What Is Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) for Ecommerce?

Artificial intelligence (AI)-driven commerce has arrived. From improved marketing efforts to enhanced digital shelves, AI can help ecommerce brands better connect with customers by delivering personalized and customized experiences.

But that’s just the tip of the AI iceberg. For example, using generative AI (GenAI) frameworks, search engines can now answer questions with AI-driven summaries based on authoritative data sources.

This creates an opportunity for ecommerce brands to boost search visibility and increase customer engagement if they can establish their content as a go-to resource for AI engines. 

Achieving this goal requires a new approach: generative engine optimization (GEO). Explore how it works, why it matters, and what it means for ecommerce brands.

What Is a Generative Engine — and How Does It Work? 

Type a question into Google. Along with familiar search results ranked by relevance and authority, you’ll see an “AI Overview” at the top of the screen. This overview is created using a generative AI engine. 

Generative engines pull relevant content from multiple websites when answering a user’s question. Next, they use large language models (LLMs) to analyze this content, create context, and provide answers. 

Many of these models also use relevant user data, such as preferences or search histories, to create personalized answers. 

Once analysis is complete, the generative engine creates a simplified, summarized response to user queries. It also provides links to the websites referenced when creating the answer.

These links are an opportunity for ecommerce brands to establish expertise and get noticed by prospective customers — generative engine optimization (GEO) makes this possible.

What Is Generative Engine Optimization (GEO)?

GEO is the process of making your content relevant to generative AI engines. 

In practice, this means creating content that includes sources and statistics, is easily readable, and is high quality because AI tools are designed to take the shortest possible path to actionable outputs.

Consider a company that makes biodegradable utensils, straws, and plates. According to data from Research and Markets, the market for these products is flourishing, making it a great opportunity for ecommerce businesses if they can capture customer attention.

If brand content is accurate but disorganized or relies heavily on circular reasoning (i.e., “Our products are the best because we say so.”), generative engines will choose other sources. 

However, generative tools are more likely to use brand materials as the basis for AI summaries if the brand optimizes its content for generative AI by citing relevant sources and creating easily readable, current, and relevant content.

This puts brands at the top of popular search pages, and lists brand web pages as top data sources.

What’s the Difference Between SEO and GEO?

SEO and GEO both focus on optimization to improve search engine rankings. They share common goals, such as improved visibility, enhanced user experience, and increased content quality.

Their approach to achieving these goals, however, differs significantly.

Primary Purpose

• SEO: Improving search engine results page (SERP) rankings.
• GEO: Making content discoverable by generative tools and preferable for AI summaries.

Crucial Elements

• SEO: Keywords and meta descriptions.
• GEO: Content structure, readability, and authority.

Target Metrics

• SEO: Individual page rankings in search engine results.
• GEO: The use of multiple brand sources to inform AI responses.

Common Generative Engine Optimization Ecommerce Challenges 

Three challenges are common for brands making the move to GEO. 

Keeping Content Human

GEO focuses on AI optimization. Somewhat paradoxically, however, AI tools prefer human-created content. LLMs are sophisticated enough to recognize the difference between human- and AI-written content and understand that readers prefer the human touch. As a result, brands must keep humans in the loop.

Making AI-Friendly Sources

At the same time, brands need to create sources that are AI-friendly. This means taking the time to find and reference relevant sources and structuring content so that it’s easy to read, succinct, and not overly repetitive. Essentially, additional work is often required.

Staying the Course on SEO

Finally, it’s tempting for brands to view GEO as the future and SEO as the past. But both are required for search engine success.

Consider a user query about how to clean windows properly. Using GEO, a company that provides window-cleaning services can get noticed by generative engines and have their informational content returned as part of AI summaries.

If, however, this same user asks about window cleaning companies in their local area, search engine optimization (SEO) becomes the primary driver of search results. 

Top Brand Benefits of GEO 

Effective GEO offers multiple benefits for brands building an AI strategy.

Increased Visibility

Increased visibility is a major benefit: According to a GEO study first presented at KDD ’24 and reprinted by ArXiv, GEO can boost source visibility up to 40% in search engines using generalized responses. 

And since GEO results typically appear at the top of search pages, brands are better positioned to capture customer interest.

Increased Brand Credibility

Improved brand credibility is also a huge plus because generative engines rely on a combination of readability and authority to create AI summaries. Regularly appearing in these summaries helps establish your brand is trustworthy and reliable.

Enhanced User Experiences

Perhaps the most important benefit is the potential for enhanced user experiences. Here’s why: When users ask questions of search engines, they’re looking for responses that address both their stated objective and underlying intent.

Consider the biodegradable cutlery company mentioned above. If a user asks, “Why is biodegradable cutlery so bad?” they’re ostensibly looking for answers about how some cutlery can’t stand up to regular use or break down too quickly. But there’s also an underlying intent: To discover if there are any options that aren’t “bad.”

GEO makes it possible to provide personalized answers that satisfy both action and intent. 

Taking Top Spot With GEO

Location, location, location. It matters for real estate, and it matters for GEO.

While SEO helps ecommerce brands achieve higher SERP rankings, GEO makes it possible to take pride of place as part of AI summaries listed before results rankings begin.

But, SEO techniques aren’t enough to achieve GEO goals and make the most of emerging AI trends. Content structure and sourcing, rather than keywords and meta descriptions, form the basis of GEO success. 

While this requires a shift in design and development priorities, successful optimization can give ecommerce brands a head start in highly competitive digital marketplaces by establishing a reputation for trustworthiness, authority, and relevance.