In the ever-evolving world of marketing, digital trends are changing overnight, and businesses wanting to stay ahead of the competition need to adapt their marketing strategies accordingly. Just as businesses adapted to the fast-changing tactics in the early days of the internet, marketers today need to understand how to optimize their content for generative AI.
For modern marketing leaders, Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) is the name of the game. As we called out in Crux-Cast 2025, brands need to optimize for citation credibility, statistical relevance and AI-friendly structuring to stay visible in this evolving digital landscape.
To rank high in generative AI tool outputs, our fractional CMOs are leveraging the power of strategic PR through targeted media outreach, industry awards, and more.
An essential digital marketing strategy since the early days of the internet, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the practice of improving a website’s visibility in search engine results to attract organic traffic. SEO has evolved from keyword stuffing and backlink quantity to a focus on high-quality content, user experience and search intent.
Today our fractional CMOs and digital marketing experts optimize content using principles like technical SEO, mobile-friendliness, fast load times, relevant keywords, and authoritative, helpful content aligned with user needs.
GEO is the practice of tailoring content to be effectively sourced, summarized or cited by generative AI tools like ChatGPT or Google’s AI Overviews. GEO hinges on trustworthy and easily interpreted content coming from a business’s owned and earned channels.
A crucial difference between SEO and GEO is that GEO relies on the quality and usability of the information, not just the volume of keywords. Additionally, GEO rewards businesses with proven authority and expertise. Generative AI looks for content included in ranking lists, authoritative media and positive user-generated reviews.
| SEO | GEO |
| SEO focuses on site health and keyword inclusion. | GEO focuses on structured owned content and being an authoritative source. |
| SEO results in higher organic placement in search engines like Google and Bing. | GEO results in prominence in AI-generated responses, including those present in search engines like Google AI Overviews. |
Rankings in reputable “best of” lists (e.g., “Best Restaurants in NYC” or “Best Home Builders in Dallas”) are strong trust signals, especially when published by known media outlets or aggregators like TripAdvisor, U.S. News or Niche.
Reviews on authoritative platforms like Yelp, Google MyBusiness, Facebook, and Glassdoor provide social proof and crowd-sourced validation, often influencing how AI summarizes or recommends options.
Inclusion in online news media—especially from reputable regional and national outlets—reinforces content credibility and helps AI associate businesses with current or notable relevance, giving priority to organizations with verified public impact. Meaningful media mentions include feature stories, breaking news and being named as an expert source for a story related to your industry.
Generative AI algorithms read high rankings on search engines as indicators of content relevance and optimization quality, making a highly visible website more for generative AI tools to favor its content when generating responses. If your brand consistently appears at the top of search results for certain queries, AI systems may also “learn” that your brand is associated with those topics.
Concise, quickly scannable information—such as bulleted lists, structured data, summaries or FAQs—is easier for generative models to parse and quote accurately, making it more likely to appear in answers.
To meet the priorities of generative AI algorithms, marketers can optimize their content and PR strategy to turn up the dial in 5 key areas:
National publications like U.S. News, and Fast Company, trade publications like Architectural Digest and Inc., and local media like your city’s Business Journal or culture magazines want to showcase successful businesses in their area or industry.
For B2B leaders, apply for project-based awards like “sustainable project of the year” or high-volume individual contributor awards like “highest volume leasing agents” in your region. Explore your industry’s trade publications and identify opportunities—organic and paid—to put your business’s name on the record.
Optimize your review sites by updating all business information, photos and contact links. Incentivize your customers to leave their feedback, and monitor and interact with online commentary. By earning more positive reviews across major review sites like Google MyBusiness, Yelp, and Facebook, you are giving generative AI tools even more reasons to include your business in its output.
By creating a consistent media relations strategy that puts your business in front of the right reporters regularly gives you a more likely chance of earning reputable media coverage, which boosts your brand’s authority and trustworthiness.
Create and stick to a media outreach strategy that includes an array of latest news, case studies of success stories with clients and expert sourcing from your company’s top executives.
Tip: For larger company announcements, consider using paid newswire services to have your business mentioned in different media around the country and the world. This builds your business’s authority while supporting SEO goals of raising website domain authority and backlinking.
Put more of a focus on the organization of your business’s owned content. By including quick, easy to scan content like bulleted lists, FAQs and concise sentences and product descriptions, generative AI tools are more likely to recommend your content.
Just because businesses need to invest in GEO marketing doesn’t mean we can forget about SEO marketing. After all, SEO marketing outcomes are still crucial factors in generative AI algorithms. Continue to strive for high search rankings by optimizing your website for relevant keyword inclusion, mobile-friendliness, fast load times and authoritative, helpful content aligned with user needs.
For more information on SEO strategies, check out our Beginner’s Guide to Making Your Website Stand Out.
Algorithms will continue to adapt to give users the best experience as generative AI tools compete for market share. While we can look to tools like Chat GPT and Google Gemini today to structure GEO strategy, marketers will need to monitor algorithm changes going forward to best position their businesses to be more prominently featured in generative AI outputs.
The role of generative AI is growing, and the businesses that get ahead of the game with GEO will see the most return on their investment. According to a February 2025 report by HigherVisibility, 71.5% of people now use AI tools like ChatGPT for searching, with 14% using them daily. While most people today may use AI as a complement to (not replacement for) traditional search, that number continues to rise.
As internet users adopt generative AI tools into their daily practice, we will see the growing influence of AI-generated answers on consumer behavior, search and discovery. We can expect the marketing industry to adapt by:
Just like the early days of SEO marketing, the time to start prioritizing generative AI in your marketing is now. That’s where Crux comes in.
Our fractional CMOs and strategy-driven specialists work directly with you to outline and execute GEO marketing and PR strategies that align with your business’s needs.
If you’re ready to take the next step to optimize your marketing for generative AI, let’s talk.
