AI platforms and AI search features are starting to shift the way consumers find information and explore products. In fact, over a quarter (26.4%) of the US population will be a generative AI search user in 2026, a growth of 12.7%, according to EMARKETER's June 2025 forecast.

That shift is giving rise to new tactics for ensuring marketing content and product info show up prominently in AI answers. But consensus on whether these tactics work is still developing.

In a new EMARKETER guide titled "5 expert perspectives you can trust on the hype vs. reality of GEO," we spoke with experts to help marketers assess where there’s hype, and where there’s real incentive around generative engine optimization (GEO) tactics.

Keysey Voss, EMARKETER's principal analyst leading B2B marketing analysis and research, told us how marketers can take action on GEO right now and what measurement tools the industry urgently needs.

Q. What do you see as the single most important conceptual difference between GEO and SEO?

A. SEO is about ranking pages for clicks, while GEO is about being selected as a source in synthesized answers. In AI-led discovery, visibility depends less on position and more on whether a model can clearly interpret, trust, and reuse your content. That shifts the goal from traffic capture alone to citation and inclusion.

Q. What are some lessons or best practices that have been refined through SEO that would most apply to GEO?

A. Clarity, intent alignment, and structure still matter, but they carry more weight in AI-driven discovery. Content that answers real buyer questions directly, uses clean formatting, and is easy to extract performs best in AI systems. Authority also carries over, especially when reinforced by third-party validation and expert authorship.

Q. How do you think generative AI behaves differently in B2B contexts?

A. B2B AI discovery is shaped by higher stakes and longer decision cycles, which makes trust and verification more important than speed alone. Buyers use AI to narrow options, not make final decisions. That’s why B2B marketers should invest now in foundational GEO work rather than wait, focusing on credibility and structure instead of chasing short-term tactics.

Q. What are a few concrete tactics marketers can employ now to begin developing GEO results?

A. Audit which content already appears in AI summaries and restructure it for clarity and extractability. Add schema, FAQs, and direct answers mapped to buyer questions. Repurpose strong content across formats and platforms where AI systems increasingly pull signals, such as LinkedIn, YouTube, and trusted communities.

Q, What kind of measurement tools or analytics frameworks do you believe the industry urgently needs?

A. The industry needs better visibility metrics, not just traffic metrics. That includes tracking citation presence in AI outputs, impression-level exposure, and shifts in branded and long-tail search demand. These signals should be paired with lead quality and pipeline data to understand influence even when clicks disappear.

Q. What emerging risks should brands be preparing for?

A. The biggest risks are losing narrative control and credibility erosion. AI can misattribute claims, flatten nuance, or surface brands in irrelevant contexts. Those risks are amplified when teams lack clear ownership, training, or judgment around AI use. Brands need active monitoring, clear content governance, and rapid response protocols to protect trust as AI becomes an intermediary.

Read the full report.

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