What is GEO, in plain English?
Search is changing. Here’s what it means for your clients — no jargon.
For twenty years, being visible online meant one thing: ranking at the top of Google. That was SEO. Today, a growing share of searches go through an assistant: people ask ChatGPT, Gemini, Mistral Vibe, Claude or Perplexity a question, and read the answer the AI writes.
In that answer, the AI names a few businesses and cites a few sources. If your client is one of them, they get qualified leads. If not, they’re invisible — however well they rank on Google.
GEO (generative engine optimization, also called AEO) means getting AI assistants to recommend and cite your client when someone asks a question in their field.
A concrete example
A client does office fit-outs in Manchester. A prospect asks ChatGPT: “which company should I use to fit out my office in Manchester?”. ChatGPT answers and names three companies. Your job, with MarquePhare, is to make your client one of the three — and to prove it with numbers.
Why now?
- A large share of searches now end without a click: the AI answers directly.
- Classic analytics tools (Google Analytics, Search Console) can’t see these recommendations. Without a dedicated tool, you’re flying blind.
- Few agencies offer this service yet. That’s a head start you can sell.
MarquePhare audits the site, measures what AI answers, finds what’s missing and writes the content. You steer the strategy and present the results to your clients.