TL;DR: GEO empowers PR in the AI era, helping brands improve their discoverability through media coverage, educational content, and performance measurement.
Professionals are suffering from artificial intelligence fatigue. The litany of AI applications evangelized as world changing has become endless and exhausting.
However, generative engine optimization (GEO) isn’t like the other AI buzzwords paraded across your LinkedIn feeds and boardrooms. It is refreshingly rooted in human audiences and media: things many feared AI would jeopardize.
What is GEO?
GEO is the practice of influencing the answers LLMs (large language models) and AI search engines provide users. For brands, success means influencing those answers through positive media coverage, PR content and key channels.
Every communicator and marketer should care about this practice because millions are discovering brands through LLMs:
- 52% of U.S. adults use AI for search and information (Elon University)
- 800 million people use ChatGPT every week (TechCrunch)
- 61% of AI search users reference it for purchase decisions; 57% for product recommendations (McKinsey & Company)
- 61% of Gen Z and 53% of Millennials use AI search instead of traditional search engines like Google (Search Engine Land)
Numerous LLM platforms are impacted by GEO, including ChatGPT, Google Gemini, Perplexity, Claude and more. But it is not writing for AI, it is writing for the people who use AI to learn about and discover new information.
Why is Media Important to GEO?
Many are focused on optimizing content for LLMs. While the structure and language of assets are very important, they only represent one part of the GEO equation. Earned media plays a critical role as well.
Media coverage is one of the most effective ways to reach AI users because LLMs value the accuracy and trustworthiness of reporting.
A MuckRack analysis of over 1 million LLM answers found that:
- 25% of all AI citations came from journalism (the single-most influential source measured)
- Over 50% of citations were published in the last 12 months, meaning routine coverage maintains performance
- LLMs favored certain media outlets and reporters over others, reinforcing the value of strategically targeting and building relationships with media
- Press release citations by AI answers increased five-times over the prior period
LLMs trust media because they both share the common goal of providing helpful, high-quality and meaningful information. By continually sourcing coverage, LLMs are maintaining their authority and credibility with users to keep them coming back.
For PR professionals, that dynamic means securing media coverage remains an incredibly effective way to reach target audiences and inform brand perceptions.
Why is Measuring GEO Performance Important?
Trying to run an optimized program without measurement is like throwing darts blindfolded – you can’t improve your aim without knowing where you’re landing. Brands must assess their LLM performance to:
- See when and how they’re surfacing in answers to relevant audience questions
- Understand what PR outputs are driving their answer visibility (or failing to)
- Refine their strategy through testing, optimize their materials and hit their GEO targets
How Do You Measure GEO Performance?
GEO performance should be measured in numerous ways to form a layered and robust program foundation. A few of the most informative GEO measurements are:
- Brand Inclusion & Share of Voice: How often brands appear in AI answers
- PR Influence: How often answers reference earned media and various PR assets
- Message Penetration: The prominence of a brand’s message in AI answers
- Answer Sourcing: Where the information in AI answers comes from (e.g., traditional media, social, website, government, etc.)
When measuring GEO performance, it’s critical to cast a wide net across the vast amount of prompts your audiences may be asking, rather than working with a small sample size. This approach allows a comprehensive understanding of the many ways your brand and message appear in the wild, resulting in a more informed GEO strategy.
For some brands, successful measurement requires analyzing hundreds of different prompts and the thousands of varying responses they produce over time.
What Can rbb Do for You?
While this blog post offers strong guidance for brands, the GEO landscape is constantly evolving and every program has unique pathways to success.
rbb Communications has a wealth of experts and proprietary tools that offer brands the tailored strategies, optimizations and reporting needed to reach key audiences.
If you’re interested in how a GEO program can achieve your goals and amplify your existing campaigns, email rbb at [email protected].