In this article
GEO is the new name in search, and it is easy to come away thinking it is a separate thing to buy. The 2026 data tells a simpler story. We set it out in full in our year-end search report. This is the short version, and what we would do with it.
What each one means
SEO is the work of being found in search results: the right pages, written for the questions people ask, that other sites link to and Google can read. GEO is the work of being quoted in the answers AI now writes above those results, in Google’s AI Overviews and AI Mode and in assistants such as ChatGPT.
The reason the second one matters now is scale. In August 2026, 61% of US Google searches showed an AI Overview, up from 6% two years before. On the UK searches we track for clients it was 85%. When one appears, its own links take an estimated 42 to 45% of the clicks.
What stays the same
Google says plainly that optimising for its AI features is still SEO, and the data agrees. Sites ranking first have 31% more linking websites than those in positions four to ten. Sites quoted in AI Overviews for the hardest searches have more than five times the links of those quoted for the easiest. Sites with more links tend to be quoted more, in Google and ChatGPT alike.
So the foundations do not change. A page that answers a real question well, that other people point to, that Google can crawl and understand, is still the thing that wins. If your SEO is weak, GEO will not rescue it.
The three new jobs
Where GEO earns its own name is in three things classic SEO never had to think about much.
Who you are up against. In a list of ten results your rivals are other businesses. In an AI answer they are whoever gets quoted, and in both the US and the UK that is YouTube more than anyone. In our UK check, public bodies such as GOV.UK and the NHS were quoted in more than a third of the AI Overviews that named a source. Across six businesses, the business itself was quoted in just 7% of the answers on the searches it most wanted to win.
Where you need to be mentioned. An answer draws on the whole web, not just your site. Films, public bodies, reference sites and forums are among the sources quoted most. So films that answer real questions, coverage in your trade press, a place on the lists and directories your buyers trust and reviews are all worth having where your buyers look. That is work for PR, video and partnerships as much as for the website.
How you measure it. A ranking report cannot see an AI answer. Search Console’s Generative AI performance report now shows which of your pages appear in AI Overviews and AI Mode, and the questions themselves can be put to the assistants your buyers use. Rankings, AI appearances and enquiries belong on one page, read together.
How to split the work
For most businesses we would not set up GEO as a separate line. We would ask the existing SEO work to take on the three jobs above, and move some effort from producing more pages towards making fewer, better ones and getting them mentioned elsewhere.
The balance depends on your sector. Searches with a local map showed far fewer AI Overviews in our check, 47% against 97% without one. A kitchen showroom or a local firm still lives mostly in classic and map results. A health service, a charity or a financial business is already in a world where nearly every search has an AI answer at the top, and should plan for that first.
Is GEO replacing SEO?
No. Google says its AI features rest on the same ranking systems as search, and the sites AI answers quote tend to be the sites other sites link to. GEO adds to SEO; it does not replace it.
Do we need a GEO agency as well as an SEO agency?
Usually not. You need one team that treats AI answers as part of search, measures them and works on being mentioned beyond your own site. We would rather one team owned both, so the work pulls in one direction.
What is the quickest thing we can do?
Open Search Console’s Generative AI performance report and see which of your pages already appear in AI Overviews. Then put your five most important buyer questions to Google and an AI assistant, and note who gets quoted. That list is your real competition.
