AI is becoming a new search surface
Search Engine Journal published a breakdown of a topic that digital marketers and traffic arbitrage specialists increasingly discuss in private channels: how to combine paid promotion inside ChatGPT with earned visibility in generative model responses. The material draws on expertise from OpenAI and agency Go Fish Digital, who unpack where two directions intersect — advertising in AI and the so-called GEO (Generative Engine Optimization).
What GEO is and why it is not just new SEO
GEO is optimization for generative engines: ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Google AI Overviews. Unlike classic SEO, where you compete for a position in a list of links, here you compete for the model to mention your brand or product in the answer itself. The logic is fundamentally different: what matters is not keywords and backlinks in the usual sense, but citability, source authority, and how the model interprets your content.
Paid visibility: advertising inside ChatGPT
OpenAI is developing ad formats inside ChatGPT, opening a new venue for arbitrage specialists and media buyers. It is still an early stage, but the logic is familiar: you pay for an impression or click inside a conversational interface. The key question is how to measure effectiveness and avoid cannibalizing your own organic mentions.
- Paid placement gives you control over delivery and predictable reach.
- Earned AI visibility builds trust and long-term effect.
- Both strategies must be measured in one framework, otherwise the data will conflict.
Practical GEO measurement
Go Fish Digital suggests treating GEO as a measurable discipline: tracking in how many model answers the brand appears, with what tone, and which sources are cited. Without this, you cannot tell whether content optimization for generative engines is working.
What marketers should test
Experts recommend starting small: an audit of how models currently describe your brand, comparison with competitors, tests of content structure and formats that most often get cited. In parallel — pilot campaigns in ChatGPT ad formats where available in your region.
Editorial take
For the Russian-speaking market, the topic is ahead of reality: ChatGPT ads are either unavailable or limited in most regions, and GEO measurement tools are still forming. But it is right now that expertise is being built, which in a year or two will sell for more than classic SEO consulting. Arbitrage specialists should look at GEO as an adjacent competency — a logical extension of working with traffic and content. The best move today is not to wait for ready-made solutions, but to build your own AI visibility metrics and test hypotheses on small budgets.
