• by Danielle Coimbra , Op-Ed Contributor, 6 hours ago

Over the past few weeks, I’ve had the opportunity to attend major industry events in the U.K. — PR360 Conference by PRWeek and Native Advertising Days. Although they catered to slightly different audiences, one theme echoed across both stages and corridors: how artificial intelligence, and more specifically large language models (LLMs), are reshaping how people search for and discover content online. 

At both events, professionals in PR, marketing and branded content were clearly intrigued by the growing role of generative AI in replacing or supplementing traditional search engines. These tools aren’t just referencing links anymore. They’re synthesizing information from across the web and delivering direct, conversational responses to users. It’s changing the rules of discoverability.

This shift demands a new mindset. It’s no longer enough to just rank well on Google. We now need to think about how our content is being picked up, interpreted and repeated by tools like ChatGPT, Gemini or Perplexity. These tools draw information from credible sources: industry publications, expert insights and reliable media outlets. The names and brands that appear in these sources are the ones most likely to be recommended in AI-generated responses.

This is where Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) and Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) come in. Both are emerging frameworks designed to help your content remain visible and influential in the age of AI-powered discovery. AEO focuses on answer extraction and involves structuring content so AI search engines can pull it as a direct answer to user queries, helping it appear in featured snippets and answer boxes. Think tools like Google’s SGE, Bing Copilot or Perplexity AI. GEO, on the other hand, entails creating content that LLMs can understand and generate from, influencing AI-generated responses to show up your insights in tools like ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude, even if your site isn’t directly linked or cited.

In our day-to-day work, we’ve already started adapting our content strategy to reflect this shift. GEO and AEO aren't just buzzwords, they are frameworks that guide how we structure and publish content to be visible in AI-generated outputs. It’s about creating materials that clearly demonstrate Experience, Expertise, Authority and Trust (E-E-A-T), the very same principles that help traditional SEO, but now applied in a broader, AI-first context. 

And yes, we’re already seeing the impact. Our brand mentions are increasingly appearing in AI-generated answers. That hasn’t happened by accident. It’s the result of a consistent, multi-platform presence built on high-quality media placements, reliable data and content built to be machine-readable and contextually rich.

If you work in comms, this isn’t a distant trend. It’s already reshaping how your clients, your company and your stories are being discovered. Some of the professionals I met at both conferences are only now realizing that AI-driven visibility isn’t about ranking first; it's about being included in AI-generated answers. And in this new landscape, content published in high-authority media outlets often carries more weight with LLMs than traditional backlinks or SEO-optimized blog posts.

This could mark a long-overdue return to quality over quantity, and for us in PR, that’s an opportunity. But only if we act on it. 

How to make your content LLM-ready

For communicators who want to start putting GEO and AEO into practice, here are a few core principles worth integrating into your content process: 

• 1. Focus on user intent: Understand what questions your audience is asking and create content that answers them clearly. AI tools surface helpful, straightforward information. 

• 2. Prioritize semantic keywords: Forget keyword stuffing. GEO and AEO value context. Use long-tail keywords and natural phrases that reflect how users actually speak when using tools like ChatGPT and Google’s SGE. 

• 3. Use conversational language: LLMs are trained on human dialogue. Content that mimics this — in tone and flow — is more likely to be interpreted correctly and used. 

• 4. Structure content for AI Headings, short paragraphs, bullet points: These aren’t just for reader convenience; they also help AI models understand and extract key information.

• 5. Establish authority: Support claims with data, quotes and reputable sources. AI systems look for trustworthy signals, and authoritative content has a higher chance of being surfaced. 

• 6. Think about distribution: Get your content in the right places. Publishing in high-quality media outlets improves visibility, especially for models trained on publicly available data. 

• 7. Combine SEO, GEO and AEO: You don’t need to abandon SEO. A strong foundation in search visibility supports GEO and AEO. Think of them as the next layer of strategic exposure. 

Communications strategies need to evolve beyond traditional SEO. GEO and AEO mean rethinking how we approach media relations, content planning, and even what success looks like. It’s not about being on page one anymore. It’s about being in the answer. And those who learn to write for both humans and machines will lead the way in shaping how brands get discovered in the age of generative search.