How GEO became a new revenue channel, and what marketing leaders should do about it
The short answer
Generative engine optimisation (GEO) is the work of making sure AI tools such as ChatGPT, Gemini, Copilot and Perplexity understand your brand well enough to recommend it. When people ask an AI tool where to go, what to book or who to buy from, the answer is no longer a page of ten links. It is one or two recommendations. If your brand is not in that answer, you are not in the consideration set.
At Airport Dimensions, I proposed GEO as a new revenue channel in my interview presentation to the CEO and COO. Once in the role, I led it into the company roadmap, for direct-to-consumer sales and B2B visibility. Revenue from the channel grew fivefold in under six months, and it is still rising.
Why GEO is a commercial question, not a technical one
Most leadership teams first hear about GEO as an SEO topic. That undersells it. GEO decides whether your brand is part of the answer when a customer has already decided to buy something. That makes it a revenue question for the whole leadership team, not a task for one specialist.
Three shifts make it urgent:
- Customers ask, rather than search. They describe their need in a full sentence and expect a recommendation back.
- AI answers are short. Being third on a results page used to win some traffic. Not being named in an AI answer wins none.
- AI tools reward clarity and proof. They recommend brands they can describe confidently, using consistent facts from trusted sources.
What I would ask any leadership team
When I assess GEO for a business, I start with five questions:
- Ask the tools. What do ChatGPT, Gemini and Copilot say today when a customer asks for what you sell? Are you named? Is the description accurate?
- Check your facts are consistent. Do your website, listings, partner pages and press coverage describe your products, locations and prices the same way?
- Answer real questions. Does your site answer the questions customers actually ask, in plain language, near the top of the page?
- Show proof. Are reviews, ratings, awards and third-party mentions easy for AI tools to find and trust?
- Measure it as a channel. Can you see traffic and sales arriving from AI tools, and report them against a target like any other channel?
The fifth question is the one that turns GEO from an experiment into a revenue line. If you cannot measure it, it will not get budget or leadership attention.
How to make GEO stick inside the business
GEO touches marketing, ecommerce, product, partnerships and corporate communications. In my experience, it works when:
- It sits on the roadmap, with an owner, a target and a review date, rather than in a side project.
- It serves both sides of the business. For a B2B2C company, being recommended by AI tools matters to consumers and to the partners who choose who to work with.
- The team learns in the open. A regular forum where people share what worked and what did not spreads good practice across the function fast.
Questions leaders ask about GEO
Is GEO replacing SEO?
No. Good SEO foundations still matter, because AI tools draw on the same web content. GEO adds a new goal: being the brand an AI tool names and describes accurately.
How quickly can GEO show results?
It varies by business. At Airport Dimensions, revenue from the GEO channel grew fivefold in under six months.
Who should own GEO?
Marketing should lead it, with clear support from ecommerce, product and communications, and a commercial target the leadership team reviews.
About the author. Leilah King-Gotlib is a London-based global growth and marketing leader who builds commercially accountable marketing for premium and travel brands. She has led marketing in more than 20 countries across six regions, delivered over £25m in revenue and rebuilt marketing functions through pivots, reorganisations and restructures.