Generative Engine Optimization: Put Your Brand in AI Answers Now

By Michelle Lyng, Founder & CEO, Novitas Communications

Seemingly overnight, the search game changed and AI answers now sit above the links your team worked hard to earn.

On Google, 12.8% of searches now trigger AI Overviews, and early data shows 6.5% of organic traffic already comes from AI platforms, according to SEMRush. Gartner claims that by 2028, traditional search volume may fall 25 to 50 percent, so organizations should not delay incorporating AI into their marketing plans.

Chief among these is Generative Engine Optimization (GEO), the craft of shaping content so AI tools cite your info in their answers. You may hear it called “answer engine optimization” or “AI search optimization”, but the goal is the same.

Put simply: GEO is the biggest opportunity for PR professionals and their organizations since the advent of Google.

Here’s the a-ha moment that should change how you plan PR this quarter. Most AI output leans on trusted sources and clean facts, which gives the earned media that you likely already have planned a rare edge. Fun fact: 61% of AI-generated content about major brands comes from earned media, so your coverage is now fuel for AI-powered search and as much as 80% comes from sources organizations already control, according to Yext Reaserch.

Tips to winning GEO:

• Start with PR basics and focus like a laser on structure and clarity.
  • Aim your stories at tier-one outlets, strong trade press, and .edu or .gov sites.
  • Keep language and facts consistent across every mention – this is just reason number 183 is why message discipline is so important.
  • Write tight headlines, add a TLDR at the top, use clear headers, and include data, quotes, and sources an AI can match and cite.
  • Align your earned, owned, and thought leadership so every hit reinforces the same key terms and facts.
  • Push semantic consistency, which means your brand, products, and claims match across press, blogs, bios, and data sheets.

• Make your content easy to quote, because bots love clean lines.
  •  Use short, declarative sentences that answer the question fast, then add one succinct takeaway that reads like a pull quote.
  • Optimize your content, tighten your talking points, and build a GEO plan that points your experts toward outlets AI engines already trust.

• Test and audit your AI results.
  • Novitas can run AI visibility audits across ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews, so you see where and how you appear today.
  • Track the signals that matter today.
  • Monitor brand visibility in AI answers, check citation quality and compare your share of voice against opponents

This isn’t just SEO with a new name. It’s a new layer. Remember that SEO is the foundation and GEO is the new layer that gets you cited in answers, so you need both to own links and summaries.

But what about clicks?

AI answers can reduce clicks on some queries, but citations drive awareness, trust, and direct navigation that still pay off. Your goal is to be the source that AI names, the expert voice it quotes, and the brand people remember when they type your URL.

Where do we start?

If you take one step this week, start monitoring your AI visibility, because what you don’t see can still shape your reputation. Then harden your press materials for AI: clean pages, clear schema, snack-sized facts, and a memorable line any engine can lift. Generative Engine Optimization is not a fad, it is the new path to discovery, and Novitas is ready to help you win it now.