PR has always been about visibility - GEO is just new rules
There is a new question worth asking at the start of every client conversation: when a prospect types a question into an AI tool, does that client appear in the answer?
This is what Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO) is about. And if you are already doing good PR work, you are closer to it than you think.
We're already living in the age of AI search
Some may have already noticed it. Someone searches for something, reads the summary at the top of the page, and never clicks through to the original article. This is the zero-click phenomenon, and AI has made this the norm rather than the exception
According to Capgemini, 58% of users have already replaced traditional search engines with AI-driven tools when searching for products or services. Meanwhile, AI-referred web sessions jumped 527% in the first half of 2025 alone.
These are not niche tools for early adopters. ChatGPT now reaches over 800 million weekly users. Google's Gemini app has surpassed 750 million monthly users. And they are not all using these platforms to write emails, they are using them to find answers, research suppliers and form opinions about brands.
If your client is not appearing in those answers, they are missing conversations they do not even know are happening.
GEO isn't new - it's doing what you already do, but smarter
GEO does not replace SEO or PR. The fundamentals remain the same, and it amplifies both. You still need quality coverage in credible outlets. You still need well-written bylines and thought leadership content. You still need consistent, clear messaging that positions your client as an authority.
What GEO adds is intentionality. It asks you to think carefully about which publications AI tools tend to cite, how your client is described across different pieces of content, and whether the language used is consistent enough to build credibility with AI systems.
It is worth noting that SEO and GEO are not the same thing. AI Overviews now appear in 70% of B2B tech queries, and only 12% of ChatGPT citations overlap with Google's top ten results. Ranking well on traditional search does not automatically mean you appear in AI-generated answers. The two require separate, though complementary, thinking.
Just as you would track keywords for a media scan or align messaging before a campaign launch, GEO asks you to do the same, but with AI-generated results as the destination.
The numbers that make GEO hard to ignore
Some will look at AI traffic and assume the volumes are still too small to prioritise. The data says otherwise:
Research from Princeton and Georgia Tech found that GEO strategies can boost visibility in generative engine responses by up to 40%.
Semrush's analysis of 12 million website visits found that AI search visitors convert at 4.4 times the rate of traditional organic search visitors.
Adobe found that visits from AI tools have a 23% lower bounce rate, generate more page views and last significantly longer than other traffic.
In short, the audience coming from AI tools is smaller but far more engaged. That should feel familiar to anyone who has argued the case for quality coverage over volume.
What this looks like in practice
Getting started with GEO does not require a complete overhaul of how you work. A useful first step is identifying the searches your client wants to appear in — not just keywords, full questions, and prompts that a potential customer, investor or journalist might type into an AI tool. Some clients will already have a sense of this. Others will not have thought about it, which makes it a valuable conversation to have early.
From there, the focus shifts to three things: the publications being cited by AI tools in your client's sector, the consistency of messaging across all content, and the language used to describe your client and their work.
At YourStory PR, we have already started applying this thinking with a number of our clients. In one case, a client had already identified the searches and listicles they wanted to appear in, giving us a clear foundation straight away. In another, the team integrated GEO principles through keyword alignment, ensuring consistent language across all coverage and content. Both show how GEO sits naturally on top of existing activity rather than replacing it.
Where bylines and thought leadership fit in
If you produce bylines or thought leadership content for clients, GEO adds value that is relatively straightforward to apply. AI tools are more likely to surface content that is clear, well-structured and consistent with how the client is described elsewhere. That means paying attention to how a client is introduced in every article, stating their area of expertise plainly, and using the same terminology across pieces rather than varying it for style.
It is a small discipline with a meaningful payoff. Content that is already good becomes more likely to be cited. And clients who are well-positioned start showing up in the answers their potential customers are already reading.
You don’t need a new framework, just the right questions
If you are a CMO or marketing lead, start with an honest audit: what searches do we want to appear in? Which publications are being cited by AI tools in our sector? How consistent is our messaging across all content? The answers are usually already within reach; they just need framing.
If you are a PR professional working with clients, bring it into your next strategy or onboarding call. Ask which prompts or questions they would want their business to appear in. If they are not sure, their approved content plans and positioning statements are a good starting point.
Either way, the most useful thing you can do right now is start the conversation.
The bigger picture
This is not a one-platform story either. From September to November 2025, Gemini referral traffic grew 388%, while ChatGPT referrals increased 52% year-on-year. AI search is expanding quickly, and across multiple platforms simultaneously.
At YourStory PR, storytelling has always been at the heart of what we do, helping global visionaries, market disruptors and industry trailblazers build the narratives that drive real impact. GEO does not change that. It just raises the stakes on getting the story right, keeping it consistent and placing it in the right spaces.
The teams that move quickly will not need to reinvent anything. They will just need to be more intentional, sharper on messaging, more deliberate about placement, and more consistent in how their clients are described.
PR has always been about making sure the right people hear the right things. GEO is just a new room where those conversations are now happening.
Written by Claude Cheta, Account Executive, YourStory PR Public Relations