From Classic SEO to GEO: winning AI Search today

Search isn’t dead—it’s just evolved. In 2025, we’re no longer talking about a simple list of blue links. Instead, we’ve entered a two-layer system: the classic search index and the AI summary layer that sits on top. Understanding both is now non-negotiable if you want your brand to be visible, trusted, and clicked.

Classic SEO still matters

The backbone of visibility hasn’t changed much. Search engines still crawl, render, and index your pages, then rank them based on:

• Content fit – do you actually answer the query?
  
• E-E-A-T – expertise, experience, authority, trust.
  
• Links & mentions – what others say about you.
  
• Freshness – are facts updated when they change?
  
• User experience – speed, stability, mobile-first.
  

In short: be useful, be trustworthy, be fast, be current. Classic SEO is still the foundation.

Enter AI search

AI search behaves more like a smart librarian. Instead of just listing links, it runs mini-searches, scans multiple sources, and produces a short summary with citations. The twist? AI engines don’t cite evenly. Research shows:

• Claude / ChatGPT lean conservative, favouring earned media and established outlets.
  
• Perplexity is fresher and more social-friendly (YouTube, Reddit).
  
• Gemini is more brand-friendly, mixing owned and earned content.
  

That means your page isn’t enough on its own. AI wants justification-rich passages—clear answers, quotable facts, comparison tables, and even claim→evidence bundles (“Rated #1 for safety — Consumer Reports, 2025”).

Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO)

This is where GEO comes in: optimising not just for rankings, but for citations inside AI answers. It’s a different game. Key shifts:

• Earned-first bias – AI overwhelmingly prefers reviews, media, and third-party validation over brand-owned content.
  
• Continuous optimisation – no more quarterly audits. You need ongoing monitoring of which sources AI cites for your topics.
  
• Engine-specific strategy – what works for Perplexity (video, retail data) won’t cut it in Claude (global earned authority).
  

Localisation – GPT and Perplexity rebuild answers using local-language sources, so translation alone isn’t enough. You need local earned authority.

What to do now

Winning in AI search means going beyond traffic pages:

• Engineer structured, scannable content with schema, tables, FAQs.
  
• Build an earned media pipeline: PR, expert reviews, trade press.
  
• Track AI citations: maintain a log of 50–100 priority queries, checking which engines cite you (and why).
  
• Defend your spot: if a competitor overtakes you in citations, counter with stronger justification assets.
  

Our take

At Studio 34, we see this as the natural evolution of SEO. Classic tactics keep you listed. GEO gets you cited. That means being machine-readable, quotable, and backed by credible third parties.

This isn’t just SEO—it’s performance marketing for the AI search age.

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Want to make ideas perform in 2025’s search landscape? We’ve got a unique opportunity for you: our first networking event is taking place on 14th October at The Red Kite Pavilion, Aston Clinton.

Register your interest today to secure your spot!

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