There is a Reddit post going around right now that perfectly captures a moment happening in marketing teams everywhere.
A CEO screenshots a ChatGPT answer recommending their competitor. Sends it to the marketing lead at 11pm. By Tuesday, three meetings are scheduled about “why we don’t show up in AI answers.” The marketing team ranks fine on Google. Paid is working. Content is solid. But none of that matters anymore because the CEO read an article about AI search and wants a GEO strategy by Friday.
Sound familiar?
What Is GEO, Actually?
GEO stands for Generative Engine Optimization. It is the practice of making your brand visible in AI-generated answers from tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews, and Claude.
When someone asks an AI “what is the best A/B testing tool for ecommerce,” the AI pulls from web content it has seen, synthesizes an answer, and recommends specific products. If your brand is not in that answer, you are invisible to a growing chunk of your audience.
The agencies pitching you GEO right now all say different things. One says it is about formatting content for LLMs. Another says link building. A third says Reddit mentions. They are all partially right and mostly trying to sell you something.
There is no one fits all solution at this point.
Here is what actually matters: the same things that make your website rank well on Google also help you show up in AI answers. Clear, specific, well-structured content. Real expertise. Pages that answer real questions with real answers.
GEO Is Not a Replacement for CRO
Here is the part nobody talks about in the GEO hype.
Getting mentioned in a ChatGPT answer is nice. But the visitor still clicks through to your website. And if your landing page does not convert, that AI mention was worth nothing.
Think about it. Someone asks ChatGPT for an A/B testing tool. ChatGPT mentions your brand. The person clicks through. They land on your page. And then what?
If your headline is vague, your CTA is buried, and your page takes four seconds to load, they bounce. The AI did its job. Your page did not.
This is where CRO and GEO meet. GEO gets you into the answer. CRO makes sure the visit counts.
What You Can Do
Stop panicking about AI search and start with what you can control today.
Make sure your website converts the traffic you already get. Run the CROLabs AI Advisor on your top pages. It tells you exactly what is holding back your conversion rate and what to test first. That is a Friday deliverable your CEO can actually use.
Then worry about showing up in AI answers. Write clear, specific content. Build pages that answer real questions. Be the obvious recommendation because your product and your content are genuinely good.
GEO is not magic. It is the natural result of having a strong website, clear positioning, and content that says something worth repeating.
Your CEO wants a GEO strategy? Start by making sure the pages people land on actually work.
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