(Please read this) if you think "SEO is dead"
First - let me just say that I am SO happy I was pregnant + busy giving birth the last year. Before I loose you with that statement lol — it kept me from jumping head first into the GEO / AEO craze online and instead I remained in a viewer and observer position.
What I’ve mainly been seeing lately are people pitching GEO as this shiny new evolution that DTC brands must adopt to stay visible in ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google’s AI Overviews.
The tone always sounds urgent, but if I’m listening to my intuition here - it’s mostly a distraction.
The Technical Reality
A “duh” that I must start with…. you do know that LLMs don’t come up with answers out of thin air, right?!
LLMs rely on what’s called Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG).
When someone asks a commerce-related question, the model doesn’t just “know” the answer, it pulls from search engines (aka GOOGLE) before generating a response.
As I’ve read experts say: every URL you see in an LLM output comes from a search engine API.
Let me put that into simple terms for you: SEO informs GEO. Good SEO is Good GEO.
The Risk to DTC Brands
I’m seeing agency teams across the board chasing “GEO hacks” - what I’ve read and learned this can look like is a brand publishing self-promoting “best of” listicles where they list themselves as #1 and/or mass-production of AI-generated content and mass refreshing of that content just for AI visibility.
REALITY CHECK: the “hacks” are an attempt to manufacture authority rather than earn it. If these “hacks” weaken your actual SEO authority, your visibility in AI systems will drop right along with it.
How We Must Evolve
Energy and Frequency Matter: AI visibility is an extension of search visibility, not a separate work stream - hence not needing a “different strategy.”
Focus on Depth over Distribution: What shows up on the first page of Google is highly likely (based on current research) to appear in a similar LLM prompt. And, platforms like Reddit and Substack are cited by AI because they contain nuance, first-person experience, and third-party credibilty.
Credibility You Earn Wins Every Time: Product reviews, recommendations, brand mentions and expert commentary in trusted publications that Google considers an authority on the topic will remain the primary input AI relies on.
In short: stop asking, “What’s our GEO strategy?” and start asking, “Are we worth citing?”
Good SEO = Good GEO. Period.
My favorite industry expert in this space at the moment is Lily Ray. I transparently plan to follow her voice and mute the rest…
…because let me just show you (also innocent comical relief) the hot mess that is “experts” sharing their “hot take” on LinkedIn alongside my own commentary response in red lol. Enjoy.
Okay I hope this was insightful, maybe caused a giggle and/or grounding for the nervous system.
I also have a few additional insights to share regarding new affiliate partners I connected with at ThinkTank. I’ll share that in next week’s Substack <3
With Gratitude,
Kaila O’Connor
Immense gratitude for your support as a subscriber. My hope is to always inspire and expand your perspective for what is possible.xoxo, KO 💋
Love this breakdown! 🌙