By Sharyn Smith, Founder and CEO, Social Soup
Six out of ten searches globally now end without a click. Let that sink in for a second.
For years, marketers have obsessed over driving traffic through SEO – and rightly so – where climbing to the top of Google’s results meant visibility, leads and, ultimately, sales.
Not anymore.
People are searching in new ways, and answers are increasingly being served directly on the page or generated by AI. The result? Many brands aren’t even making it into the consumer’s consideration set.
From SEO to GEO
The shift from SEO to GEO – generative engine optimisation – is about influencing the “model brain” of large language models.
These AI systems are trained on reviews, forums, social posts, creator content and online commentary to build an understanding of brands. Your visibility no longer comes from carefully managed metadata, but from the volume and sentiment of what people are saying about you online.
Where influence meets AI
This is where influence and social search collide. Around 40% of Gen Z now use TikTok or Instagram instead of Google to find products.
Every review, every piece of user-generated content, every creator post – it all feeds the machine. Influence now plays a major role in shaping the model brain, which is why brands need to start auditing their AI visibility.
Ask ChatGPT or Google’s AI overview for the best skincare, wine or baby formula. Does your brand show up? And if it doesn’t, what does that mean for a consumer who makes their decision right there in the answer box?
Search is becoming conversion
The urgency to understand GEO has intensified since OpenAI’s recent update allowing users to shop directly through ChatGPT. Search, in this new world, isn’t just discovery – it’s a point of conversion.
Imagine asking “What’s the best wine under $30?” and being served three instant purchase options. Brands not in that conversation have already lost before a buyer even looks elsewhere.
Always-on influence
The old approach to influencer marketing – short, seasonal campaigns that start and stop – doesn’t work in an AI-driven environment. Instead, brands need to think long-term.
Continuous relationships with creators keep authentic mentions flowing, which helps AI “learn” who you are.
The more genuine, consistent conversations happening across different voices and platforms, the better AI understands what your brand stands for – and why people should care.
Breaking down silos
There’s also a structural shift needed inside companies. PR, social, SEO and e-commerce teams can no longer work in silos. AI doesn’t distinguish between a media release, an Instagram post or a YouTube video – it reads it all as data.
If those sources tell different stories, AI can’t form a coherent picture of your brand.
Consistency builds trust
Consistency is everything.
When AI repeatedly encounters the same core messages across different platforms and formats, it begins to trust those associations.
Mixed messaging – saying one thing on social and another in your media releases – just creates confusion. Brands must tell one coherent story everywhere they appear, but still sound human, not robotic.
Influence wears in
Influence doesn’t happen overnight; it “wears in.”
The more people encounter trusted recommendations, the more that exposure builds loyalty and advocacy. GEO works on the same principle.
The more high-quality, authentic content you feed into the ecosystem, the more likely AI is to reflect it back to consumers.
The marketer’s new role
In this new age of influence, your job as a marketer is to shape the data that shapes AI. Social search and influencer marketing have always been about trust, authenticity and relatability.
Now, they’re also about visibility in a zero-click world.