What Is Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) & Why It’s Not Your Grandma’s SEO

If your search traffic graph has started to look… off, you’re not imagining it.

AI Overviews sitting atop Google search results are changing what “visibility” even means. People are still searching and still getting answers. They’re just not always clicking.

That shift is exactly why generative engine optimization (GEO) exists.

In this post, we’ll define GEO, contrast it with traditional SEO, and explain why it matters for B2B inbound marketing, especially when your pipeline depends on being discovered during long research cycles.

What Is Generative Engine Optimization?

GEO is the practice of optimizing your content so AI-driven search experiences can accurately understand it, confidently use it, and ideally cite it.

Traditional search engine optimization is largely about earning rankings that lead to clicks. GEO is about earning inclusion in the answer itself. That includes visibility in AI Overviews, better odds of being cited as a source, and a stronger presence in answer engine results.

If you want a simple mental model, GEO is AI search optimization with an extra focus on clarity, credibility, and extractable answers.

Traditional SEO vs. GEO: What’s Different?

Both SEO and GEO aim to connect searchers with your content. The difference is where the “win” happens.

With traditional SEO, the win is the click. You earn a high-ranking blue link, the user lands on your site, and your page does the heavy lifting of turning the visitor into a lead.

With GEO, the win is inclusion. The AI summarizes multiple sources and can answer the question before the user ever visits a website. If your brand is not present in that summary, your visibility can drop even if your rankings stay strong.

Traditional SEO still matters. GEO adds a layer that accounts for how AI systems interpret and reuse information.

Why GEO Matters for B2B Inbound Marketing

B2B buyers research in loops. They ask a question, compare vendors, validate claims, and bring findings to a group chat or a meeting. AI Overviews can compress that process by giving a “good enough” synthesis instantly.

That changes the economics of inbound marketing. You can lose early-stage clicks while influence still happens. Your content might be shaping decisions without receiving the website visit that would have shown up in your analytics.

This is where GEO becomes a growth lever, not a trend. If your expertise is the material AI uses to answer the question, you stay in the buyer's conversation. If it’s not, you risk being skipped before their shortlist even forms.

How AI Overviews Are Changing Visibility Metrics

For years, SEO reporting had a simple story: impressions lead to clicks, clicks lead to sessions on your website, and sessions lead to conversions.

AI Overviews introduce a new pattern. Searchers can read a synthesized answer, form an opinion, and move on. Sometimes they will come back later through a branded query, a direct visit, or a sales conversation that looks “unattributed” in your reports.

That creates a frustrating gap inside standard dashboards. You might see impressions rise while clicks fall. Leadership might conclude that SEO is failing when the real issue is that the measurement model is outdated.

In this environment, citations and brand mentions inside AI results become a new kind of visibility. Not as clean as a click, but often more influential than you would expect.

What GEO Looks Like In Practice

GEO isn’t a separate channel you build upon. GEO is a way of shaping the content you're already making so it is easier for AI systems to interpret and reuse, while still being useful to humans.

Start with three principles.

First, write in a way that makes key answers easy to extract. Put the definition near the top. Use straightforward headers atop each section . Answer the question directly before you expand into nuance.

Second, strengthen credibility signals. In B2B, vague claims rarely win. Specifics do. Include concrete details, constraints, and context. When you cite data, name the source. When you describe a process, include the steps that make it real.

Third, build topical completeness. AI Overviews tend to reward pages that cover the main question and the adjacent questions a buyer asks next. That does not mean writing longer for the sake of length. It means anticipating follow-ups and addressing them clearly on the same page.

How to Make GEO Work Without Reinventing Your Whole Content Program

If GEO sounds like “one more thing,” the good news is you usually don’t need a net-new strategy. You need sharper execution on the content you already rely on, with a structure that makes your expertise easier to extract and harder to misinterpret.

Start with the pages that already carry weight in your inbound funnel, like core service pages, comparison posts, and “what is” explainers. Those are the pages most likely to be summarized in AI Overviews, and they map closely to what buyers ask during research.

From there, focus on three upgrades that compound. Put the answer early, then expand. Make credibility obvious with specifics and sources. Cover the next logical question so the page stands on its own.

If you want a partner to pressure test your current content against these GEO priorities, reach out to us at protocol 80, and we’ll be happy to assist.