In short, you don’t.
Whether it’s classic search engines or generative search, optimization is about following best practices to help searchers. Because traditional search engines and generative search both aim to give the most helpful information to searchers, the guidelines are essentially the same.
“But there must be some differences in generative search,” you may wonder, “otherwise why would Jeremiah devote a blog post that I’ve now invested two minutes into?”
You’re right. The main differences between the two are:
| Differences | Traditional Search Engines | Generative Search |
| Information Retrieval vs. Generation | Pulls existing web pages and ranks them based on relevance (Google, Bing, etc.) | Uses AI (like Google’s Search Generative Experience or ChatGPT) to synthesize and generate answers from multiple sources, providing a summarized response instead of just listing links |
| User Experience | Requires that users click on search results and sift through pages to find the most relevant answer | Delivers direct, conversational, and often more contextual answers, reducing the need to browse multiple sources |
| Personalization | Uses search history and ranking algorithms to tailor results | Can provide highly personalized responses by contextually adapting to the user’s input over time |
| Limitations | Limited by the quality and availability of indexed content | May hallucinate (generate inaccurate information) and lacks real-time indexing, meaning the latest information may not always be included |
Because of these variances, generative search often delivers vastly different results. If you search for “pink bunny costume” in Google Search, you’ll likely get shopping results and a list of ecommerce pages that carry a pink bunny costume product. But Search GPT’s enhanced personalization and informational features mean that, if you’ve recently been looking for quotes and actors names from the movie “A Christmas Story,” you’re likely to get more information about the pink bunny costume that Ralphie’s aunt gave him for Christmas.
This is where you can think more about how your site is optimized for GEO.
GEO Tips
At face value, the fundamentals of general search optimization should be the same. To help AI understand your site, you should use keywords, descriptive language, internal linking, headers, images and graphics — all of the same things you’d use to guide Google bots to your content. And, as always, your content should be of the highest quality and helpful to the reader. If you’re already there, you’ve got a leg up in GEO.
What else can you do?
Know Who’s Using Generative Search
SEMRush’s recent study of who’s using generative search (and how) reveals some interesting trends. For example, Search GPT users are far more likely to use informational searches than on Google Search (81.4% vs 38.8% respectively). If your site is lacking informational content to help guide searchers to answers about relevant topics, it might be time to invest in it.
Double Down on Authority and Expertise
You know you should be following the E-E-A-T guidelines for your content, but GEO should make you ask, “Does this content really embody Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness?” Are you talking to experts or underlining that you’re the expert, are you sharing experiences in the topic, and so on?
Optimize for AI Summarization
Generative search doesn’t just rank pages—it synthesizes information into bite-sized summaries. This means AI prefers content that is direct, well-structured, and easy to quote.
- Use TL;DR (Too Long; Don’t Read) – Include TL;DR summaries that encapsulate the idea of the content.
- Structure Your Content – Stick to the helpful formatting (you should already be using) like H2s, H3s and short bullets.
- Avoid Fluff and Over-Explanation – Get to the point quickly. AI won’t pull from pages filled with wordy intros or unnecessary padding. We’re looking at you, recipe bloggers.
- Use Standalone Answers – Make sure each section can be quoted without needing extra context; think of it like writing Wikipedia-style content.
- Include Data and Statistics – AI loves facts and figures. If possible, use charts, tables, or bolded numbers that AI can extract easily.
Encourage Engagement and Social Proof
While traditional SEO relies on backlinks, generative AI search factors in engagement, credibility, and brand mentions.
- Leverage UGC and Reviews – Generative search prioritizes trustworthy sources, and user-generated content (reviews, testimonials) adds authenticity that AI-generated content lacks. This loops back to my first point about E-E-A-T.
- Get Featured in Trusted Publications – Like the Google algo, generative search tends to prioritize high-authority sources like major publications, so guest posting and PR efforts can improve visibility. I mean, it would have to, right? True, organic backlinks definitely won’t hurt.
To recap (or TL;DR):
Should you drastically change your SEO strategy to optimize for generative search? Heck no!
Are there things you can do that will help you improve your chances of ranking in GEO and at the same time improve your SEO? Absolutely. Just keep following that North Star of “writing for the reader,” prioritize E-E-A-T, make your content easy to read and skim, and reinforce it with social proof, and you’ll have a strong GEO foundation.
If you need help building that GEO foundation or even taking your SEO to the next level, we’d be excited to build a strategy for your brand. EightOhTwo lives and breathes SEO (and GEO). We combine the best of human-powered creativity with the backing of AI efficiency. Contact us today to see how we can boost your search performance no matter what the search landscape looks like today or tomorrow.
