Honest question, not trying to start a fight. Half the proposals I see from agencies this year have a separate line item for “generative engine optimization” at roughly 1.5x the normal retainer.
When I read what they actually deliver it’s:
– clearer headings and direct answers near the top
– FAQ sections
– getting mentioned on third-party sites and review roundups
– keeping brand info consistent everywhere
Which is… what decent SEOs have been doing for years? The only genuinely new thing I can point to is people checking whether ChatGPT or Perplexity mentions the brand for a set of prompts, and even that is pretty manual and noisy.
I run content for a mid-size project management tool and my boss wants to know if we need a “GEO strategy” separate from our SEO one. My gut says no, same work, maybe different reporting. But I’d like to hear from people who’ve actually split it out. Did anything you did specifically for AI answers move a number that normal SEO work wouldn’t have moved?
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