Why SEO isn’t enough: GEO is how brands get seen today

FOR decades, search engine optimisation (SEO) has been at the forefront of digital marketing and the key to online visibility. Accordingly, businesses invested heavily in keywords, backlinks and content strategies to climb Google’s rankings.

This model worked well in a version of the Internet defined by static queries and linear results. But new technology in the form of artificial intelligence (AI) has arrived and users have quickly evolved, with their searches becoming more specific and personalised.

For businesses across Singapore and the rest of Asia, mobile-first consumers are increasingly expecting instant, relevant responses to their queries. When consumers ask AI search engines such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Google’s AI Overviews or Perplexity, they are no longer interested in sifting through pages of links, hoping to find one with the answer they are looking for.

Everyday browsers are now typing “What’s the best way to travel from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur?” or “Which credit card offers the best dining perks in Asia?” and in return are receiving summarised, conversational responses.

Similarly, each time a brand is surfaced in an AI summary, it registers as a brand impression, which in turn influences consumer action. It is this shift that has given rise to generative engine optimisation (GEO), a new discipline focused on securing brand visibility inside AI-generated answers.

This involves a two-pronged strategy: first, building content and authority to be organically cited as a trusted source; and second, using new AI-driven ad formats to be placed as a sponsored result. If SEO was about ranking on a page, GEO is about ensuring a brand shows up across relevant topics.

Significant opportunity

At its core, SEO has always been about driving traffic. With GEO, success is measured by a hybrid of placement and authority. It means brands can secure visibility through both paid placements and by being repeatedly cited in AI-generated answers. It means authority can be strengthened and brand recall boosted, even when users don’t click through to the brand’s site right away.

While we used to focus on writing for humans, we now find ourselves both writing for humans and packaging up content for AI too.

Leading NP Digital, I am seeing this shift in full swing. According to the 2025 Organic Search Engine Trends Report we commissioned, one in three marketers believe that AI tools will account for 25 to 50 per cent of all search activity within the next year.

In Malaysia, for example, telco Maxis partnered our team to pilot Google’s AI Max for Search rollout – an early-stage and AI-driven paid search engine marketing campaign. The pilot expanded Maxis’ reach into long-tail and multilingual queries that were previously untapped, contributing to a 207 per cent uplift in conversion volume.

Compared to past keyword-driven campaigns, AI Max delivered a 6.5 per cent higher click-through rate and a 5.4 per cent higher conversion rate, sparking greater efficiency with fewer clicks needed to acquire each new customer.

GEO also presents a significant opportunity to level the playing field. While AI-driven paid campaigns are one part of the strategy, GEO also creates a new battleground that prioritises context and content quality.

This organic pillar of GEO allows smaller brands that focus on relevance and authority to compete more effectively with larger players for a seat at the table. Success will favour those that consistently show up in the conversations that matter most to their audiences.

And this is why marketers need to recognise that GEO goes hand in hand with personalisation. Consumers today expect brands to automatically register their needs, such as tailoring product recommendations in real time, raising the need for customer data at their fingertips.

A unified and strong data foundation is crucial to make this possible. As consumer discovery fragments, brands must be able to engage users and interpret signals from everywhere – across search queries and social platforms. Only with integrated data can marketers form a complete view of the customer journey, understand true intent, and deliver consistent experiences across touchpoints, through paid or organic efforts.

Need for stronger data foundations

This need for stronger data foundations is magnified by the fact that more and more marketers are seeing that ​​search goes well beyond Google. Today’s consumers are turning to platforms such as TikTok, Reddit, Amazon and ChatGPT to seek recommendations, product reviews and inspiration before they decide to buy. This makes it crucial to adapt to today’s fragmented landscape, where consumers look for information across platforms, languages and formats.

Like technologies that came before it, GEO presents both benefits and risks. Optimising for AI can deliver faster results and higher conversion rates as well as uncover new audiences. But it can also misrepresent or omit brands, damaging reputation.

Overall, the message is not to abandon SEO or paid media, but to treat GEO as a new and critical cog in the marketing mix. Ultimately, GEO requires rethinking how content is created, how data is used and how visibility is measured. For those willing to adapt now, it offers the chance to leap ahead and lead in the AI-driven marketing space.

The writer is the co-founder of global performance marketing agency NP Digital