Sellers keep asking: “Is SEO dead? Should we be doing GEO now?”
Short answer: SEO is not dead. GEO is an extra layer built on top of it. The two have different goals, but most of the groundwork is shared.
Each in one sentence
- SEO (search engine optimisation): getting your pages found and ranked when people search on Google or Bing.
- GEO (generative engine optimisation, or AI search optimisation): getting your brand named — and ideally your site cited — when people ask ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Meta AI and other assistants for a recommendation.
The main differences
| SEO | GEO | |
|---|---|---|
| What the shopper sees | A page of links to click and compare | A ready-made answer, usually naming only a few brands |
| Your goal | Rank high and get clicked | Get mentioned, recommended and cited |
| How it’s measured | Rankings, clicks, organic traffic | AI mention rate, position in the answer, cited sources |
| What matters most | Page content, technical health, backlinks | Clear information, consistent brand identity, third-party reviews and coverage |
| Competition | Ten spots on page one | Often only three to five names in an answer |
The last row is the important one. AI answers have far fewer slots than search results. If you are not named, the shopper may never hear of you.
What they share
Most of the work counts for both:
- Being indexed: if Google and Bing index you, AI finds you more easily. Gemini and Google AI Overviews rely on Google’s index; Copilot relies on Bing.
- Technical health: site speed, mobile experience, structured data, a correct sitemap.
- Good content: pages that answer customer questions with specifics rank better and are more likely to be cited by AI.
- Reputation: genuine reviews and media coverage help both rankings and AI recommendations.
The extra work GEO adds
- Ask AI regularly: in customers’ own words and your market’s language, check whether each assistant names you and how it describes you.
- Allow AI crawlers: make sure robots.txt and your firewall are not blocking GPTBot, ClaudeBot, PerplexityBot and others.
- A consistent brand entity: the same name, description and links across platforms, so AI knows they all describe one brand.
- Get mentioned where AI looks: see which sites AI cites for your category, then work to appear on them.
- Write in a quotable format: conclusion first, specific data, clear comparisons, full FAQs.
How cross-border sellers should prioritise
- Lay the SEO foundations first: indexing, technical issues, core product pages. Without them, GEO struggles.
- Run an AI visibility check at the same time: knowing what AI says about you and which competitors it names shows you the gap.
- Then add the GEO layer based on that check: brand profiles, comparison content, third-party reviews and coverage.
- Measure both monthly: search traffic and AI mention rate side by side.
Common questions
Can I do GEO without SEO? Not recommended. AI assistants lean heavily on content search engines can find and trust. Without SEO foundations, GEO results suffer.
Will GEO replace SEO? Not any time soon. Many shoppers still search Google, and AI itself uses search results. Better to think of it as one more entry point into buying — and you need to hold both.
Which shows results faster? Technical SEO fixes usually show within weeks. Appearing in AI recommendations typically takes two to six months, because third-party reviews and coverage take time to build.
Curious where your brand stands in AI? Get a free AI visibility check →, or read How cross-border brands get recommended by ChatGPT.