AI search has changed the rules. Instead of clicking links, users get direct AI-generated answers — and those answers increasingly cite and quote specific sources. The emerging practice of Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO) focuses on ensuring you are the source that those AI engines pick.
What should you do about it?
In this article I've only shared insights and tactics that are backed by peer-reviewed research and high-authority sources. Because, frankly, there's a lot of conjecture out there right now.
What follows isn’t speculation. It’s what current peer-reviewed research and industry data tells us is happening, along with a summary of the tactics needed to adapt.
What the best evidence says to do
1. Writing for justification, not keywords can boost visibility by up to 40%
Studies show that AI answer engines prefer content that supports claims with clearly attributed sources and short, quotable statements. Keyword density does little here, and can actually make inclusion worse.
Best tactics:
- Add quotations and statistics
- Cite sources
- Avoid keyword stuffing (excessively filling a web page with keywords to manipulate search engine rankings), as it underperforms in GEO.
Source:
Aggarwal et al., “GEO: Generative Engine Optimization” (https://arxiv.org/pdf/2311.097352. Make your page easy for engines to parse and cite
Semantic HTML, clear heading structure, structured data, and fresh metadata strongly correlate with improved AI citation. Which is actually good for those of us already trying to follow structural best practices - it looks like we can keep most of what we already do, with a few tweaks.
Tactics:
- Expose visible and JSON-LD dates (datePublished/dateModified) and changelogs
- Enforce clean semantic HTML (one
<h1>, logical headings, lists); add valid structured data (Article/TechArticle/FAQPage, breadcrumbs, canonicals, social cards) matching on-page content - Lead with answer-first summaries and tight microcontent
- Cite primary sources inline with a references section and run link-health checks
- Keep sitemaps/Tags current
- Document limits & disclosures; expose and clarify reasoning at a glance (why this answer/source).
- Complement with earned-media placements on authoritative domains.
Sources:
Kumar & Palkhouski, AI Answer Engine Citation Behavior (GEO-16) (https://arxiv.org/pdf/2509.10762)Breuer, “Large Language Models for Information Retrieval” (https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13222-025-00503-x)
3. Win the “earned-media” layer
AI engines show significant authority bias: they are more likely to cite third-party coverage (i.e. editorial reviews, news mentions, government/NGO domains) rather than brand-owned content.
Key tactics:
-
Tight scope per page; strong internal linking with descriptive anchors; avoid duplicates via canonicals.
-
Add editorial review for stats/regulatory claims; disclosures where needed.
- Complement on-page work with earned-media placements on authoritative domains.
- Add authority/trust signals and ethics/disclosures for claims
Source:
Kumar & Palkhouski, AI Answer Engine Citation Behavior (GEO-16) (https://arxiv.org/pdf/2509.10762)4. Use “evidence objects” that are easy for AI to "lift" and include in results
Generative search prefers content that is:
- Structured,
- Citable
- Authoritative
Key tactic - include the best-performing formats identified by retrieval tests. These are:
-
Data tables with sources
-
Short, referenced definitions
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FAQs with direct answers
-
Summary boxes explaining “what we know”
Source:
Breuer, “Large Language Models for Information Retrieval” (https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13222-025-00503-x)5. Keep content visibly fresh
AI search engines favour more recents sources with explicit update timestamps and revised facts. That last bit is important - visible freshness.
Tactics:
- Implement workflows for regular updates and editorial/subject matter reviews.
- Show visible dates; eg JSON-LD datePublished/dateModified.
Source:
Kumar & Palkhouski, AI Answer Engine Citation Behavior (GEO-16) (https://arxiv.org/pdf/2509.10762)7. Mitigate for traffic loss
Research from analytics firm Authoritas shows that sites that previously ranked first can lose up to 79% of clicks when their result appears beneath an AI-generated summary. A Pew Research Center study similarly found users only clicked a link once in every 100 searches with an AI overview.
Tactics:
- Optimise for citation/visibility inside AI summaries (structured data, recency signals, authoritative off-site coverage)
- Diversify traffic sources beyond Google (direct, newsletters, apps, social, partnerships)
- Negotiate content licensing + attribution
- Track AI-related CTR drops separately.
Source:
The Guardian, reporting (https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/jul/24/ai-summaries-causing-devastating-drop-in-online-news-audiences-study-finds)A quick GEO Checklist
| Priority | What to do | Why it works |
|---|---|---|
| High | Add cited facts, quotes, and references near key claims | Models need grounding sources |
| High | Use structured data (Article/FAQ/HowTo schema) | Improves machine readability |
| High | Earn third-party, non-brand citations | Authority bias in LLM retrieval |
| Medium | Show update history & current stats | Recency is a ranking boost |
| Medium | Create tables, definitions, FAQs | Easy for engines to lift |
| Ongoing | GEO testing across engines + paraphrases | Retrieval behavior varies by phrasing |
Bottom Line
SEO isn’t dead — but the highest-value clicks now come from being the source AI answers choose to trust.
To win in this environment:
- Prioritise verifiable, structured, authoritative content
- Earn independent coverage
- Refresh and make recency visible
- Measure performance in AI surfaces, not just Google SERPs
- Plan now for traffic reductions
