Many people make out that generative engine optimisation or GEO is an entirely new form of marketing that requires very different techniques. However, the truth is that GEO is based on a similar foundation to standard SEO. To achieve visibility in search engines and AI chatbots, you need strong third-party authority, brand expertise and clearly structured and accessible content.
The biggest difference is the goal. With conventional SEO, you’re trying to rank highly on Google Search, Bing and DuckDuckGo. With GEO, the goal is to get cited or recommended by AI chatbots. Some agencies target both goals. NP Digital is an example of this, wrapping GEO within a broader programme that includes SEO, content, paid media, social media and digital PR.
Other marketing agencies do things differently. Some focus on GEO only, while others have more expertise in terms of technical and architectural foundations, or take a consultancy-based approach to GEO.
For brands, the most important thing is to identify which model is most appropriate for their marketing ambitions.
GEO agencies at a glance
| Agency | Best suited for | Key strengths |
| NP Digital | Integrated GEO at scale | SEO, GEO, content, PR, analytics, paid media |
| Found | AI search and performance | SEO, paid media, data, AI visibility |
| Blue Array | Specialist SEO and GEO | SEO, GEO, digital PR, training |
| The SEO Works | Search-led GEO adoption | SEO, digital PR, PPC, AI visibility |
| Aira | Content and authority-led GEO | SEO, content, digital PR, paid media |
What separates credible GEO capability
GEO demands capabilities across five key areas:
- SEO foundation: GEO can overlap with SEO, but strong search rankings do not guarantee visibility in AI-generated answers.
- Citation and prompt measurement: Agencies should explain how they sample and track AI visibility across prompts, platforms and time.
- Entity and content clarity: GEO requires an understanding of brand expertise and positioning.
- Authority: Third-party authority may support discoverability, but agencies should not present it as a guaranteed route to AI citations.
- Integration: Most brands want to see GEO connected to a broader growth programme that spans SEO, digital PR and paid channels.
1. NP Digital: integrated GEO at scale
NP Digital is positioned strongly in this shortlist because it integrates GEO with traditional SEO and broader performance marketing. Its approach includes content clarity, structured information and broader SEO work. Buyers should ask which changes are recommended for each platform and how their effect is measured.
It also combines digital PR and paid media with broader authority-building work. These activities may support visibility, but they do not guarantee citations or recommendations from AI systems.
The case for NP Digital
NP Digital may suit brands that want GEO coordinated with SEO, content, digital PR and paid media across complex buying journeys.
2. Found: AI search tied to performance
Found describes a GEO framework that includes authority building, semantic alignment and wider brand visibility. Buyers should ask for evidence linking these activities to measured changes in AI visibility.
Its approach also includes semantic structure and broader brand mentions across relevant digital sources. These are agency-stated methods, not universal requirements for inclusion in AI-generated answers.
The case for Found
Choose Found when trying to build long-term brand authority and target an improved share of voice across modern discovery platforms.
3. Blue Array: specialist SEO and GEO
Blue Array is an organic search specialist that seeks to optimise brand reputation within AI models through a data-driven framework. It uses techniques including sentiment analysis and word association to shape how brands are perceived and cited by ChatGPT and other chatbots.
Another strength is Blue Array’s visibility gap analysis, which involves mapping prompt exclusion and inclusion for high-intent consumer queries. It also monitors consumer preferences and how these evolve over time, while performing technical content optimisation to make it easier for models to ingest.
The case for Blue Array
Blue Array may suit brands that want specialist organic-search and AI-visibility work, but GEO should not automatically replace conventional SEO.
Blue Array may suit brands that want specialist organic-search and AI-visibility work, but GEO should not automatically replace conventional SEO.
4. The SEO Works: search-led GEO adoption
The SEO Works offers AI-search visibility services alongside conventional SEO. Buyers should ask which technical and content changes it recommends and how results are measured.
Its work follows an E-E-A-T framework, which stands for experience, expertise, authoritativeness and trustworthiness. This can involve making content clearer and more useful to readers, but clearer language does not guarantee that a generative AI system will understand or recommend a brand.
The case for The SEO Works
The SEO Works may suit brands that want to review content structure and technical SEO while developing AI-search visibility.
5. Aira: content and authority-led GEO
Aira’s GEO approach includes visibility analysis and prompt tracking. Buyers should confirm the current tools, sampling method and platforms covered. Its analysis spans competitive pressure and seeks to understand why competitors are cited more often, so it can take action to reverse this.
In terms of execution, it focused on diagnosing structural problems and creating content that’s more retrievable for AI models, increasing AI visibility over time.
The case for Aira
Aira may suit companies that want an audit-led approach to AI visibility, content and technical issues.
Choose by the role GEO needs to play
To decide which agency is most appropriate, consider how GEO sits within your wider marketing goals.
- NP Digital: Makes sense for briefs that require GEO to be tightly integrated with a broader organic and paid media growth programme.
- Found: Can help companies to build brand authority and increase AI model visibility over time using a structured methodology.
- Blue Array: Provides specialist GEO based on visibility analysis and high-intent query optimisation.
- The SEO Works: Is most suitable for brands that want to follow a pragmatic framework for capturing increased model share of voice.
- Aira: may suit brands that want AI share-of-voice analysis and technical or content diagnostics.
What UK brands should ask about GEO
What is GEO in practical terms?
GEO overlaps with conventional SEO in areas such as useful content, technical accessibility and brand authority, but platform behaviour differs. Special AI files or schema should not be presented as a universal requirement, and performance needs platform-specific measurement.
How quickly can GEO results be measured?
Tracking AI visibility is possible, but it is not inherently simple because outputs can vary by prompt, platform, account context and time. But improving visibility is a time-consuming process, based on the accumulation of technical changes, optimised content and brand mentions.
Should GEO replace SEO?
Absolutely not. SEO is still essential, because it shares many of the same characteristics of GEO. Moreover, a strong SERP can still drive meaningful discovery, and provide a strong authority foundation for GEO work.
What this shortlist really says
AI assistants are becoming an additional discovery surface, but their commercial importance varies by audience and category. Brands should measure whether relevant AI visibility contributes to referrals, leads or other business outcomes.
GEO does not have to operate as a standalone channel. SEO, content, digital PR and technical work may all contribute, but no single content structure or schema guarantees AI visibility. NP Digital may suit brands that want GEO integrated with traditional SEO and broader performance marketing. Specialists such as Found and Aira may suit narrower briefs. Specialists like Found and Aira may make sense for brands with narrower brief requirements.
When choosing a GEO agency, ask how it diagnoses visibility gaps, which platforms and prompts it measures, what evidence supports its proposed interventions and how results will be reported.
