Generative engine optimization (GEO) is the work of making sure your brand is mentioned, described correctly and recommended when people ask AI tools such as ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Gemini and Perplexity for advice. Instead of fighting for a blue link, you are trying to become part of the answer itself. For consumer brands, one of the most effective ways to do that is through creators and well-known personalities, because AI engines rely heavily on what real people say about a brand – especially on video.

The shift is already large. Google says AI Overviews reach more than 2 billion users every month, and OpenAI reported 800 million weekly ChatGPT users in October 2025. When that many people get a summarised answer instead of a list of websites, the brands that appear in the summary win attention that others never get.

What is generative engine optimization, in simple terms?

Traditional SEO tries to rank a web page as high as possible in a list of results. GEO tries to influence what an AI model writes when it answers a question like “which sunscreen is best for kids?” or “who are the best influencer agencies in Stockholm?”. The model builds its answer from sources it trusts, and it often cites them. GEO is about being one of those sources – or being talked about in them.

The term comes from a research paper from Princeton University, presented at the KDD conference in 2024. The researchers showed that adding clear statistics, quotations and citations to content could increase a source’s visibility in AI-generated answers by up to 40 percent. Content that is concrete, credible and easy to quote travels further.

How is GEO different from SEO and answer engine optimization?

• SEO: ranking your own pages in traditional search results.

• Answer engine optimization (AEO): structuring content so it can be lifted directly into answers – FAQs, short definitions and clear headings.

• GEO: shaping how AI models describe and recommend your brand across all the sources they read, not only your own website.

In practice the three overlap. A strong website is still the foundation, but GEO adds a new question: what does the rest of the internet say about you?

Why do creators and celebrities matter for AI visibility?

AI engines do not only read company websites. They read reviews, articles, forum threads and, increasingly, video. According to data from BrightEdge reported by Search Engine Land, YouTube is cited around 200 times more often than any other video platform in AI search, and it is the most cited domain overall in Google’s AI Overviews in that dataset.

A recent Ahrefs study of 75,000 brands points in the same direction. Mentions of a brand on YouTube had the strongest correlation with how visible the brand was in AI answers (around 0.74), followed by branded mentions across the web (around 0.66). Backlinks – the classic SEO signal – showed a much weaker correlation (around 0.22). Correlation is not proof of cause, but the message is clear: being talked about matters more than being linked to.

This is where influencer marketing and GEO meet. When a trusted personality explains in their own words why they use a product, that becomes exactly the kind of authentic, quotable content AI engines pick up. CreatorIQ describes brands starting to treat creator partnerships as a way to influence what AI says about them.

How can a brand use influencer marketing to show up in AI answers?

1. Start with the questions your customers actually ask

List the questions people type into ChatGPT or Google before they buy in your category. Then check what the AI answers today. Are you mentioned? Are competitors? Is the description of your brand correct? This gives you a baseline.

2. Brief creators on substance, not only on reach

AI models favour content that explains something. Ask creators to talk about concrete details: what problem the product solves, how they use it, what makes it different. A clear spoken explanation in a video – with a good title and description – is far more useful than a post that only shows the logo.

3. Prioritise video and long-lived formats

Given how often YouTube is cited, long-form video, integrations and podcasts published on YouTube deserve a bigger share of the plan. Short-form content builds reach, but longer formats leave a lasting, searchable trace with transcripts the AI can read.

4. Choose long-term ambassadors over one-off posts

Repeated mentions over months create a consistent picture of who you are and what you stand for. A long-term partnership with one or a few well-known personalities usually builds a stronger signal than many scattered one-off posts.

5. Make your own website easy to quote

Support the creator content with clear pages: a short answer at the top, FAQs, real numbers with sources and structured data. When an AI model finds both an authoritative brand page and independent voices saying the same thing, you are more likely to be described correctly.

How do you measure GEO?

GEO is still young, and measurement is less precise than in classic SEO. Practical ways to follow it:

• Ask the same set of questions in ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Google every month and record whether you are mentioned and how.

• Use tools that track brand mentions in AI answers, such as Ahrefs Brand Radar.

• Track branded searches and direct traffic, which often rise when AI answers start recommending you.

• Follow up on the creator content itself: views, comments and how often the video ranks for relevant questions.

Summary

• GEO is about becoming part of the answer when people ask AI tools for advice.

• AI engines rely heavily on what real people say – especially on YouTube – not just on your own website.

• Creators and well-known personalities create the authentic, quotable mentions that AI picks up.

• Brief for substance, prioritise video and long-term partnerships, and keep your own site clear and factual.

• Measure by asking the AI regularly and tracking brand mentions and branded searches.

FAQ

Is GEO replacing SEO?

No. A technically sound, well-structured website is still the foundation, and AI engines often pull from pages that already rank well. GEO adds a layer on top: shaping what the wider internet says about you.

Can you pay to appear in ChatGPT’s answers?

Not in the organic answers. What you can do is earn mentions in the sources the models trust – for example through creator content, press and reviews – and make your own information clear and easy to verify.

Which creators work best for GEO?

Creators and personalities who explain rather than just show – people who talk naturally about how and why they use something, ideally on video and over time. Credibility in your category matters more than follower count.

How quickly do you see results?

AI models and search indexes update at different speeds. Expect to follow the development over several months rather than weeks, and combine GEO with goals you can measure directly, such as sales or leads.

Read also

• TikTok Influencer Marketing in 2027: What Brands Need to Know

• Influencer Marketing Trends 2027: What Brands Need to Know

• Why Celebrity Influencer Marketing Is the Way Forward

• What Is Influencer Marketing? A Complete Guide for 2027

Sources

• Aggarwal et al., Princeton University – GEO: Generative Engine Optimization (KDD 2024): https://arxiv.org/abs/2311.09735

• TechCrunch – Google’s AI Overviews have 2B monthly users, AI Mode 100M in the US and India (2025): https://techcrunch.com/2025/07/23/googles-ai-overviews-have-2b-monthly-users-ai-mode-100m-in-the-us-and-india/

• TechCrunch – Sam Altman says ChatGPT has hit 800M weekly active users (2025): https://techcrunch.com/2025/10/06/sam-altman-says-chatgpt-has-hit-800m-weekly-active-users/

• Search Engine Land – YouTube dominates AI search with 200x citation advantage (2025): https://searchengineland.com/youtube-ai-search-citations-data-462830

• Business Wire / Ahrefs – Across 75,000 Brands, YouTube Mentions Are the Strongest Signal of AI Visibility (2026): https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260526119691/en/Across-75000-Brands-YouTube-Mentions-Are-the-Strongest-Signal-of-AI-Visibility-New-Ahrefs-Report-Reveals

• CreatorIQ – Influencer Marketing Trends (2026): https://www.creatoriq.com/blog/influencer-marketing-trends-2026

Want to discuss how well-known personalities can strengthen your brand – in social media and in AI answers? Contact us at info@collabri.se. You can also browse our talents and client projects.

This article was written with the help of AI and reviewed by Collabri.