On May 21, 2025, with the rapid advancement of generative artificial intelligence technology, AI-powered search engines have emerged and profoundly changed the way information is retrieved and how users make decisions. Users are increasingly accustomed to obtaining information through AI search, challenging traditional Search Engine Optimization (SEO). In response, a new optimization model called Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) is rapidly rising. GEO leverages AI technology to significantly shorten the user’s path to information, enabling content to reach audiences faster, more accurately, and with greater credibility.
GEO focuses on making content recognizable by AI to be directly used in generating answers. Unlike SEO, which relies on keywords and links, GEO emphasizes data authority and structured content expression. While SEO requires users to click links and navigate to web pages, GEO enables AI to deliver results directly, achieving a “zero-click” experience. Although both SEO and GEO aim to increase traffic and improve user experience, GEO adapts to the information extraction and comprehension mechanisms of large language models (LLMs), differing significantly from traditional SEO optimization logic.
By generating precise answers through AI, GEO simplifies the traditional process of “exposure—click—redirect,” enhancing brand trust and improving user decision-making efficiency. The user base for AI search is growing rapidly. From about 310 million AI search users worldwide at the beginning of 2024, the number surged to 1.98 billion by February 2025, with an annual growth rate of 538.7%. Currently, roughly one-quarter of the global population has used AI search.
The GEO market is still in its early stage, with participants mainly divided into three categories. The first includes existing search engine platforms and service providers who leverage their traffic and algorithm advantages to pioneer GEO optimization solutions. The second category comprises cloud computing and AI infrastructure providers such as Tencent Cloud, Alibaba Cloud, and Volcano Engine, entering GEO applications through their computing power and data capabilities. The third group consists of traditional SEO service providers, who bring their expertise in keyword strategy and website structure optimization to transition into the GEO field, becoming an important market supplement.
As AI search logic continues to evolve, GEO providers need to develop three core competencies: understanding AI search recommendation mechanisms and adapting content accordingly, deep collaboration with large model platforms and AI search engines, and prioritizing positioning within authoritative data sources. GEO optimization involves semantic structuring of web pages, intelligent segmentation of content granularity, and embedded multimodal information expression. It also requires establishing interfaces and API cooperation with model providers to ensure clients’ content consistently occupies important positions in AI-generated answers. Additionally, by prioritizing access to authoritative data and enabling multiple retrieval rounds, GEO raises the trustworthiness and ranking weight of content within large models, helping clients build stable “cognitive anchors” to capture traffic and decision-making entry points.
GEO is driving digital marketing into a new era centered on content semantics and brand trust, becoming a critical tool for enterprises to capture user mindshare and achieve growth in the AI age.
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