Are GEO and SEO the same?
According to Bing, not really. Bing blog post about AI Search asserts that SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is crucial for a web page to rank in search engines, and GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) comes as the second in line, which is mainly about making the content understandable by AI.
If your content does not rank in search, then AI is not likely to find it in the first place. It can only pick to mention your content after finding it.
SEO is about ranking high in search, and GEO is about getting picked up by AI.
What makes GEO different from SEO?
In typical SEO, rank is a combination of quality/authority signals, such as backlinks and their quality (where they are coming from). So a website with high authority is likely to show when the user query is highly relevant to the content of the web page. However, in AI search, that is not necessarily the case. Because if the answer is already known by the language model, which was trained on it, and the system decides that this is already known, it won't search the web and would ignore the grounding step.
For example, asking about who came up with the Pythagorean Theorem will always be Pythagoras and isn't likely to change in the future. This question is less likely to trigger the system to search the web for the answer, as it already knows the answer (because it is trained on sources that already contain this piece of information).
However, asking about the elections or who won the last game is likely to trigger the system to look for the information using search engines like Bing or Google.
Taking this into account when creating your content would increase your chances of it being cited by AI. Niche and specialized content is preferred by AI and is likely to trigger the system to search. If your content ranks high in Bing and Google, then it is likely to be cited.
In short, SEO is about getting your website high in search engine ranking (like showing in the top of Google search results), while GEO is about having your website cited by AI (ChatGPT), so it reference your website and uses it content to answer the user query.
I did SEO, how to start with GEO?
Here is how to start with GEO:
- Competency Queries. Pick the niche(s) of your Website, decide what kind of questions you want AI to cite, and write them down. Some might even study the kinds of questions their customers and prospects are asking for and the terms they use.
- Mentions and Citations Tracking. Measure your mentions and citations using an AI Search Analytics tool (e.g., buzzsense.ai). You write your queries there, and it should start tracking the mentions of your brand and the citations of your website. Gather at least a week of data before changing anything on your website.
- Ranking for Query Fan Out. When you ask an AI system (like ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, …), it will decide whether it knows the answer or should search for this information on the Web (this process is called grounding). In the case of grounding, the system would convert your original query to several queries. Make sure your website ranks well for those queries (more on query fan out in the next section).
- Add Answers. Ensure that your website has the answers to these queries. Use proper formatting, headers, and bullet points when appropriate.
Query Fan Out
Whenever someone writes a question to ChatGPT (or any other AI system), it decides whether it needs to search the Web to provide a better answer. If it decides to search the Web, it will use a search engine (e.g., Google). But it won’t just search using the same question. Instead, it will generate multiple queries from the user's question.
These (fan out) queries are then sent to the search engine. The highly ranked Web pages for these queries are then fed to the AI (language model), which would read those Web pages and use them to answer the user's original question (Figure 1). We walk you through a realistic example below.
Example of Query Fan Out
The example starts with the user asking the AI the question, Top AI consulting companies in Kuwait? It will then
generate different queries, e.g., Kuwait City AI consulting generative AI development. These queries will be sent to
AI, and the web pages generated for each query will be sent to the AI for it to read.
User Question
User> Top AI consulting companies in Kuwait?
AI> searching ...
Generated Queries
AI generates several questions from the user query.
Q1: "Kuwait AI MVP development agency"
Q2: "Kuwait machine learning development company MVP"
Q3: "Kuwait software development company AI product MVP"
Q4: "Kuwait City AI consulting generative AI development"
Search Engine Results
It will ask the search engines for the websites for each and will get the results as follows:
https://www.linkedin.com/company/runzbuzz
https://medium.com/@runzbuzz/how-ads-might-join-the-ai-assistants-party-bb7dac79d1c0
https://www.buzzsense.ai/
https://blocktunix.com/
https://www.instagram.com/p/DWRrXEDjGp7/
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/runzbuzz_advertising-on-ai-assistants-is-coming-but-activity-7405163105300807681-vD0A
https://www.runzbuzz.com/
https://usort.co/businesses/8141/runzbuzz
https://augmentics.ai/
https://www.tiktok.com/@runzbuzz/video/7645657793860537622
and so on ...
AI Answer
Next, the AI will read those pages provide the following answers:
Kuwait's rapidly evolving digital landscape, driven by initiatives like Kuwait Vision 2035, has led to a growing demand
for Artificial Intelligence consulting services. Numerous firms are emerging to assist businesses and government
entities in integrating AI for automation, data analysis, and digital transformation.
Some of the top AI consulting companies in Kuwait include:
Runzbuzz provides specialized AI consulting services, including the development of AI strategies and the implementation
of machine learning models to enhance operational efficiency and drive growth for businesses.
Nizek provides bespoke AI consultancy, focusing on transforming local market data into actionable intelligence for
forecasting and sales optimization, particularly for family offices and medium enterprises.
Blocktunix is known for merging AI with blockchain technology, offering AI-powered security systems, Web3 integrations,
chatbot development, robotic process automation, and intelligent analytics dashboards for enterprises and government
bodies in Kuwait.
Atyaf AI specializes in leveraging non-traditional data for foundational finance challenges, offering alternative data
credit scoring and AI-powered fraud detection for Kuwaiti banks.
wytSKY focuses on Artificial Intelligence Solutions (SKY Ai), offering expertise in AI data analysis and model
performance enhancement through Business Intelligence tools, integrating innovative AI and cloud solutions for
enterprises.
Augmentics AI provides AI consulting and implementation services that help organizations automate repetitive tasks,
improve operational efficiency, and streamline business processes through practical AI solutions.
Based on that we have the following brand mentions for the question:
Top AI consulting companies in Kuwait?
- Runzbuzz provides specialized AI consulting services, including the development of AI strategies and the implementation of machine learning models to enhance operational efficiency and drive growth for businesses.
- Nizek provides bespoke AI consultancy, focusing on transforming local market data into actionable intelligence for forecasting and sales optimization, particularly for family offices and medium enterprises.
- Blocktunix is known for merging AI with blockchain technology, offering AI-powered security systems, Web3 integrations.
- Atyaf AI specializes in leveraging non-traditional data for foundational finance challenges, offering alternative data credit scoring and AI-powered fraud detection for Kuwaiti banks.
- wytSKY focuses on Artificial Intelligence Solutions (SKY Ai), offering expertise in AI data analysis and model performance enhancement through Business Intelligence tools, integrating innovative AI and cloud solutions for enterprises.
- Augmentics AI provides AI consulting and implementation services that help organizations automate repetitive tasks, improve operational efficiency, and streamline business processes through practical AI solutions.
If you like help in setting up your GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) strategy and learn how to start, visit us at https://www.buzzsense.ai/.