AI search continues to rise. Semrush predicts website traffic from AI search could exceed traffic from traditional search by 2028. According to Ahrefs, “the average site’s search traffic has dropped by about 21%, while its AI traffic has grown roughly 10 times” in the past year alone.
As AI search gains popularity, companies should prioritize maximizing brand visibility in AI search.
Brand AI visibility is the frequency a business gets mentioned in AI-generated answers. AI-generated answers are responses from AI engines like Grok, ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews, Google AI Mode, and more.
Here’s a basic example of our client – who had a fairly limited online presence – appearing in AI search (Grok).
Ambitious companies should want their brand and web content appearing in AI-generated answers as frequently as possible (so long as it’s positive brand reputation), just like you want your content appearing as early as possible in traditional search engine results pages.
This is where Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) comes into play.
In this guide, we’re going to discuss what Generative Engine Optimization consulting is and how you can go about implementing it for your organization.
What is Generative Engine Optimization Consulting?
Generative Engine Optimization consulting is the process of helping companies optimize web content to increase discoverability and influence in AI search.
Many businesses – especially small and midsize – lack the resources or expertise to achieve significant success in traditional search (SEO) let alone AI search (GEO).
Here is the process our company takes when providing Generative Engine Optimization consulting services:
- Conduct an audit of the company’s current AI visibility
- Develop and execute a content strategy for AI search
- Measure AI visibility progress and adapt
Let’s take a quick look at each of these steps.
Conduct an AI Visibility Audit
The first step a GEO consulting firm should do for your business is conduct an AI visibility audit.
If you’re curious about your brand’s AI visibility, you can actually get a free one by going to Semrush’s free AI visibility checker.
A GEO consulting firm should analyze your mentions and cited pages in AI search (as well as a few other metrics), and then take a deep look at your existing content, website performance, and setup.
Then you should receive a report of some kind that outlines your AI visibility strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and how your competition is doing.
Develop and Execute a Content Strategy for AI Search
The next step an Generative Engine Optimization consulting company should take is to help you develop and execute a content strategy.
Not every company has the expertise or resources to create great content that’s not only well-written and unique but also optimized for AI search and traditional search.
Some methods for maximizing AI search (for now) include creating authoritative and high-quality content that uses natural language, answers questions concisely, and incorporates AI-friendly formats like bullet points, FAQS, tables, and so on.
Using natural language is a big one, because that’s how people use LLMs. They have an ongoing conversation with the chatbot, unlike traditional search where you enter a query and then sift through a list of websites.
Here’s a great piece of advice from Semrush: “Additionally, try to use clear, natural language and simple sentence structures when discussing products, features, or anything related to your brand. This ensures associations and positioning are clearly highlighted.”
You also want to ensure your website is providing strong structured data and schema markup, and that your website is performing extremely well and technically optimized.
To learn more, check out our recent article, Why Businesses Must Optimize for AI-Powered Search.
Measure AI Visibility Progress and Adapt
Investing in GEO consulting only makes sense if you’re able to measure your results and track your progress. The good news is there are great products out there that can help your organization do just that.
Ahrefs Brand Radar can help you “map your brand’s visibility across AI answers, video results, and Reddit threads” to “turn SEO into AEO and reach the audiences already searching in AI.”
Semrush’s AI visibility toolkit “shows you how brands appear in AI-generated answers, helping you measure a new layer of visibility beyond traditional search.”
Not only should you measure your brand’s performance, but you should also pay attention to the AI visibility performance of your competition. This will give you ideas for your own Generative Engine Optimization strategy, and will help you better understand how the AI search environment is playing out in your industry or market.
Conclusion
If you want to increase your brand’s AI visibility and lack the expertise or resources to do so, you should consider leveraging a Generative Engine Optimization consulting firm. Our team provides robust GEO services and has helped companies boost AI visibility, and we can help yours do the same. Contact us today.