn’t care about ad budgets — it cares about trustworthy, verifiable data. Clean schema, strong reviews, and consistent citations can help even small operators dominate AI recommendations in their market.

The Bottom Line

SEO still works — but it’s no longer the finish line. It’s the starting point. The internet is moving from a search economy to a recommendation economy, and GEO is how you earn those recommendations.

Search engines ranked pages. AI ranks people, proof, and performance.

To win in that world, your job isn’t just to optimize for visibility — it’s to structure your evidence so that machines can trust it. The future of SEO isn’t dead; it’s just wearing a new badge. It’s called GEO.