For years, one of the best feelings in public relations has been seeing a client at the top of a Google search. Search their name, organization or area of expertise, and there it is: a recent article, interview or feature we helped secure. But people aren’t just searching. They’re asking.
Instead of typing a handful of keywords into Google and scrolling through links, people are turning to tools like ChatGPT, Google’s AI experiences and other AI-powered search platforms and asking complete questions: Who are the experts in this field? What’s the best organization doing this work? What should I know about this issue? Who has been talking about this trend?
That shift has created another consideration for communicators: What does AI know about our clients, and where is it getting that information?
Welcome to the world of generative engine optimization, or GEO.
What exactly is GEO?
If SEO, or search engine optimization, is about helping content become discoverable in traditional search results, GEO is focused on helping brands, organizations and experts become discoverable and accurately represented in AI-generated answers.
That doesn’t mean we suddenly abandon everything we know about communications and start writing for robots. In many ways, it’s the opposite. AI systems rely on information that exists across the web. That makes the quality, authority, consistency and reach of a client’s digital presence increasingly important.
For PR professionals, that should sound familiar. We’ve been helping build that presence for years.
AI adds another layer to the lasting value of earned media
When we secure a media placement for a client, the immediate value is easy to understand.
People read it. They watch it. They hear it. The client gains exposure and the credibility that comes from an independent journalist or outlet deciding their story is worth sharing. And that value has never been limited to publication day. Earned media can continue to be discovered, shared and influence audiences long after a story first appears. But AI-powered search is adding another dimension to that longevity.
A credible article becomes another authoritative piece of information about that person or organization on the internet. Interviews establish areas of expertise. Quotes connect spokespeople with particular topics. Consistent coverage can help create a clearer picture of who someone is and what they’re known for.
That means a media placement becomes part of a client’s broader digital footprint.
PR has always been about more than clicks
This is one reason we believe PR professionals are well positioned for the rise of AI-powered discovery.
Good media relations has never really been about getting a link.
We think about questions like:
- Who should be talking about this subject?
- What does this organization want to be known for?
- Which publications carry credibility with certain audiences?
- What expertise can our spokesperson genuinely own?
- How do individual stories build upon one another over time?
Those questions become even more important when people may encounter a client not through the client’s own website, but through an answer synthesized from information found across multiple sources.
We don’t just want our clients to appear online. We want the information surrounding them to be accurate, credible and consistent.
Authority can’t be manufactured overnight
Of course, there’s an obvious temptation whenever a new acronym enters marketing: figure out how to game it. SEO had keyword stuffing. Social media had engagement bait. GEO will undoubtedly have its own shortcuts promising to make a brand the favorite answer of every AI platform.
But communications professionals should be cautious about approaching AI visibility that way.
We can’t manufacture genuine authority with a few strategically placed phrases.
If an organization wants to be recognized as a leader in a particular space, it needs to actually participate in that space. Its experts need to have something worthwhile to say. Its website should contain useful information. Its messaging should be consistent. And independent sources should ideally be talking about its work.
That’s where earned media becomes more interesting.
A company can say it’s innovative.
A nonprofit can say it’s making an impact.
An executive can call themselves an expert.
It’s much more meaningful when credible third parties demonstrate why.
The reporter relationship still matters
For all the technology involved in GEO, there is something almost reassuringly old-fashioned at the center of it: credibility.
Journalists still decide which stories are worth pursuing. They still ask questions, challenge claims, interview experts and determine what ultimately gets published.
And PR practitioners still have to earn their attention.
We still need to understand what a reporter covers. We still need a relevant story. We still need to respond quickly when they’re on deadline. We still need spokespeople who know what they’re talking about.
AI may be changing how information is discovered, but it hasn’t eliminated the human relationships that help create credible information in the first place. If anything, those relationships may become even more valuable.
What should clients be thinking about now?
We don’t think every communications conversation needs to begin with, “How do we get into ChatGPT?”
The better question is broader:
Are we building the kind of authoritative digital presence that makes it clear who we are, what we do and what we know?
For PR teams, that means looking beyond the number of placements.
- Are we securing coverage in credible outlets?
- Are our experts consistently associated with the subjects where they have legitimate authority?
- Are we telling stories that reinforce what the organization wants to be known for?
- Is the information available about the organization accurate and consistent?
- Are we creating useful, original information that journalists—and increasingly AI-powered tools—have reason to reference?
Those are communications questions, not technology questions.
The fundamentals haven’t changed as much as we think
Every few years, something comes along that supposedly changes everything about communications.
Social media changed how organizations communicate directly with audiences. Search changed how people discover information. Now generative AI is changing how people ask for and receive information.
Our tactics have to evolve with those changes, but the fundamentals haven’t changed nearly as much.
Tell worthwhile stories. Establish real expertise. Earn credible coverage. Make accurate information accessible. Build relationships with journalists (this is key!). Give people a reason to trust what you have to say.
The audience may now include an algorithm, but credibility still starts with people.