Digital Marketing: Between Found, Quoted And Recommended

Online search behaviour has shifted from queries to seeking recommendations. With OpenAI disclosing that approximately 900 million people use ChatGPT every week, and Google putting AI Overviews above many of its results, the objective has moved from “rank and get the click” to “get recommended in the answer”.

AI-enabled search is changing how customers discover choice brands, products, and information.  Being recommended by crawlers has become the new word-of-mouth advertising. In this Answer Economy, “I found you on Google” is less common than “Your product popped up when my ops guy asked ChatGPT.”

A buyer can now encounter a brand through a synthesised referral before visiting a search result or website. The prevalent practice is to use AI to narrow down options. G2’s Answer Economy report found that 51% of B2B buyers now begin their research on AI platforms rather than traditional SEO. Being found remains the foundation, but being recommended is where the buying decision happens.

With ranking and clicks no longer the haymaker, good old search engine optimisation (SEO) is being downplayed as answer engine optimisation (AEO) and generative engine optimisation (GEO) gain ascendancy. But can the last two be separated from the first? We shall find out momentarily.

The SEO, AEO and GEO parallel 

Although both are AI-driven, answer engine and generative engine do not overlap. One gets quoted while the other recommends. A quote affirms that AI trusts your information. A recommendation expresses the crawler’s confidence in your business offerings. SEO helps businesses get discovered; AEO establishes them as a trusted source of information; GEO earns recommendations across AI tools.

Ranking on Google does not automatically translate to visibility in ChatGPT. It’s the same way that being cited in an answer (AEO) differs from having your answer extracted (GEO). However, showing up in AI answers is earned the same way rankings are – by being the clearest source, not the loudest.

SEO optimises for search engines. It’s essentially about being found, as Google ranks your page when someone searches. This hinges on keyword research, domain authority, schema markup and backlink outreach. AEO optimises for direct answers and clarity. AI Overviews and Featured Snippets cite your content as the pointed answer to a question. This requires developing content with question-based headings, adding FAQs and a summary schema.

GEO optimises for AI-generated experience and makes references. Here, the algorithm presents you to the prospective buyer, who asks, “Which brand should I choose?” Appearing in AI-generated answers is more consequential than ranking tops on Google. While AI traffic converts at 15.9%, it’s 1.76% for Google organic. Perplexity or Claude naming-dropping a brand out of the blue can land that business a mouthwatering deal.

Engines intersection: AEO, GEO reinforce rather than replace SEO

SEO is the foundation, while GEO is the superstructure. Focusing on GEO without a solid SEO is like building a house without a foundation. Data structure and authority built through traditional SEO are exactly what AI models rely on to recommend brands. To be recommended by the algorithms, you need to rank first!

GEO isn’t a replacement but an extension. Great SEO sets you up for a good AEO and GEO strategy. As far as online visibility goes, no amount of ‘AI optimisation wizardry’ can compensate for weak traditional SEO fundamentals. AI assistants are primed to cite pages that already rank and already carry trusted links and mentions.

If a page is not ranking in normal search, AI has no real reason to trust it either. There is no AI mention without first satisfying basic SEO requirements. Good SEO practices actually scream “we’re an authority in that category”, which attracts the attention of algorithms.

Whether it’s a search engine or an AI assistant, digital marketing fundamentals of E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) and credible signals determine being found, quoted or recommended.

It takes web-wide consensus to make an AI shortlist 

Beyond your web page, which purveys the facts, third-party mentions give AI systems the impetus to cite or recommend you. If a brand isn’t consistently cited and validated across trusted third-party sources, generative engines won’t be confident enough to suggest it when someone asks.