In the world of search, a new era has quietly begun.

We’ve spent the last two decades optimizing websites for Google’s ten blue links. But now, people are getting answers, not links, from tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google’s AI Overviews. This shift has given rise to a new discipline: Generative Engine Optimization (GEO).

So what exactly is GEO?

GEO is the practice of improving how your brand appears in the answers generated by Large Language Models (LLMs). Instead of optimizing for rankings on a results page, you’re now optimizing for mentions and recommendations in direct answers.

Where SEO asks: “How do I get to the top of Google?”

GEO asks: “When someone asks ChatGPT for the best project management tool, does it mention me?”

Why it matters now

1. LLMs are becoming the new search engines.
   ChatGPT alone reached 400 million weekly active users as of mid‑2025—nearly 1 billion weekly users by some estimates—and is ranked among the world’s top 5 most visited websites, with about 5.2 billion monthly visits. Approximately 10% of the global population now uses ChatGPT regularly. With billions turning to LLMs for complex queries, these models are increasingly functioning as primary information gateways.
   
   
   

2. Answer-based discovery is reshaping user behavior.
   A 2025 consumer survey found that 47% of shoppers now rely on generative AI tools such as ChatGPT or Copilot when researching purchases—up 6 percentage points from last year. These users prefer direct AI-generated answers rather than scrolling through ads or traditional search results, signaling a fundamental shift in how users discover products and information.
   
   
   

3. AI answers are gaining consumer trust, shifting attention away from ads.
   In 2025, consumer trust in generative AI has grown significantly, with surveys showing that over 40% of users now trust AI-generated information for everyday decisions. While many still express caution, a rapidly increasing number prefer concise, ad-free answers provided by AI, leading to declining engagement with traditional, ad-driven search results.

GEO vs. SEO

The challenge

Most brands don’t even know if they’re being mentioned by AI. Unlike search rankings, there’s no dashboard to track visibility across LLMs.

That’s where Getmentioned comes in — helping brands understand, benchmark, and improve how they show up in generative answers.