Generative Engine Optimization 101: How to Optimize Content that Gets Noticed with Generative AI
January 27, 2025
Generative Engine Optimization 101: How to Optimize Content that Gets Noticed with Generative AI
Generative AI has taken the world by storm, making GEO, or Generative Engine Optimization, a promising way to create content that is helpful and gets noticed. From the very beginning, search has been improving and offering better ways to meet user intent, and SEO (Search Engine Optimization) has adapted with each evolution.
Search and SEO changed back in the early 2010s when Google rolled out Panda, Penguin, and Hummingbird. Then, several years later, SEO and search changed once again with the rollout of algorithms RankBrain, new technologies like BERT, and the introduction of trust signals like E-E-A-T. Well, it’s 2025, and the rules of search have changed once again.
Generative AI, GEO & SEO
Now, it’s all about Generative AI, as made clear by Google’s continued emphasis on Gemini within search results, and OpenAI’s critical success with ChatGPT as a tool for research and exploration.
Not only is AI great for research – It’s an incredible tool for generating content. In 2024, Forbes estimated roughly 57% of all text-based content on the Internet was AI-generated. For destinations, this may seem thrilling, exciting, or even scary: With so much AI-generated content, how can destinations remain visible or even relevant in a world where content and pictures can be generated in seconds?
This is where Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) comes in — making sure your destination shines not just on Google, but also on AI-powered platforms like ChatGPT and Google’s AI Overviews.
These Gen AI tools aren’t just chatbots; they’re becoming full-fledged travel advisors, and if you’re not part of their recommendations, you’re missing out on a huge slice of the traveler pie. In fact, in a survey conducted by the Harris Poll, 70% of travelers are using AI for traveling planning – making it clear that getting featured in chatbots like ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, or the newly introduced DeepSeek is crucial for any destination’s marketing strategy. For DMOs, this shift offers both an exciting opportunity and a challenging new frontier. With travelers increasingly turning to generative AI to research and plan their trips, it’s essential to master the art of GEO to remain visible and relevant, and to continue leveraging SEO as a tool for brand awareness and standing out in search.
What is generative engine optimization?
Let’s start with the basics: What is generative engine optimization (GEO)? Coined in a June 2024 research study, GEO involves optimizing your content to be discoverable and useful in generative AI platforms, and, more importantly, to stand out among the many potential search results and data points that can be returned for a query or input.
One way GEO works is by boosting overall information gain, and providing a unique voice or perspective that is more compelling for AI models. The more useful and helpful your content is, the more you’ll see your brand getting mentioned in Gen AI platforms like Google’s AI Overviews, Gemini, ChatGPT, or Perplexity.
These Gen AI platforms generate detailed, conversational responses that pull from a vast array of online content and databases — and your goal is to ensure your destination or brand is part of that output and featured within chatbots.
Imagine a potential traveler asking ChatGPT for a seven-day itinerary to your destination. Does your website, blog, or social media provide the kind of rich, authentic, and organized content that AI would include in its response? If not, you’re missing out.
Why DMOs Need to Prioritize GEO: Why Does It Matter?
Travelers have embraced generative AI as a virtual travel consultant. From dreaming up vacation ideas to finalizing itineraries, tools like ChatGPT are reshaping how people plan trips. By this point, it’s clear that chatbots will lead to a decrease in web traffic for all websites on the Internet, and across all industries.
For search, AI Overviews are a good user experience, and users can get their information from a single summary instead of many repeated searches and clicking into a website.
For chatbots, users don’t have to search the web at all, and can have Gen AI search the web for them, can refer to past conversations for more context, and can personalize their responses based on user inputs.
AI Overviews represent an opportunity, however: Business owners and digital marketers can look toward chatbots as a way to get free mentions and free impressions for their business and their brand. By prioritizing GEO, DMOs can:
- Capture the AI-savvy traveler: Get in front of travelers who start their research on platforms beyond Google to stay top of mind.
- Differentiate your destination: By prioritizing unique, differentiated and well-structured content that AI recognizes and prioritizes, you’re more likely to show up in the conversation in tools like Gemini or ChatGPT.
Google’s research shows that today’s travelers are hungry for authentic, story-driven experiences. Add the fact that at least 34% of travelers are now incorporating AI into their travel research and planning process, and you’ve got a recipe for transformative trip-planning. Generative AI platforms are experts at curating content, from FAQs about foodie hotspots to top attractions and event highlights.
Ensuring your website and social platforms are structured and optimized for AI not only gets your content in front of curious travelers but positions you as the go-to guide when those questions arise.
5 Actionable Strategies for GEO for Destination Marketers
If you’re wondering how to optimize your content for GEO then you’re in luck. Here are some actionable strategies that you can pair with your SEO campaigns to ensure you remain at the top of search and the tip of AI’s tongue.
1. Understand AI and User Intent
The core goal of search, and a lot of what SEO aims for, is to provide answers to users who may have questions. Unsurprisingly, GEO is hardly different. When creating content, you’ll want to understand why your users are searching and deliver answers to them that are comprehensive and satisfying. You can understand what users are searching for by using tools like Google Trends, Google Keyword Planner, or SEO Research Tools like SEMrush, Ahrefs, and BrightEdge.
After understanding your users, it’s time to focus on Generative AI. Generative AI thrives on responding to natural, conversational queries, so it’s essential to craft content that matches how travelers ask questions. Think beyond generic travel guides and aim for pieces like, “What’s the best way to explore [Destination]?” or “Hidden gems in [Destination].”
By aligning your content with these kinds of specific, curiosity-driven searches, you increase the chances of AI pulling your insights into its answers. Dive deep into FAQs, storytelling, and insider tips that reflect the tone and intent of these inquiries. Include vivid details like walking tours, secret viewpoints, or offbeat eateries, so your content feels personal and packed with value. This not only helps travelers find what they’re searching for but also establishes your brand as an authoritative, relatable voice in their planning process.
2. Write with GEO Best Practices
Again, GEO is all about information gain and creating content that stands out against a sea of content that repeats the same information, whether its written by humans or generated by AI. When crafting your content, it is crucial to employ some of these GEO best practices:
- Write Clearly and Concisely. Create persuasive and authoritative content to enhance credibility, and avoid fluff. A greater word count doesn’t always correlate with a greater chance of ranking, so do your best to meet user intent while delivering a good user experience.
- Add Statistics. Include quantitative data where applicable to strengthen arguments and enhance visibility. At this moment, Generative AI cannot create data from thin air, and must rely on data points from external sources to provide trustworthy information.
- Use Citations. Reference credible sources to boost the trustworthiness of your content. Destinations can appear more credible by linking off to reputable sources to back up any unique information or claims. While it’s best to aim for government or education websites, you can also cite reputable brands or journals.
- Add Quotations from Experts. Include relevant quotes from well-known figures or authoritative sources. Just like with statistics, AI cannot speak for real people, and including quotations from experts and visitors can make your content stand out and appear more trustworthy.
- Simplify Language. Ensure your content is easy to understand to reach a broader audience. Have you ever had to re-read a paragraph because it was overly wordy? AI is the same. Make sure your text flows and is easy to skim. If possible, aim for a higher Flesch Ease of Reading Score. These can be measured with SEO Plugins like Rank Math or Yoast.
- Continuously Update Content. Regularly refresh content to keep it relevant and engaging. Just like you, AI also wants to refer to the newest, up-to-date content. If content is old or outdated, don’t delete it. Instead, see if it’s possible to update the piece, or preserve it for historical purposes.
Pro Tip: While you can draw from studies, consider gathering firsthand information by running surveys in your destination, or interviewing those who visit and finding running themes or commonalities.
3. Optimize for AI Summaries
Just like humans, generative engines prefer structured, scannable content that is quick to skim on the web. Here’s how to format your content for success:
- Incorporate Keywords. Integrate relevant keywords naturally within your content. Optimize for long-tail keywords like “family-friendly activities in [Destination]” to capture specific search intent, and aim to include natural language queries like “What are the best restaurants with outdoor patios in [Destination]?”
- Target Natural Language Queries. If possible, prioritize sounding natural over including keywords. Context matters more than the keywords themselves. Craft FAQs that answer common traveler questions in a straightforward and engaging manner.
- Structure Your Content with Headings and Lists. Organize content with clear headers (h1s, h2s, h3s, etc.) and concise bulleted or numbered lists to enhance readability (Much like this list here!).
4. Build and Maintain Topical Authority
To rank well in generative AI engines, it’s crucial to establish yourself as an expert in your unique corner of the world. You can build this authority by consistently publishing in-depth, engaging content that highlights the nuances of your destination.
Collaborating with local experts to tell stories — such as historians, chefs, or artists — adds an extra layer of credibility and authenticity, helping your content resonate more deeply with both travelers and search algorithms.
Pro Tip: Web Presence Matters! When looping in experts, ensure they have an existing web presence or demonstrated experience. AI will recognize your expert as an entity, and will be able to cross-reference their name across other resources on the Internet.
5. Leverage Multimedia for AI Platforms
Generative AI goes beyond text, embracing the full sensory experience to captivate users. Enhance your content with vibrant images, engaging videos, and immersive podcasts that bring your destination to life.
To ensure maximum impact, optimize every piece of media by refining file names, alt text, and metadata, making your visuals and audio as discoverable as your written words.
Pro Tip: Publish Your Video Content Across Multiple Platforms. It’s important to cross-link your content. If you have a short video uploaded to your website, ensure it’s also available on other platforms, such as YouTube or Instagram.
6. Invest in Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
With all this talk about GEO, you might be wondering if SEO still matters – Hint: It certainly does!
In late 2024, it was discovered that Google’s AI Overviews pulled from the top 10 organic search results for about 52% of all cited sources. That means that having content that ranks higher in search ultimately increases your chances of showing up within Generative AI models!
SEO is so much more than including keywords within content. It is all about ensuring your content is discoverable, crawlable, and indexable for search engines and robots. After all, what good is content if no one can find it?
Pro Tip: Use schema markup to provide clear context about your destination. AI uses this to understand and serve your content better.
How to track geo success
While traditional SEO metrics such as page views and organic traffic remain important benchmarks, the rise of GEO requires a shift toward new metrics. To stay ahead in this evolving landscape, it’s essential to monitor metrics that specifically reflect how your content performs within AI-driven platforms and conversational search tools. Here’s how:
- Track Referrals in GA4. Track how platforms like ChatGPT or Google Gemini refer to your brand within analytics tools like GA4. By tracking the type of content AI prefers to send users, you’ll be able to evaluate how long users stay on your site after entering.
- Assess Your Web Engagement. Monitor the engagement AI referrals bring to your website to evaluate whether users are actively interacting with your AI-friendly content. Seek new ways to invite users to click deeper into your website by providing eye-catching call-to-actions or linking to related content.
- Measure Your Keyword Rankings. Remember, keywords that rank in the top 10 of organic search results have a better chance of being reference by AI. Analyze the performance of long-tail keywords to determine if your site ranks for conversational search phrases, and even perform keyword GAP analyses to determine what sorts of topics are missing from your website
- Focus on Impressions. As ChatGPT and Google get better at delivering users answers without a single click into a website, shift your focus from clicks to impressions within search engines. The more you employ GEO then the better the chance you’ll get referenced within AI results, meaning more impressions for your brand.
Integrating GEO & SEO into Your Digital Web Strategy
The intersection of SEO and AI offers an exciting opportunity for DMOs to redefine how they engage with travelers. By adopting generative engine optimization and creating content that speaks to both AI platforms and human curiosity, you can secure your place in the digital travel planning landscape of the future.
Start with small steps — optimize a blog, build out FAQs — and set your sights on big results. The future of travel research is powered by generative AI, and now is the time to lead the way. Ready to begin? Get in touch, and let’s design a strategy that puts your destination front and center in the AI era.
generative engine optimization faqs
How do I measure when my brand is mentioned within AI?
At the moment, there is no 100% effective method in Google Analytics or Google Search Console for tracking when your brand is mentioned with AI. While you can track referrals in GA4, and overall site impressions in Google Search Console, Generative AI tools like ChatGPT remain a black box.
For a better idea as to how your brand is being mentioned within AI Overviews, turn to SEO platforms like SEMrush, Ahrefs, Moz, and BrightEdge to see the types of pages that appear in AI Overviews, as well as the types of keywords that trigger within search results pages.
What is generative engine optimization’s impact on my destination content strategy?
Generative Engine Optimization reshapes your destination content strategy by focusing on how AI-driven platforms feature your content in conversational summaries. To succeed, you’ll need to create narrative-rich, question-driven material that aligns with how travelers ask for information, such as “Best hiking trails in [Destination]” or “Local dishes to try in [Destination].”
Multimedia assets like videos and images are crucial, as AI often incorporates diverse formats. Additionally, optimizing metadata and keeping content fresh ensure your destination stays visible and relevant in AI-powered trip-planning tools.
How does GEO differ from traditional SEO?
While SEO focuses on ranking high in search engines through technical optimization, keyword research, backlinks, and metadata, GEO emphasizes structuring your content to boost information gain, and align with conversational queries and AI summarization. This includes creating FAQs, using natural language, optimizing multimedia elements, and ensuring your website is rich with specific, narrative-driven content that generative AI can easily parse and present.
Does optimizing for GEO mean I should ignore traditional SEO?
Not at all! Traditional SEO remains foundational for driving organic traffic and maintaining a strong web presence; at its core, SEO has always prioritized well-written (and well-structured) human content that answers questions. GEO is an additional layer that complements your SEO efforts, ensuring that your content is also well-suited for AI-driven discovery and engagement.
Why does GEO matter for Destination Marketing and DMOs?
GEO is critical for DMOs because more travelers are turning to AI-powered tools to plan their trips. These platforms provide tailored recommendations, often based on how well your content aligns with user queries. Optimizing for GEO ensures your destination gets highlighted in these AI summaries, driving awareness and engagement among potential visitors.
