In the age of AI-generated answers, getting found online means more than just ranking, it means being quoted by the algorithm. As someone who works every day to grow and amplify fintech brands, I’ve seen how AI is quietly reshaping the rules of search visibility. The rise of generative search tools isn’t just a trend, but a shift in how authority, trust and relevance are defined online.
Google’s Search Generative Experience (SGE) and other tools like Bing Copilot don’t just list links; they generate full answers, pulling from content they deem authoritative, clear and relevant.
That means it’s no longer enough to appear on page one; your content needs to be good enough to become part of the answer. Whether it’s a definition of a financial term or a how-to guide on crypto compliance, the brands that get cited in AI-generated responses are the ones who’ve mastered generative search optimisation (GSO).
Beyond links and keywords
For years, SEO revolved around keywords, backlinks and technical site tweaks to rank higher in link-based search results. These are still important, but search engines are getting smarter. AI-powered platforms don’t just list results; they generate answers – summarising, contextualising, and conversing with users.
Take Google’s SGE, which blends traditional results with AI-generated summaries and insights. This fundamentally changes how users find information and how brands must deliver it.
What is GSO?
GSO, represents a fundamental shift in how we approach content for modern search engines powered by AI. Unlike traditional SEO, which primarily focused on sprinkling the right keywords throughout content and building backlinks, GSO is about creating content that aligns with the way AI understands and generates answers.
It requires a deeper emphasis on context, ensuring content is rich in relevant information and structured in a way that conversational AI models can easily summarise. Essentially, GSO is about anticipating user intent not just at the query level, but within a broader conversational framework. This means content must be natural, fluid, and semantically nuanced, allowing AI to connect the dots and provide meaningful, comprehensive responses.
For brands, especially in complex sectors like fintech, this means moving beyond keyword checklists to creating genuinely helpful, context-aware content that serves both human readers and intelligent machines alike. Done well, a GSO strategy pays dividends. One study has shown that optimising content for generative search engines resulted in 40 per cent more visibility.
How to future-proof your content strategy
Adapting to GSO isn’t about throwing out your SEO playbook, but evolving it. My advice is to:
- Create rich, authoritative content: Think beyond blogs; develop explainer guides, FAQs, and well-structured resources.
- Write naturally and contextually: Use a tone that’s engaging and accessible, write as if you’re answering a question in person.
- Use structured data: Tools like Google’s Structured Data Markup Helper make it easier for AI to understand your pages.
- Focus on user intent: Anticipate follow-up questions and related topics that your audience cares about.
Traditional SEO has long been about appeasing algorithms (hitting the right keywords, earning backlinks, and fine-tuning technical elements to climb the rankings). But generative search curates answers, not just results, so to thrive in this environment, brands must be digitally bi-lingual: content needs to speak both to humans and to machines.
And here’s the irony: the more conversational and human your content sounds, the better machines can work with it. In trying to mimic human reasoning, AI favours content that mirrors how people think, ask, and explain. So, while we’re optimising for machines, the path forward is deeply human.
Staying visible when the search paradigm shifts
Traditional search rankings are giving way to AI-generated snippets, voice assistant responses, and dynamic summaries. Maintaining visibility in this new landscape means:
- Building brand authority and trust; AI models prioritise credible, well-regarded sources.
- Actively monitoring AI-generated answers and adapting content to match evolving formats and user intent.
- Rethinking success metrics by moving beyond page rank to focus on inclusion in AI responses and conversational interfaces.
In this new era, success isn’t about gaming the algorithm, it’s about becoming the source AI turns to when delivering answers. That requires more than just good content. It demands strategic storytelling, credibility-building, and a deep understanding of how brand narratives intersect with emerging technology.
This is where professional PR expertise becomes essential. PR isn’t just about getting your name in the press, it’s the most effective way to shape the voice of your brand in a way that resonates with both people and machines. In a world where trust, clarity, and relevance drive visibility, communicators who can craft content that’s both authoritative and AI-friendly will lead the conversation – and the market.
