Why PR Matters in the Age of GEO

For years, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) was the playbook for digital visibility. But SEO as we have known it for the last 20+ years, is dead. Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) is redefining how people discover brands, products, and leaders online. That shift makes public relations more important than ever.

What is GEO? 

GEO is the process of optimizing your company’s content to increase its visibility in AI-driven search engines such as ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Copilot, and Google’s AI Overviews. 

The arrival of AI search engines marks a significant shift in the evolution of online search. We see this change most clearly with Google’s AI search feature, which provides a full summary answer to search queries instead of the traditional list of blue outbound links. 

What’s unique about Google’s new AI mode and other generative search engines is that the technology stitches together data from the entire internet. These engines draw from articles, interviews, podcasts, images, owned content, Reddit threads, and more. Unlike keyword-driven SEO that rewards keyword rankings, backlinks, and technical site tweaks, GEO rewards reputation, trust, and mentions across the web. In fact, MuckRack’s recent report on how generative AI prioritizes which sources to cite in its results showed that earned media sources hold a huge influence over owned sources. The more your company is spoken about by high-quality, reputable sources on the web, the more likely you will appear in generative engine search results.

Why PR is essential for GEO

Because generative engines are designed to surface credible sources, trusted names, and consistent narratives, it’s important that your company has a strategy for making sure your company’s name is mentioned in these places. The more your company is mentioned by trusted websites, the more content for the AI model to pull from when completing an AI summary for your company. 

PR strategies create the signals that generative engines depend on:

• Earned media builds digital authority. A well-placed feature or news story in a reputable outlet with a high domain authority score sends a clear signal that your brand is credible.
  
  
• Thought leadership fuels generative content. By publishing bylines, op-eds, and expert commentary, your executives provide the raw material that engines use to generate answers.
  
  
• Reputation drives discoverability. Consistent media coverage and trusted brand narratives increase your chances of being surfaced in generative responses.

Website content, social media, video, and external validation in the form of media coverage are all important spokes of the marketing wheel for AI-driven search.

Practical steps for brands to increase their CEO with PR

How can companies think about using public relations to increase their GEO results? Here are a few tips to lay the foundation of credibility for your brand:

• Secure regular media coverage. Work with PR and media relations experts to share your story in industry and mainstream outlets.
• Invest in executive visibility. By writing bylines and offering expert quotes, your leadership team becomes the authority engines cite.
• Align PR and marketing goals. Ensure campaigns work together to generate backlinks, citations, and a steady drumbeat of credible content.

GEO makes credibility the new currency of visibility, and PR is how you earn and amplify that credibility. If you’re ready to future-proof your visibility, now is the time to make PR a central part of your GEO strategy.

Don’t know where to start with a PR strategy? We can help!