Will GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) replace SEO as the #1 source of traffic?

With the emergence of generative AI and its use for search, a new source of traffic to websites is coming to the fore: ChatGPT and its competitors. A fact that puts SEO (Search Engine Optimization), known as the most profitable acquisition lever in digital marketing, back at the heart of lively debate. 

After more than 15 years as the #1 source of traffic, is SEO traffic now threatened by the rise of GEO (Generative Engine Optimization)?

That's the question we're going to try to answer today.

1. Introduction

"Generative AI, AI, AI Gen." The generative AI market is booming, and everyone's talking about it. In 2024, it's simple: AI is everywhere. Rapid expansion and adoption, well illustrated by ChatGPT (OpenAi), one of its leaders.

Launched in November 2022, ChatGPT reached 100 million monthly active users in just two months. By comparison, platforms like TikTok took nine months to reach this figure. And since then, its growth has been unstoppable.

In August 2024, ChatGPT passed the milestone of 200 million weekly active users, recording 100% growth in two years, confirming its massive adoption.

And the numbers aren't likely to stop there, as forecasts and reports all point in the same direction: demand for AI is constantly on the rise. Just two examples:

1. AI emerges as a priority investment for marketing teams in survey of over 500 marketing leaders in 2025(Source Webflow The State of the Website)
2. The Statista website anticipates average annual growth of 24% between 2023 and 2030 for AI, to reach sales of over 200 billion euros by the end of the decade.(Source, Statista) 

Logically, many companies are now looking to invest in AI, and certainly have already pivoted their model to adapt to it (e.g. Zoom Video's rebranding and AI pivot to Zoom Communication, or Relume, which has gone from a web agency to a web design tool with AI).

Butgenerative AI is evolving rapidly, as are its use cases. Initially used primarily for content creation or image generation, it is now capable of performing Internet searches, quoting sources, and redirecting targeted traffic to websites. This source of acquisition is conceptually reminiscent of SEO, and has given rise to a new model: GEO (Generative Engine Optimization).

2. Definitions of key concepts

But before we go any further, let's quickly redefine the important terms of the subject: what are SEO and GEO?

• SEO (Search Engine Optimization): A set of techniques designed to optimize the visibility of a website in the results of traditional search engines, such as Google, in order to position it at the top of the first-page results.

Organic search has been considered the #1 source of traffic to websites for over 15 years, since the early 2000s, when search engines like Google became the main tools for accessing information online.

• GEO (Generative Engine Optimization): an emerging term for optimization strategies adapted to generative AI engines such as Google's ChatGPT, Gemini (ex: Bard) or Bing Chat. Although it is not an official or standardized term, it represents a concept that is rapidly being defined and adopted in the field of digital marketing and SEO.

But unlike SEO, which is already widely documented, there are still few resources on how GEO works. That's why we've explored, tested and tried to answer the question: how does GEO work?

3. How generative AI works and its implications for SEO

How do generative AIs work in research? In five steps, here's how they work. 

3.1 The 5 stages of generative AI in research :

1. Query understanding:AI analyzes what the user is asking, interpreting the keywords, context and intent behind the query (for example, a search for information, a purchase, or a specific question).
2. Data mining: scouring a huge database (Internet or specific sources) to find relevant information that meets the demand.
3. Processing and synthesis: AI combines the data found, eliminates duplicates or irrelevant information, and selects what is most useful and coherent.
4. Answer generation: Finally, it generates a clear, concise answer in natural language (such as a sentence or paragraph), often optimized for ease of understanding.
5. Continuous improvement: AI learns continuously from interactions with users, enabling it to better understand future questions and improve over time.

3.2 The main differences with a search engine like Google

‍Googlepresents all users with a list of identical results for the same query, based on keywords. In contrast, generative AI produces a unique, personalized response for each query (prompt), generating unique content rather than a simple list of links.

Another notable difference is that with SEO, you have direct control over how your site appears in the results, thanks to the title and meta-description tags (although Google can sometimes rewrite them). On the other hand, with generative AI, you don't have total control over what it will say, as it takes many parameters into account. However, you can guide its responses by providing structured, reliable and optimized data to guide its understanding and output. (More information in part 6 of this article)

So, while traditional search engines index and retrieve existing information,generative AIs create new answers tailored to each specific query. And this evolution in search methods is changing the way : 

1. Information is sought after, which highlights the importance of knowing how to 'prompt'. As in the past, knowing how to do the right searches with the right keywords on Google), but not only,

2. The way content is consumed online. With AI, users get direct, synthetic answers that combine information from different sources (more convenient and faster than traditional search engines, and without having to scroll through 3 to 4 ADS ads).

3.3 Comparing the advantages/disadvantages of a Google search vs. Chat-GPT

Arguments which, on paper, explain why AI is being used more and more. But there's still a long way to go before AI search replaces SEO traffic. Here's why.

4. Two major challenges to the widespread adoption of generative AI

4.1 Changing user habits :

1. "Old habits die hard: Entrenched habits are hard to change. Users are used to traditional search engines and may be reluctant to adopt new search methods based on generative AI.

2. Confidence in answers: Generative AIs always provide an answer, even in the absence of precise information on a subject, which can lead to misinformation. This tendency can raise doubts about the reliability of the data provided by the AI. (In the age of fake news, how can we be sure that information is relevant and verified (and not manipulated) if we rely solely on an answer and not on a set of sources?)

3. Political and ethical concerns: The use of generative AI raises questions relating to data confidentiality, intellectual property and algorithm transparency. And sometimes even global security. These concerns can hinder the adoption of these technologies and be blocked by certain countries.

But where these are often the main obstacles to the adoption of new software by users, generative AI actually faces a second, far more important obstacle, and it's a technological one: energy.

4.2 Unprecedented energy requirements

"To illustrate the scale of this consumption, a single ChatGPT query consumes around 2.9 watt-hours of electricity, compared with a Google search that uses 0.3 watt-hours."
‍Source_{: Trust My Science}

Generative AIs, like ChatGPT, consume up to 10 times more energy than a traditional Google search, posing obvious long-term environmental challenges, but also technological ones. For, if we wished, for example, to simultaneously replace all our Google searches with GPT searches, this would currently be "simply" impossible from a technical point of view.

And their impact is already clearly measurable:

• Microsoft: +29.1% carbon emissions in 2023 compared with 2022 (Mircosoft 2024 Environmental Sustainability Report) to meet AI-related needs (industrial needs related to the construction and maintenance of datacenters and their use by customers).
• Google: 13% increase in total GHG emissions in 2023, attributed to growth in the technical infrastructure required for AI, and +17% in electricity consumption by datacenters in 2023. However, this consumption remains entirely offset by the use of renewable energies.(Google Sustainability Report 2024). 

Needs, which are driving the giants to invest and act, to have the resources to support the AI revolution.

5. Challenges that drive giants to invest and act

Faced with rising energy consumption and to anticipate future needs, tech giants and governments are investing massively in energy, which is essential to AI's competitiveness. And in the absence of disruptive innovation, nuclear power is currently the preferred solution for reconciling performance and environmental commitments.

5.1 Tech giants and governments: massive investments in nuclear power

Tech giants :

• ‍Amazon: In October 2024, Amazon announced a partnership with X-energy to invest in small modular reactors (SMRs) to power its data centers(Le Figaro)‍
• Google: In the same year, Google signed an agreement with Kairos Power to develop SMRs providing low-carbon energy for its infrastructures(The Guardian).‍
• Microsoft: Although details remain confidential, Microsoft is also exploring the use of nuclear energy to support its operations(Usine Digitale).

States:

• ‍France: The France 2030 program provides nearly a billion euros to finance new-generation nuclear reactors, including the NUWARD (SMR) project.‍
• China: With 30 reactors under construction, China is displaying an aggressive strategy to strengthen its nuclear fleet.‍
• European Union: European countries are exploring ways of working together to harmonize nuclear production and secure a sustainable, low-carbon energy mix.

And when money, technology and governments are all pulling in the same direction, it makes you want to believe! 

5.2 Investments that give cause for optimism

These investments make us optimistic about AI's chances of success in the coming years. For the most optimistic among us, we can even anticipate technological evolutions (new energy sources/energy revolution) enabling the massive deployment of AI without burning up our planet.

And if AI has already been adopted by +200 million users and has every chance of continuing its development, it could also become one of the main sources of traffic for your website tomorrow. So how do you adapt your web strategy to fit the GEO era?

6. Recommendations for adapting to the GEO era

As we've seen, with AI, users are getting used to receiving instant, synthetic and personalized responses, which certainly reduces traffic to traditional websites. However, websites aren't dead and remain a key destination, especially if the AI mentions you. We therefore recommend :

6.1 Adopting a hybrid strategy

Combine traditional SEO techniques with GEO strategies to maximize visibility on traditional search engines and generative AI. 

Ex: Track your performance, you can easily start tracking your traffic from chatGPT for example, as GPT adds UTMs that you can analyze directly from your tracking tools, such as Google Analytics.

6.2 Optimizing content for generative AI: Create structured, relevant and high-quality content, using schema.org tags and citing reliable sources, to increase the chances of being referenced by AIs.

But how? We put the question to GPT itself and, as we can see, optimization practices remain similar to those recommended for traditional SEO.

Ultimately,the fundamentals of SEO remain essential. To optimize your content for inclusion in generative AI responses, it's crucial to provide clear, accurate, quality information, while highlighting your expertise (E-A-T). The main objective is to provide a relevant response to the user's search intent.

6.3 Don't rely on a single acquisition channel

Diversify channels by duplicating your content on social networks and other platforms to broaden your audience and ensure a multi-channel presence with links back to your site.

Conclusion

• SEO remains an essential foundation : Although GEO is gaining in importance, SEO is an essential foundation for feeding AIs with relevant, structured data.
• Challenges yet to be overcome : Obstacles to the widespread adoption of generative AI - be they technological, energetic or cultural - show that these tools are not yet ready to completely replace traditional search engines.
• A hybrid strategy to maximize your visibility: Integrating AI into your acquisition strategy doesn't mean abandoning SEO, but rather complementing it with adapted GEO practices. This combination can open up new opportunities for capturing traffic.

Two lines of thought...

1. Towards an expanding GEO ecosystem? The probable emergence of new tools and practices dedicated to GEO optimization could change current digital marketing standards.‍
2. Transforming the online user experience? The rise of GEO could also reshape the structure and user experience of websites. By responding to the growing need to "find information quickly", but with greater reliability thanks to verified data from reference sites, as illustrated by the Ask Edgar Allan example.

In short, exciting time! As usual, there's never a dull moment in tech, and it's essential to pay attention, learn and adapt to stay competitive.