TLDR: Marketing agencies are misleading Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) by promoting ‘AI visibility’ and ‘Generative Engine Optimisation’ (GEO) as crucial for exposure on platforms like ChatGPT and Perplexity. However, data indicates that these AI chatbots generate negligible web traffic, making such optimization efforts a misallocation of resources. Many of these ‘new’ strategies are merely rebranded traditional SEO practices.
A growing myth is being propagated by marketing agencies, suggesting that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) must ‘optimize for AI’ to remain competitive. These agencies are actively pushing new service offerings centered on ‘AI visibility’ and ‘Generative Engine Optimisation’ (GEO), promising enhanced exposure within AI tools such as ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google’s AI Overviews. However, a closer look at the data reveals a different story, indicating that the hype surrounding these initiatives is largely misleading for SMEs.
Contrary to the marketing rhetoric, these AI chatbots do not generate significant, measurable web traffic. For the vast majority of websites, referrals from AI chatbots account for less than 2% of total visits, a figure often lower than the traffic generated by search engines like Microsoft Bing. For instance, Perplexity, one of the more frequently discussed AI search startups, boasts fewer than 50 million monthly users. While this number may seem substantial, it pales in comparison to many large publisher sites, with The New York Times operating at a similar scale, yet still considered a relatively small player in the broader web ecosystem. Furthermore, ChatGPT’s web browsing feature, while interesting, has not proven to send users to websites in any meaningful capacity.
The core issue, as highlighted by industry observers, is that optimizing for chatbot visibility today constitutes a waste of valuable resources for SMEs. This ‘AI visibility’ hype is primarily driven by marketing consultants and agencies seeking novel services to sell, rather than being based on actual, demonstrable marketing performance. The concept of ‘Generative Engine Optimisation’ (GEO) is, in essence, traditional Search Engine Optimization (SEO) repackaged with a new name. The tactics promoted under the GEO umbrella, such as structured content, leveraging credible sources, utilizing comparison tables, incorporating quotes, and presenting statistics, have been standard SEO best practices for many years.
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This misleading trend poses two significant risks for SMEs. Firstly, it creates a ‘distraction,’ diverting small teams from focusing on proven strategies that genuinely drive sales and client acquisition. Businesses may neglect effective tactics like local SEO, consistent blogging, YouTube content creation, and Google Business optimization, all of which continue to be more impactful. Secondly, it leads to ‘misinvestment,’ as some agencies charge for ‘AI visibility audits’ or ‘GEO strategies’ that offer little beyond a rebranding of existing SEO services. SMEs end up paying for sophisticated dashboards and AI reports that ultimately fail to improve their rankings, traffic, or lead generation.
