""Reports of my death are greatly exaggerated," Mark Twain famously wrote to a newspaper that had (rather prematurely) published his obituary. The same could be said of SEO. While some loudly decry its demise, the reality is more nuanced. SEO will remain a crucial tool, but its dominance is ending. A move towards Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) is coming. It will be both a vital transition for established brands and a huge opportunity for newcomers and challengers."
"As WPP's chief AI officer, I see every day how AI is increasingly shaping shopper journeys. Customers are asking ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude and Perplexity for purchase recommendations. Soon, personal AIs or agents will be empowered to make independent purchasing decisions on consumers' behalf. With Gartner predicting that 25% of searches will bypass traditional engines by next year, AI discovery is fast becoming survival-critical for brands."
SEO will remain a crucial tool, but its dominance is ending as AI-powered discovery reshapes search behavior. Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) will optimize content for visibility in AI-generated responses by aligning content with what large language models 'know' rather than relying solely on keyword matching. LLMs infer information from patterns across vast training data and deliver direct answers with links, so brands absent from those sources risk invisibility. Personal AIs and agents will increasingly recommend and make purchases on behalf of users, and GEO-driven traffic tends to be highly qualified with strong purchase intent.
Read at The Drum
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