AI tools are becoming the first place buyers research. Here’s a plain guide to what Generative Engine Optimisation means — and whether it’s worth your attention right now.
For years, being found online meant one thing: ranking on Google. That’s still true – but a growing number of your potential clients now start somewhere else entirely. They ask ChatGPT, Perplexity or Google’s own AI overview a question, and act on the answer without ever clicking a traditional search result.
Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO) is the practice of making sure those AI tools can find, understand and confidently recommend your business. It doesn’t replace SEO. It sits alongside it.
Why it matters now
When an AI answers “who are the best WordPress support agencies in the UK?”, it pulls from a handful of sources it trusts. If your site is easy to crawl, clearly structured and backed by genuine expertise, you’re far more likely to be one of them.
If a customer asks an AI about your industry, you want to be the answer – not absent from it.
The practical starting points
You don’t need to rebuild anything. A sensible first pass usually covers:
- Making sure AI crawlers aren’t accidentally blocked.
- Adding clear, structured summaries of who you are and what you do.
- Backing claims with real detail — locations, services, credentials.
So – should you care yet? If your customers are the kind of people already asking AI for recommendations, then yes, quietly getting the foundations right now will pay off. If they’re not, it’s still worth putting in the ground work now so you’re ready for when they do.