The New Search Reality: Why GEO Matters
The digital landscape is undergoing its most profound shift since the dawn of Google. Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO) is rapidly replacing traditional SEO as the key to visibility in an era dominated by AI-Powered search engines and large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT, Google Gemini, and Perplexity. Gartner has forecasted a 50% decline in organic web traffic by 2028, with many brands already experiencing drops of 25-40%.
The reason? Users are increasingly getting answers directly from AI-generated summaries, bypassing traditional search results entirely.
For Investors, this is not a distant trend; it’s a present-day risk and opportunity. Portfolio companies that fail to adapt risk becoming invisible to both customers and acquirers.
What Investors Need to Be Aware Of
1. Visibility Is No Longer About Ranking. It’s About Retrievability
Traditional SEO is focused on ranking high in search results. GEO is about being retrievable by AI engines, ensuring your brand, products, and expertise are cited in AI-generated answers, not just listed as links. Nearly 60% of Google searches now result in zero clicks, and 80% of users rely on AI summaries at least 40% of the time.
2. The Metrics Have Changed
Success is no longer measured by clicks and impressions alone. New KPIs include:
- AI Visibility: How often your brand appears in AI-generated outputs (Google AI Overviews, ChatGPT, Perplexity, etc.).
- Citation Frequency: How often your brand is referenced (even without links) in trusted sources, forums, and social platforms.
- Branded Search Volume: Growth in direct searches for your brand, triggered by AI mentions
3. Authority and Structure Are Critical
AI engines value:
- Authority: Frequent mentions in reputable sources, unlinked brand mentions on Reddit, Quora, YouTube, and strong engagement signals (dwell time, upvotes, comments).
- Structure: Use of schema markup, clean site architecture, and machine-readable content. If your site isn’t structured for AI, it’s essentially invisible
4. The GEO Playbook Is Different
GEO requires a unified strategy:
- On-Page: Create entity-rich, well-structured content that answers real user questions in natural language.
- Off-Page: Build mention equity in trusted, machine-readable sources (Wikipedia, Reddit, industry directories).
- Technical: Allow AI crawlers (like GPTBot, ClaudeBot) to index your site, optimise metadata, and use structured data
The Impact of Inaction: Risks for Portfolio Companies
1. Loss of Digital Visibility and Brand Equity
Companies that ignore GEO risk will be excluded from AI-generated answers. This means:
- Reduced brand awareness and discoverability.
- Declining organic and referral traffic.
- Lower inbound leads and sales opportunities.
2. Competitive Disadvantage
Early adopters of GEO are already gaining a significant edge. Brands that are retrievable by AI are more likely to be recommended, cited, and trusted by both users and machines. Those who delay will find it increasingly difficult and expensive to catch up.
3. Decreased Portfolio Value
For investors, the digital footprint of a portfolio company is now a material factor in valuation. Companies invisible to AI search engines may see their market value erode, especially in sectors where digital discovery drives customer acquisition and retention.
What Should Portfolio Companies Do Now?
1. Audit and Adapt Digital Assets
- Assess current visibility in AI-generated answers using tools like SEMrush or similar
- Optimise content for entity recognition, structured data, and conversational queries.
2. Build Authority and Engagement
- Secure mentions in reputable sources, industry forums, and social platforms.
- Encourage user-generated content and reviews, especially on platforms like Reddit, which are heavily weighted in LLM training data
3. Monitor and Measure
- Track AI visibility, citation frequency, and branded search volume as core KPIs.
- Use analytics to segment and understand AI-referred traffic
The Palladium Advantage: Consult With Us
Navigating the Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO) landscape demands more than technical know-how; it requires strategic foresight and commercial acuity. Palladium actively engages in dozens of diligence processes and strategic reviews where SEO performance is no longer a footnote; it’s a headline risk. In fact, over the past quarter alone, GEO-related visibility issues have surfaced in almost every diligence and strategy project we’ve worked on.
- For investors, this shift is material. We help you identify where traditional SEO is underperforming and assess whether a target’s digital footprint is future-proofed for AI search.
- For portfolio companies, we go beyond diagnostics; our team works closely to reshape digital strategies so that brands are not just found, but retrieved, cited, and recommended by the world’s most influential AI engines.
Watch the video now to gain practical insights and stay ahead in the GEO landscape.
To help you navigate this evolving landscape, we’re pleased to share an exclusive video featuring our own consultant, Dylan Hamilton. In this session, Dylan discusses the latest trends, risks, and opportunities in GEO, drawing on Palladium’s extensive experience across dozens of recent diligence and strategy engagements.
