In the ever-evolving world of digital marketing, a new contender is emerging alongside traditional search engine optimisation (SEO): Generative AI Optimisation. While SEO has long been the cornerstone of online visibility, the rise of AI-powered content generation and interaction is redefining how websites attract, engage, and convert users. So, what’s the difference—and what does the future hold?
SEO: The Foundation of Find-ability
Search Engine Optimisation is the practice of improving a website’s visibility in organic search engine results. It involves strategies like:
- Keyword research and optimisation
- Technical improvements (e.g., site speed, mobile responsiveness)
- Backlink building
- On-page SEO (e.g., meta tags, headers, content structure)
- Content quality aligned with Google’s E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) principles
SEO focuses on making a website discoverable by search engines like Google, so users can find relevant content through search queries.
Example: A travel blog uses keyword-rich headers and optimises for “best places to visit in Japan 2025.” It builds backlinks and improves mobile performance to rank higher in Google results.
Generative AI Optimisation: Shaping On-Site Experiences
Generative AI Optimisation, on the other hand, is the process of fine-tuning how generative AI tools interact with, interpret, or enhance a website—not for search engines, but for users and AI agents themselves.
This includes:
- Optimising website content for AI agents like ChatGPT, Google’s Gemini, or Perplexity
- Training AI chatbots or assistants to interact intelligently with site content (e.g., custom GPTs, AI widgets)
- Ensuring structured data and semantic markup is used so AI tools can summarize or answer questions based on your site
- Using AI to personalise user experience—from product recommendations to real-time content generation
Example: An e-commerce site uses OpenAI’s API to build a product discovery chatbot trained on its inventory. It also ensures content is structured so AI search engines (like Google’s Search Generative Experience) pull accurate answers from product pages.
Timelines: Where Are We Now?
- Pre-2023: SEO dominates; AI assistants are experimental.
- 2023: Google rolls out Search Generative Experience (SGE), and OpenAI launches custom GPTs.
- 2024: AI agents begin shaping web traffic patterns. Some sites see traffic from AI summaries in chat interfaces, not just search results.
- 2025 and beyond: AI-first optimization becomes essential as AI agents replace traditional search journeys for many users.
The Future: A Hybrid Strategy
Looking ahead, brands and marketers must adopt a hybrid optimisation strategy:
- SEO will remain important for traditional search results and ranking.
- AI Optimisation will grow in relevance as users rely on AI for discovery, decision-making, and summarisation.
Opportunities include:
- Optimising knowledge bases, FAQs, and support content to feed AI chatbots
- Structuring product and service data for large language models to access and use
- Training proprietary AI assistants tailored to brand tone and domain expertise
My 2 cents
SEO is no longer the only way users find and engage with your site. In a world where AI agents summarise, synthesise, and suggest content, generative AI optimisation ensures your site is part of that conversation.
Those who adapt early—structuring content for AI, training their own assistants, and integrating AI into the user experience—won’t just rank better. They’ll own the interaction.
