Our digital world is evolving rapidly, and AI is rising prominently on the horizon. It's no surprise that AI is gradually making its way into our everyday search experiences. When we talk about AI search, we're referring to the advanced features search engines are increasingly adopting to deliver more detailed, personalized, and user-friendly results. These features can take the form of standalone platforms like ChatGPT, Copilot, Gemini, and Claude or direct integrations within traditional search engines, such as Google's Search Generative Experience (SGE).
AI Search is revolutionizing how users find and process information. It allows you to access the right information faster, with fewer clicks, and enables follow-up questions for deeper information gathering. Overall, the experience is becoming more conversational and interactive.
With AI Search on the rise, you might be wondering whether traditional SEO is enough to remain competitive in search rankings. The truth is, that SEO is evolving, and there are specific aspects you should now prioritize to stay ahead in the age of AI search.
What Is GEO?
The term GEO stands for Generative Engine Optimization and refers to the process of optimizing your content and overall strategy for AI-driven platforms like Google's Search Generative Experience (SGE), ChatGPT, Gemini, Microsoft Copilot, and others. As these tools continue to gain prominence in search experiences, offering conversational and interactive answers to users' queries, it's crucial for your business to rank among their top suggestions.
GEO represents the evolution of traditional SEO, expanding its focus beyond optimizing for search engines alone and optimizing also for AI tools and integrations. This shift is especially significant for local SEO, as AI-driven platforms are transforming how users discover and interact with local businesses. Whether searching for a nearby doctor, a local restaurant, or an emergency plumber, users are slowly expecting personalized, conversational results from AI tools. Thus, changing your strategy to align with these platforms will result in your business remaining visible and competitive when AI search gradually rolls out more and more into our daily search behavior.
What Is the Difference Between Local GEO and Local SEO?
| ASPECT | SEO (SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION) | GEO (GENERATIVE ENGINE OPTIMIZATION) |
|---|---|---|
| Focus of Optimization | Optimizing for local search results mainly on traditional search engines like Google and Bing. | Optimizing for AI-driven platforms, such as ChatGPT, and hybrid search engines like Google SGE, where AI summaries complement traditional results. |
| User Interaction | Users search for local businesses or services on search engines and navigate to websites or maps. | Users ask AI tools specific, more conversational queries about local businesses and get direct answers or AI summaries. |
| Content Strategy | Focuses on creating locally relevant content, using location-based keywords, and managing online reviews. | Emphasizes structured data (e.g., location schemas), conversational content, and provides information relevant for AI summaries and hybrid search results. |
| Search Results | Appears as local packs (Google Maps), organic listings, and featured snippets. | Local answers are highlighted in AI-generated overviews (e.g., Google SGE) or directly within AI tools, blending AI summaries with traditional listings. |
| Google Business Profile (GBP) | Critical for improving visibility in local packs and maps by optimizing business details and reviews. | GBP remains essential as AI tools (and hybrid platforms like Google SGE) pull information directly from it to create accurate local summaries. |
| Success Measures | Success is tracked through local search rankings, organic traffic, GBP views, and customer reviews. | Success is measured by inclusion in AI-generated local summaries, prominence in hybrid search results, and user engagement with conversational responses. |
| Type of Queries | Optimizes for explicit local keywords (e.g., "best dentist in New York"). | Adapts to conversational, AI-driven queries (e.g., "Who's the best dentist near me for kids?"). |
| User Journey | Users navigate through multiple steps—search results, GBP, and website—to find local businesses. | Users get immediate, conversational answers and summaries, potentially reducing the need to visit websites and often requiring fewer steps to find relevant information. |
| Reviews | Encourages collecting and managing online reviews to influence local search rankings and credibility. | AI tools rely heavily on reviews and ratings to curate the best recommendations for users. |
| Traffic vs. Visibility | Aims to drive foot traffic, calls, and website visits through traditional rankings and local packs. | Aims to ensure businesses are prominently featured in AI-driven summaries, such as Google SGE, even if users don't click through to a website. |
How to Appear on AI Search Overviews?
No matter which AI search platform you're targeting, they all share a common process: gathering information, processing it, and tailoring suggestions to match user queries. These platforms rely on specific structures and ranking factors to evaluate your business's online presence. First, you need to understand where the information is sourced from, and then you need to optimize on this end!
ChatGPT gathers its information primarily from Bing search engine results, trusted public sources such as Wikipedia and government websites, and licensed datasets. It avoids relying on private or unindexed websites to ensure transparency and reliability.
Microsoft Copilot, on the other hand, draws its data from the Microsoft 365 ecosystem, including tools like Word, Excel, and Teams, alongside Bing search engine results and professional directories like for instance as LinkedIn. This allows it to cater to productivity-focused and business-oriented use cases.
Google SGE is powered by Gemini, Google's response to ChatGPT. The local AI Overview provided by Gemini relies heavily on information from Google Business Profiles (GBP), with a strong emphasis on reviews and social proof. To ensure Gemini understands your business and what it offers, it's crucial that the information on your GBP is accurate and up to date. In addition to GBP data, Google SGE pulls information from indexed websites, customer reviews, and structured data like schema markup.
General Optimization Rules for AI Search
| OPTIMIZATION RULE | DETAILS |
|---|---|
| Optimize Your Business Listings | Ensure GBP and Bing Places are fully updated with consistent NAP details, accurate business descriptions, categories, and high-quality images. |
| Leverage Structured Data | Use schema markup (e.g., Local Business, FAQ schema) to provide AI platforms with structured data about your business, location, services, and events. |
| Focus on Localized Content | Create hyperlocal content with location-based keywords, answering common queries (e.g., "best dentist in [city]") and writing about specific neighborhoods. |
| Prioritize Reviews and Ratings | Encourage positive customer reviews on Google, Bing, and Yelp. Respond promptly to reviews and showcase testimonials to build credibility and trust. |
| Align Content with AI Expectations | Write conversational, easy-to-understand content with clear headings, bullet points, and direct answers to local queries. |
| Optimize for Voice and Conversational Search | Adapt content to reflect natural language (e.g., "Where's a good coffee shop near me?") and focus on long-tail keywords to optimize for voice searches. |
| Keep Content Fresh and Relevant | Regularly update your content with seasonal changes, new trends, and local events. Write blogs or guides to highlight your role in the community. Use Google Posts for fresh, daily updates. |
| Tailor for Hybrid Platforms Like Google SGE | Optimize for E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authority, Trustworthiness) and structure your content for AI-generated summaries. |
| Maintain Visibility Across AI-Driven Platforms | Ensure your business info is accessible to AI platforms by listing in trusted directories and using local keywords. Maintain NAP at all times to avoid contradicting information on the web. |
What Is Google SGE?
One of the most significant advancements in AI search is Google SGE. This AI-powered feature appears at the top of regular search results, offering a summarized overview tailored to the user's specific query. As Google remains the leading platform for (local) searches, SGE holds immense importance. You may also know it as AI Overview.
Currently, SGE is limited to certain locations, search queries and is only accessible in the Google Chrome browser for users who opt in. For example, a search like "best time to visit Bali" might generate an AI Overview that suggests the ideal travel time along with a curated list of Bali hotels. Results in the AI Overview can appear in various formats, such as flowing text or structured lists. Local results, in particular, like when searching for a nearby restaurant, often resemble the Google 3-pack format, providing a concise summary of top recommendations based on proximity, relevance, and reviews.
How Does SGE Change Local SEO?
While SGE poses a critical challenge for the organic search results, the local 3-pack will be less impacted. Google SGE completely dominates the screen and pushes the regular search results even further down. Now, organic searches are not only competing with sponsored results and featured snippets but with an even bigger attention grabber!
Local businesses, however, can take a breath; the local 3-pack will not end up in the bottom-of-the-page graveyard. And we have even more good news, a study by Brightedge revealed that almost half of all SGE results generated in 2024 included place suggestions, mainly for local restaurant and travel searches.
It poses an opportunity for tapping into new searches and securing potential customers through advanced search intent understanding. With a decline in organic search traffic (website traffic) local businesses now have the chance to stand out even more through smart optimizations of the Google Business Profile!
Regardless of where you want to show up, you don't have to optimize "alone". So-called AI Agents will get you to the top of the search results with a precision that humans could not really achieve. We usually work 8 hours per day, 5 days a week. AI Agents work 24/7 and that 365 days of the year.
What Are AI Agents?
AI agents are software programs that can work on their own or with minimal help to get things done. They can take in information from their surroundings, use algorithms and machine learning to make decisions, and perform actions to meet specific goals. These agents are smart enough to learn from their experiences and improve over time.
In easy terms, they are programs that work for you independently. They come in different types, like chatbots that help with customer service, tools for analyzing data, personal assistants, and programs that work with other systems. Using advanced technologies like natural language processing, machine learning, and predictive analytics, AI agents are now widely used to simplify tasks, make better decisions, and bring new ideas to life across various industries.
Meet Your New AI Co-Worker, Obenan Intelligence (Obi)
You're already the CEO, head of sales, and chief-everything-officer. You don't have time to fight with confusing digital tools or wonder if your marketing is working. You just need help you can trust.
That's Obenan Intelligence (Obi). It's more than a platform; it’s your 24/7 AI Co-Worker, acting as your digital guardian to end marketing complexity for good. Obi works through three dedicated agents to ensure you are always "AI Visible."
Obi Ends Listing Errors with the Indexability Agent
If your business isn't listed correctly online, AI search can't find you. The Indexability Agent is your safeguard, ensuring your business is properly indexed and visible. It works around the clock to keep your business data accurate and consistent across selected key directories, including essentials like Google Business Profile and Bing Places. This ends the headache of manual updates and builds trust with Google and AI, making you more visible.
Obi Ends Guesswork with the Discoverability Agent
This agent ensures your business gets matched with the right customer queries. It ends the guesswork by actively pushing fresh, daily content and incorporating traffic-driving keywords that connect your business with high-intent searches. It analyzes what's working so you stop wasting money on marketing that doesn't deliver. The better you rank in traditional search, the more likely AI platforms like Google SGE will feature you in their recommendations. With this agent, your business doesn't just show up; it stands out as the answer.
Obi Ends Review Stress with the Reputation Management Agent
AI search relies heavily on reviews to determine who to recommend. The Reputation Management Agent ends the stress of managing your online reputation. It continuously collects fresh customer reviews, drafts professional responses in your brand's voice to protect your reputation while you sleep, and even works to prevent negative reviews from being published. This boosts your average rating and proves to AI algorithms that your business is reputable, responsive, and worthy of a top recommendation.
Your AI Co-Worker Is Ready. Don't Get Left Behind.
AI Search is on the rise, and you risk being left behind. While your competition is trying to figure it all out, you can get a trusted partner that provides peace of mind. Effortlessly optimize for AI Search with Obenan Intelligence. Let your AI Co-Worker handle the how, why, where, and when, giving you back time, control, and a clear path to more customers. Be the first business that AI recommends when new features like Google SGE are fully rolled out.
Lastly, the Ever-Present Question: Is (Local) SEO Dead?
This question has been going around for years, and the answer remains a resounding no. (Local) SEO is far from dead; it's just evolving. The world of SEO is constantly shifting, and success depends on your ability to adapt and refine your strategies in response to new ranking factors and priorities.
Remember, SEO has always been about change. A few years ago, we used different techniques and achieved results that reflected the landscape at that time. We adjusted, we learned, and we grew; the same will be true as we embrace AI search. This emerging form of SEO will likely become the new normal, and just like before, those who adapt will thrive.
Let your AI Co-Worker, Obi, handle the complexities so you can focus on what you do best: running your business.
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