This autumn’s big marketing trend is a three-letter acronym: GEO, or generative engine optimisation. In other words, optimising for AI search.
If you've followed the marketing conversation over the past year, you'll know the idea. People don't google anymore, they ask ChatGPT. If your business doesn't show up in AI answers, it doesn't exist. So you need a new strategy, new tools and, most likely, someone to pay for it.
I've been doing marketing since 2009, and I've seen plenty of "this changes everything" moments. That's why I wanted to look at the numbers before believing it.
What the trend gets right
Something really is changing. According to a Pew Research study published in July 2025, people clicked on a link in Google 8% of the time when an AI summary appeared at the top of the results. Without a summary, that figure was 15%. Only 1% clicked the source links inside the summary itself (Pew Research, via Whole Whale).
In other words, Google is answering more and more questions itself, so people don't need to visit your website. That's a real change, and it affects everyone who has a website.
But look at these numbers
According to Cloudflare’s traffic data, Google sent around 89% of all search traffic to websites between July and September 2026. Over the same period, ChatGPT sent 0.64% (TechnologyChecker / Cloudflare Radar).
I read that twice. Less than one percent.
Another analysis of nearly 76,000 websites came to the same conclusion: Google sent around 190 times more traffic to websites than ChatGPT did, even though ChatGPT is used by huge numbers of people every day (ALM Corp, based on Ahrefs data).
So people are using AI a lot. But it isn't bringing customers to anyone's website yet. At least not in any meaningful way.
Who benefits from the trend?
One number says a lot. According to one market research report, the market for GEO services was worth around $390 million in 2025, and it’s expected to grow to over $4 billion by 2032 (MarketsandMarkets).
When a billion-dollar market grows up around a trend, it's worth asking whose problem it's really solving. Sometimes the customer's. Sometimes the seller's, too.
I'm not saying GEO is a scam. I'm saying fear sells. And "you don't exist to AI" is a pretty effective way to scare a small business owner who already has too much on their plate.
What does GEO actually tell you to do?
When I read through GEO guides, I noticed something funny. The advice is roughly this:
- Say clearly what you do and who it's for.
- Answer the questions your customers actually ask.
- Write from your own expertise and don't copy others.
- Keep your contact details, prices and services up to date.
That's just good marketing. It was good marketing back in 2009, too. AI didn't invent it. It just rewards it.
What I'd tell a small business owner
Don't buy a GEO package until you've got the basics right. First, check:
- Can a customer find out within five seconds on your website what you do, where you do it and what it costs?
- Is your Google Business Profile up to date?
- Does your website answer the questions customers ask you on the phone?
If the answer is yes, you've already done most of what GEO promises. If not, no new acronym is going to save you.
Keep an eye on the trend, but don't chase it. AI search is definitely growing. But today, your customers are still most likely to find you on Google. Or in the back seat. I'd be more worried about website security, since bot attacks have become more common as AI has developed.