The pitch you're about to receive
At some point soon, you may get an email or a call.
It will probably mention a GEO strategy, an AEO audit, or your visibility in "AI search". There'll be talk of ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Perplexity, answer engines and the risk of being left behind. They may even say they couldn't find you in a tool you've never heard of.
The acronyms will be new. The urgency will feel familiar.
A new line item has appeared on the marketing menu, and once again, business owners are being told they need to act quickly before the internet changes without them.
Nothing here needs a decision this week, whatever they say.
What the letters stand for
GEO usually means Generative Engine Optimisation — making your business more visible in AI-generated answers.
AEO usually means Answer Engine Optimisation — shaping your content so it answers direct questions clearly.
LLMO usually means Large Language Model Optimisation — another way of saying your site should be understandable and useful to systems like ChatGPT.
AIO means AI Optimisation, or sometimes Google's AI Overviews — it depends who's selling.
If those definitions sound interchangeable, that's because they mostly are. Ask five agencies and you'll get five overlapping answers.
Different labels. Same job. Being found, understood and trusted when someone looks for what you do.
What's genuinely changed
There is a real change.
Search is no longer just someone typing a few words into Google and choosing from a list of links. Increasingly, people are getting summaries, comparisons and recommendations from tools that try to answer the question for them
That means being ranked is no longer the whole story. Being mentioned and cited matters too.
It also changes the kind of content that works. A clear answer beats a clever keyword. A well-explained service page beats a thin one built around a phrase.
So yes, there's been a shift. But it's not a revolution.
For businesses already doing the fundamentals well, very little needs to change.
What hasn't changed
This is where the pitch starts to look a lot less new.
AI summaries, answer engines and chat assistants still need something to work from. They need clear information, credible sources and businesses that can be understood without guesswork.
That isn't a new discipline. It's the same work good search marketing has always depended on: useful content, clear structure, visible expertise, a technically sound website and a business that is mentioned in places that make sense.
The label on the invoice may have changed. The job hasn't.
And even if an AI tool mentions your business, that is only the start. Visibility is not the prize. Enquiries, bookings, and sales are the prize.
If someone sees your name in an AI answer, then visits your website and finds vague copy, weak proof, confusing pages or no clear reason to choose you, the citation has done very little.< Being found matters. Being chosen matters more.
What to actually do
Start with the questions customers already ask.
You hear them on the phone, in emails, in meetings and before they buy. What does it cost? How does it work? Who is it for? What happens next? Why you and not someone else? What should I watch out for?
Answer those questions clearly on your website. Be honest about who it isn't for, too — the right customers trust you more for it.
Make your expertise visible and specific. Don't just say you are experienced, trusted or a specialist. Show what you know. Explain your process. Use examples. Add case studies where they help. Make it obvious why someone should believe you.
Then check the basics. Can search engines and AI tools read your pages? Are your services clearly named? Is your location clear where it matters? Do your site, your reviews, your profiles and your listings all say the same thing about your business?
None of this is magic. Some of it is technical, but it shouldn't be mysterious.
You aren't trying to trick an AI system into recommending you. You are making your business easier to understand, easier to trust and easier to choose.
Most of this is yours to do, and you'll do it better than anyone. The basics are the exception. Whether AI can read your pages, whether your site, your reviews and your listings tell the same story — that's hard to judge from the inside.
So before you change anything, it's worth knowing where you actually stand. Sometimes the answer is that you're fine and there's nothing worth doing. If there is something, I'll tell you what it is and whether it's worth the bother — no strategy to buy, no retainer.
How to handle the pitch
If someone offers you a GEO strategy, AEO audit or any other newly named AI visibility service, ask one question:
What would you do differently from good SEO and content improvements?
If they can give you a clear, practical answer, listen. There may be useful insight there.
If the answer is vague, dressed up in acronyms, or mostly about fear, you have your answer.
The sensible response to AI search is neither panic nor a new monthly contract.
It's better content, clearer proof, and a website that helps people choose you once they find you.
Not sure whether your visibility plan needs changing? Ask me.