Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO): What It Means for Small Businesses

Why ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews are changing how customers find tradies.

Generative Engine Optimisation, or GEO, is the thing most tradies haven't heard of yet but are already being judged by. It's not about ranking on Google's blue links anymore. It's about whether ChatGPT, Google's AI Overviews or Perplexity actually mention your business when someone asks for a plumber, sparky or landscaper nearby. That shift is happening fast, and most small businesses have no idea it's underway.

GEO vs SEO: What's Actually Different

Traditional SEO is about ranking well on a search results page so a human clicks through to your website. GEO is about being the answer an AI engine gives when someone asks a question in plain language, like "who's a good electrician near me" or "best plumber for a hot water emergency."

The AI doesn't show ten blue links and let the customer choose. It picks one, two, maybe three businesses to mention by name. If you're not one of them, you're invisible in that conversation, even if you'd rank on page one of old-school Google.

Why This Is Happening Right Now

45% of consumers now use AI tools to choose local businesses, up from just 6% a year earlier, according to BrightLocal's 2026 Local Consumer Review Survey. That's not a niche behaviour anymore, that's becoming the default way people find tradies.

It's also hurting the businesses that used to win the old way. Ahrefs found the number one Google result loses 58% of its clicks when an AI answer appears above it. Ranking first isn't worth what it used to be if the AI answer is sitting above you and sending the customer elsewhere.

Google is also testing AI-drafted reply suggestions for Google Business Profile reviews, with a moderation layer that's already knocking back a chunk of drafts for tone or trigger-word issues. Even how you respond to reviews is starting to run through an AI filter before it reaches customers.

How AI Engines Actually Decide Who to Mention

AI tools don't just read your website. They pull from a mix of sources: your Google Business Profile, review content and recency, structured information on your site, and other directories you've probably forgotten about.

One example most tradies and generalist marketing agencies have never touched: ChatGPT leans heavily on Foursquare's Places API for its first local recommendations, not Google. If your listing there hasn't been touched since you first set it up years ago, that's a gap worth closing.

What You Can Do This Week

You don't need to become a marketing expert to improve your chances here. Start with the basics and build from there.

• Claim and fully update your Google Business Profile, including services, service areas and photos
• Check and update older listings like Foursquare, Apple Maps and Bing Places, not just Google
• Add clear, plain-language FAQ content to your website answering the questions customers actually ask
• Ask happy customers for reviews that mention the specific job and suburb, not just "great service"
• Run a free AI Visibility Audit, such as the one Wombid offers, to see how often (or rarely) AI tools currently mention your business

Common questions