"Chattie, which is the best and most affordable home insurance policy?"
"Hey Copilot, is Company X a good place to work?"
"Gemini, what do you know about the CEO of Company Y?"
AI and LLMs are fundamentally changing the way content is found, interpreted, and delivered—and, as a result, the rules of the game for communication and marketing. That’s exactly what we discussed yesterday with executives and experts from our member companies at the ITHM Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) workshop.
Together with Nadine Nicolas and Adrian Wolf from the renowned Munich-based communications agency In A Nutshell, and ITHM Director of Communications Markus Walter, we explored how companies can actively enhance their visibility and reputation in AI systems.
Among other things, the focus was on:
▪️ Is GEO really the new SEO? Short answer: GEO involves quite a bit of SEO—so it’s more of an evolution.
▪️ What role will websites, trade media, and platforms like Reddit play in the future? Short answer: Both “owned media” (website) and “earned media” (external sources) play an immense role for GEO—and both need to be utilized effectively
▪️ How is AI changing digital sales and the customer journey? Short answer: LLMs are taking an ever-larger slice of the advisory pie, but peer-to-peer interaction will continue to play a major role for the foreseeable future, both in real life and in the digital world.
▪️ How can we measure what AI systems know and produce about a brand? Short answer: There are both paid and free tools available—but even they don’t provide 100% insight into the inner workings of AI.
▪️ How can we create genuine, unique value rather than generic content? The short answer and key takeaway from the workshop: The craft that communicators and marketers have learned and perfected over the years can also be put to good use at GEO: Clear writing, quotable statements, links, structured data, accessibility, etc.—LLMs appreciate these just as much as human readers do.
We were thrilled by the overwhelming interest in the workshop from our community. That’s why GEO will continue to be a focus for us as part of this year’s ITHM program theme, “AI & Sales.” Details will follow on our usual channels (LinkedIn, website, ITHM newsletter).
