LLMO. AIO. AI SEO. GEO.
The buzzword soup around ‘AI search’ is growing by the day, and lots of it is noise. So many acronyms… all describing the same thing?
At FirstMotion, our definition of a Generative Engine Optimisation agency is currently:
A GEO agency (Generative Engine Optimisation agency) helps brands become
- Visible in generative search tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and Claude
- Credible across trusted third party sources that LLMs rely on
- Influential at key moments in the AI-native buyer journey
Why is it called GEO?
We like the term Generative Engine Optimisation because we feel it puts a strong lens on visibility + context being at the centre of the strategy, whilst feeling like a natural next iteration of SEO.
As the new category of GEO and AI search optimisation evolves, we expect to see multiple terms still being used to talk about a brands AI search visibility and performance.
Is it it really different from ‘normal SEO’?
In much of our research so far, there are some areas of correlation between ‘traditional SEO’ performance and GEO performance, but also many areas where there is much less overlap. We’ve seen some brands with what may be considered strong SEO performance metrics perform much worse in AI search results than we might expect, and been able to identify how some underdogs are punching above their weight in AI search.
Another important consideration is just how many different AI search engines there actually are, When we talk about SEO, we really only mean Google usually. But when we talk about GEO, the list of tools is extensive and they’re all releasing new features at enormous pace.
Lastly, with SEO the process of ‘keyword research’ is fairly straightforward. There are no shortage of tools that will tell you how many monthly searches a certain keyword query will get. But with GEO, this same data doesn’t exist. Prompts are much more contextual than keywords, much longer and much more personalised. Which is why at FirstMotion, our ContextualJourney™ technology platform sits at the heart of our process, using millions of B2B buyer data points, intent data and data enrichment along with AI to power some very deep audience intelligence. It’s our firm belief that in a keyword-less world, you can’t nail an AI search strategy without this.
Marketers are having to go through a big shift in mindset from ‘rankings’ to ‘probabilities’.
So yes, some of the ‘tactics’ a GEO agency might use will often overlap with those we have used in SEO for a long time. But there are plenty of differences needing a change in approach, mindset and lots of smart technology.
Rethinking the agency model
Part of building a B2B GEO agency proposition at FirstMotion is also about rethinking what brands really need and want from their agency relationships.
We’re building FirstMotion as a new breed of consultancy rather than agency – faster, smarter, more technology, fewer layers of inefficiency, deeper B2B specialism – and therefore better value – than any search agency that has come before us.
A proper GEO partner should help you:
- Understand your audience’s real AI search behaviour
- Map prompts across your buyer journey
- Optimise your presence on third party platforms LLMs trust
- Create citability ready content, both on-site and off
- Run regular visibility audits across tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Claude
- Shift your attribution thinking – because not all influence leaves a trail
Check out our FAQs page for your questions answered on GEO and AI search.