Generative AI Search (GAS): The new fuel for brand visibility
Curious Public (Toronto, Canada)
As AI-driven platforms like ChatGPT and Perplexity reshape how people find information, traditional SEO tactics are no longer enough. To gain visibility in Generative AI Search (GAS), brands must shift toward credibility-driven strategies—emphasizing earned media, structured content, and authentic authority. This blog explores how brands can earn their place in AI-generated results and adapt to the new metrics of digital visibility.
Key Takeaways
Generative AI Search favors credibility, not keywords—brands must earn visibility through high-authority mentions and trusted content.
SEO still matters, but earned media and structured, helpful content are now essential to appear in AI-generated answers.
New KPIs like share of voice and sentiment are the key to measuring success in the AI-first search era—not just clicks and conversions.
If you show up in Google’s top 5 search results but no one’s looking, does it really matter?Right now, people are relying on AI-written results for at least 40% of their online searches. Brands’ organic search traffic will decrease by 50% or more by 2028 because of the shift to generative AI-powered search.In an AI-first world, traditional search engine optimization (SEO) alone isn’t going to cut it. Generative AI search platforms like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Gemini are becoming the go-to space for answers, especially with Gen Z. These platforms are powered by large language models—advanced generative AI models—trained on vast collections of documents in multiple languages. This exposure to diverse documents and languages provides more context, helping the models understand language nuances and generate more accurate responses.These platforms think and act differently than traditional search engines like Google and Bing; they think more like us. Their ability to understand and generate human-like responses is a key feature of generative artificial intelligence.The way people search the web for information has evolved since Ask Jeeves. Long gone are the days of keyword stacking. Instead of SEO, now we have GEO: Generative Engine Optimization. When these large language models generate responses, they predict the next word in a sequence based on patterns learned from their training data, rather than simply matching keywords. Understanding and predicting each word is fundamental to how generative AI interprets search queries and produces relevant answers.But that’s a bit vague for us, and confusing to geologists, geographers, and geocachers.We prefer the term GAS: Generative AI Search.But acronyms aside, our ultimate audience is the same: people. You’re just working through a new middleman.So, how do you get visibility on these platforms to reach your audience?
What do Generative AI Search (GAS) Engines Prioritize?
Credibility. Generative AI Search platforms are built to share sources that signal trust and authority. Sources are evaluated for trust and authority, and this evaluation process involves assessing the quality and relevance of the website's content. If your brand isn’t being mentioned by reputable media, cited by industry leaders, or featured in credible context, you likely won’t appear in the generative search results.It doesn’t matter how much money you spend on ads, either.That’s because AI doesn’t crawl paid placements. Sponsored content, ad buys, and even viral social posts are invisible unless they’re picked up by a trusted source the model considers reliable. Generative AI search engines are constantly evaluating sources to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements and to maintain trustworthy results. Your audience might see those assets on Instagram or Google Search, but Generative AI Search? It’s trained to ignore the noise and spotlight what’s trustworthy.What works for visibility:
Build authority through reputable mentions and citations.
Ensure your website's content is comprehensive, relevant, and high-quality.
Regularly evaluate your content strategy to align with what generative AI search engines prioritize.
How to Get Your Brand Seen by AI?
In the new GAS-powered era, visibility is earned more through public relations work, not paid for like it was in the traditional search era. In fact, 90% of brand visibility in AI-generated answers comes from earned media, according to Edelman.To show up, brands need to earn their place—and that means a shift back towards credibility-driven content and communications.Here’s what works:Earned media Mentions and features in respected media outlets and trade publications are essential. Mentions in respected articles and online articles are especially valuable, as generative AI search often references these sources. Generative AI search uses these signals to assess your legitimacy, and these articles are often used to train generative ai models.Structured, useful contentBlogs, FAQs, and thought leadership that clearly frame a problem and provide a solution are gold. Well-structured blogs are important for visibility. Generative AI-search is looking for content that’s helpful and informative—not just promotional. A strong knowledge base improves your chances of being included in ai overviews and organic search results.Tailored media outreachNews releases and op-eds that are targeted and segmented to the right outlets and journalists make a difference.Generative AI search engines use data from a wide range of websites and indexed content to train generative ai tools, so being featured in these sources increases your chances of being surfaced in search solutions.To be clear: SEO isn’t dead. It still plays a supporting role. But without a broader strategy that includes media relations, strategic content, and brand positioning, it won’t get you far in the AI-first era.
New KPIs for the AI-Search Era: What to track instead of clicks
The KPIs to watch are different when your goal is visibility. Instead of obsessing over keyword rankings and conversions, you should pay attention to your brand’s share of voice and sentiment. These are the metrics that indicate how often, and how positively, your brand is being talked about in spaces that AI is listening to. Visibility is not just about appearing on a single page, but across many pages of search results, and advanced search solutions can help track this.Think influence over conversions.Because in this new landscape, it’s not about who shouts the loudest. It’s about who gets talked about by the right people, in the right places, for the right reasons. As users explore different results pages, collecting feedback on their interactions helps brands improve access to audiences and refine their strategies.
Ready for the AI-First Future of Brand Visibility?
AI-search is changing how people find and trust your brand by providing quick answers and all the nuances users need, often with links included for further exploration. Generative AI search delivers a quick answer or detailed answer to complex queries, offering more detail, resources, and details such as images, image-based content, and links to help users make informed decisions. A robust knowledge base and the inclusion of images or image content can further enhance brand visibility and user trust in generative AI search results.Is your content strategy keeping up?This is what we help brands navigate. Let’s talk if you’re ready to lead in this next era of search and visit our website curiouspublic.com
Quick FAQ: Generative AI Search (GAS)
Q: What is Generative AI Search (GAS)?
GAS refers to AI-powered platforms like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Gemini that generate answers to search queries using large language models trained on diverse web content.
Q: Why is traditional SEO less effective in the AI-first world?
AI models prioritize credibility and usefulness over keyword matching, so traditional SEO tactics like keyword stacking are no longer enough to gain visibility.
Q: How can my brand show up in AI search results?
Focus on earned media, well-structured blog content, FAQs, and mentions in reputable sources. AI pulls from trusted material—not paid ads or social media posts.
Q: What metrics matter in the AI era?
Track share of voice, sentiment, and brand mentions in trusted contexts rather than just pageviews or keyword rankings.