Why is Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO) so important to your digital footprint?

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Chiara Balachandran from 8020 Communications, PR specialists in aviation, travel and transport, talks to us about the importance of travel brands’ visibility on AI platforms such as ChatGPT, Claude and Perplexity.

As generative AI transforms how people search, discover and evaluate brands, a new opportunity has emerged for communications professionals: Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO).

Unlike traditional SEO, which aims to improve rankings on search engines such as Google, GEO focuses on how your brand is represented in AI-generated responses from large language models (LLMs) such as ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, Gemini and Copilot. Instead of ranking links, these models pull content directly into conversational answers.

For PR professionals, that changes everything.

Generative AI search is reshaping consumer behaviour

What we already know:

  • ChatGPT handles more than a billion searches a day, which is just over 10% of Google’s volume.

  • Research shows that 60% of searches on Google now end without a single click to a website. AI-generated summaries are answering users' questions directly, often using editorial sources. This shift has contributed to a 15-25% drop in organic traffic across industries.

  • Usage of LLMs is skyrocketing. Its use rose 1,282% from 2023-2024, and for travel enquiries, that increase was 5,755%.

  • Searches made on Google and ChatGPT are fundamentally different. On Google, the average search length is 3.2 words. On ChatGPT, it’s 37.1 words. Users are providing full context within a conversational search, leading to action.

  • Users who click through from LLMs are more engaged. They stay longer (11 minutes vs. 8 via Google) and view more pages (13 vs. 11).

There’s a huge opportunity to be had, but how do we make the most of it?

How do LLMs choose what type of content to post?

Research shared on PRmoment revealed that 61% of ChatGPT’s answers are driven by earned media – that’s your thought leadership articles in trade publications, press release coverage or commentary within editorial features. The citations increased to 65% when users ask about trust. Owned media such as blogs and websites followed, while review sites and award wins also played a role.

This means getting your brand mentioned in national and trade media doesn’t just influence human readers, it shapes how AI talks about you. Traditional media relations has never been more essential in the age of AI.

And unlike SEO rankings or news cycles, LLMs give editorial content an extended shelf life. Older but credible stories are still cited in answers to evergreen queries, meaning a single piece of great coverage can generate long-term value.

Reddit has emerged as a major citation source, thanks to its Q&A format, real voices and open access to AI crawlers. Platforms such as ChatGPT and Perplexity frequently cite it and Wikipedia in their answers, alongside trusted media publications like Which? and the Financial Times.

So, what can aviation, travel and transport brands do?

At 8020, we recommend starting by running an audit within each LLM. Are you showing up? Is the information accurate? If not, it’s time to act.

Our new GEO audit service helps brands:

  • Audit how they appear (or don’t appear) across major platforms

  • Identify the sources influencing their reputation

  • Benchmark against competitors

  • Take strategic actions to improve discoverability and authority

We analyse branded and sector-based prompts across five platforms (ChatGPT, Google Gemini, Copilot, Claude and Perplexity), then deliver a clear, actionable roadmap to improve your AI footprint.

For owned content, what can we do to improve AI discovery with GEO?

LLMs speak differently from search engines. They prefer natural, conversational language, digestible structure and intent-rich queries. To increase visibility:

  • Use full-sentence questions as headers (think about your long-tailed keywords)

  • Structure content in digestible formats using H1s, H2s and bullet points for clarity

  • Focus on quality over quantity, using expert-led, well-labelled content

  • Elevate authoritative voices. Think experts, authors and award wins

GEO is PR’s next big opportunity

GEO isn’t a passing trend; it’s the next evolution of how brands are discovered. For PR and communications leaders, it’s a chance to shape the narrative at the point of search and not just influence what happens afterward.

At 8020, we’ve developed a specialist GEO audit and strategy offering to help brands take control of how they’re seen in AI-generated content. If your story isn’t showing up, or isn’t told the way it should be, we’ll help you fix that.

The 8020 Communications team is offering members of ABTA a 20% discount on their newly-launched Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO) audit service. To find out more, go to: www.8020comms.com/contact/ and send the form quoting ‘ABTA GEO offer’, and 8020’s friendly team will be in touch with you.

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