By Claire Simpson, Head of Growth
There's a healthy skepticism about Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO), and understandably so. An infinite number of prompt possibilities, training data that's a black box, less direct evaluation metrics than we're used to in an emerging field... But as Stephen Waddington points out, we've been here before - first with search, then with social media.
When the writing's on the wall, the answer isn't to bury our heads in the sand. It's to do the work. To experiment, measure what we can, be honest about what we don't know, and relentlessly test and learn.
In the last six months, we’ve seen businesses across the board waking up to the transformative impact GEO will not only have in the future, but is having on brand discovery today. If you're fighting to make the business case within your organisation, we’ve put together this guide to help.
If GEO is the elephant in the room, it's now impossible to ignore. AI is a general-purpose technology. Exploring GEO isn't a frivolous experiment but a necessary response to market reality. The (ahem) hard numbers tell the story:
When over 540 million people are actively using ChatGPT each month, we're not talking about early adopters anymore. Gen AI is the single biggest shift in user behaviour since the smartphone.
The notion of "zero click" has caused panic in the digital marketing community. But with consumption and discovery happening in the same place, there's an opportunity to win something more valuable than site traffic. We're not in the camp proclaiming “SEO is dead” for a multitude of reasons. But if SEO helps brands win clicks, GEO is what helps them win minds.
The killer stat? A visitor referred via an LLM is worth 4.4x the value of a visitor from traditional organic search. According to SEMRush, "AI search visitors tend to convert better because LLMs can equip users with all the information they need to make a decision." This makes perfect sense. By the time an AI search user reaches your website, they've likely already compared options and made some form of selection. So, they’re much more likely to convert.
What gets measured gets managed... and what gets managed gets budget. One of the biggest challenges to GEO investment currently is a lack of viable evaluation metrics. But in the words of Harry Truman, imperfect action is better than inaction. Start by quantifying current AI-referral traffic to your site and how it has grown historically versus other channels.
You can also gather feedback directly, or through sales, on customer journeys. Case in point: a Hard Numbers client recently closed a deal with a prospect who'd used ChatGPT to research and shortlist potential vendors.
They say the early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese... Well, what if the cheese keeps moving? With the rapid development of what I like to call "AI-enabled everything," being first - even failing first - can deliver a competitive edge. Look no further than OpenAI's dominance if you need convincing.
At Hard Numbers, we've spoken to businesses at every different stage of the GEO spectrum over the last 12 months. Even once-wary brands are now waking up to the GEO opportunity. But many aren't fully grappling with this new area, creating a meaningful first-mover advantage for those who act now.
A direct benefit of GEO is building brand awareness in a channel with serious user trust. The indirect benefit is you’re driving broader awareness by increasing your number of brand citations across the web. You can track these citations through Share of Search and branded search volume. In lieu of standardised metrics, use what you already have; existing measurement frameworks can make useful proxies.
PR missed the boat on SEO and social media. Letting others steal a march on GEO isn't restraint, it's surrender. The field currently has no owner or line item in the budget. This means an opportunity for comms teams to expand their influence, while ensuring the right checks and balances are in place in an emerging field.
GEO doesn't exist in a vacuum. It's a critical evolution of earned and owned content strategy, which means there's no function better placed than comms to ensure an integrated approach. Our research shows large language models (LLMs) source their information from editorial media, owned content, and other high-authority online content. This makes Gen AI an important force multiplier for existing content efforts.
The bottom line: Is GEO messy and uncertain? Absolutely. Do we have all the answers? Definitely not. In fact, you should treat anyone claiming to be “GEO expert” with *extreme* caution. But the boat is leaving the dock, and waiting for clearer waters is how you get left behind.
Want to learn more about the GEO opportunity? Download our latest research with Onclusive or to book a free 'Intro to GEO' training session for your team, email claire@hardnumbers.co.uk
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Sources and further reading:
1 https://backlinko.com/most-popular-ai-apps
2 https://www.digitalsilk.com/digital-trends/number-of-chatgpt-users/
3 https://www.cnbc.com/2025/08/04/openai-chatgpt-700-million-users.html
5 https://www.forrester.com/report/b2b-buyer-adoption-of-generative-ai/RES181769
