Excavator Sellers Face New SEO Challenge: “Generative Engine Optimization”
Paris, France – A familiar cycle of search engine upheaval is hitting businesses, this time driven by artificial intelligence. Just as companies adapted to traditional Searchโฃ Engine Optimization โค(SEO), a โnew discipline – Generative Engine โฃOptimization (GEO) – โis emerging, promising visibility inโ AI-powered search tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity.โ But early indications suggest GEO is rife with uncertainty,โข prompting warnings that brands should refocus on core content quality rather than chasing algorithmic quick โขfixes.
The shift is significant as traditional SEO tacticsโ are proving ineffective with these new โคAI engines, โคwhich don’t deliver the same results as Google. While conversational search currently represents 8% of French internet users,โค it’s rapidly growing, reaching 42%โข daily โคusage among those underโฃ 25. This demographic shift is forcing marketing agencies to reposition themselves, offering “referencing” services for AI platforms by โคemphasizing brand notoriety, frequently asked questions, and structured data. However,โ experts areโ already raising red flags about the reliability ofโฃ current GEO tools, citing biases stemming from artificial prompts, limitedโ data sets, a lack of measurable personalization, and inconsistent results.
The core issue, according to industry โobservers, is a return to fundamental principles. Brands are being advised to prioritize their editorial product, cultivate strong communities, and focus on โdelivering genuine value toโข users – a strategy โthat transcends the ever-changing landscape ofโ platform algorithms. This echoes warnings issued to publishers and brands to safeguard their content and recommendations against purely technical, platform-serving strategies.
