The New Gatekeepers: GEO and the Future of Brand Visibility
On July 29, Santa Cruz Works hosted a powerful session led by Peggy Tierney Galvin, Chief Strategy Officer at Force4, unveiling one of the most urgent shifts in digital marketing: the rise of Generative Engine Optimization (GEO). For attendees seeking to stay ahead of the curve, Galvin’s message was clear—search as we’ve known it is dying, and AI-driven discovery is taking its place.
Galvin introduced GEO as a discipline born from necessity. In a world where blue links are fading and AI summaries are rising, visibility no longer depends on Google search rankings. Instead, it depends on being surfaced inside generative engines like ChatGPT, Google’s Search Generative Experience (SGE), and Perplexity AI. These tools are the new gatekeepers of information, and the next generation of buyers, clients, and users are turning to them—not to search, but to synthesize.
“Your next customer won’t Google you,” said Galvin. “They’ll ask ChatGPT.”
GEO, or Generative Engine Optimization, redefines how visibility works. It’s not about gaming an algorithm—it’s about shaping what large language models know and share about your brand. Visibility in this new world means being presented with context, credibility, and relevance in AI-generated answers. As Galvin put it, “You’re not just issuing news anymore—you’re training the model.”
Unlike traditional SEO, which relies on keyword optimization and backlinks to influence human-facing search engines, GEO is a hybrid of public relations, brand positioning, and structured content strategy. It’s about feeding models with clean, trustworthy, and easy-to-parse information—because what gets fed, gets surfaced.
Galvin broke down the core strategies of winning at GEO:
Audit your brand across AI engines like ChatGPT, SGE, and Perplexity. What do the summaries say about you? Are they accurate? Authoritative?
Clean up your content. Make headlines sharp. Use structured formats like FAQs, explainers, and press releases that LLMs can easily digest.
Secure earned media coverage in trusted outlets. These sources are key data inputs for LLM training. Your authority in the press is now a direct line to your authority in AI answers.
Think like a bot—and a buyer. Structure your messaging for machines, but tell stories that resonate with humans.
One of the session’s most eye-opening insights was the rising value of earned media. “PR isn’t just PR anymore—it’s how you train the bots,” Galvin explained. Every quote, article, or podcast mention in a trusted source becomes training data for AI engines. In this model-driven future, media exposure builds discoverability not just for people, but for machines learning what to say about you.
Force4, the strategic agency behind the GEO framework, is composed of over 20 independent industry experts specializing in tech-focused brand visibility. Their approach is grounded in the idea that traditional campaign thinking—whether in SEO or PR—must now give way to narrative-driven visibility. It’s not enough to launch a campaign. You must shape the AI narrative.
Galvin challenged attendees to embrace the mindset of generative-first = visibility-first. Companies that don’t proactively shape how they appear in AI outputs may find themselves misrepresented—or worse, invisible. With generative tools handling more customer queries, decision-making, and discovery journeys, the implications for sales, recruitment, fundraising, and growth are profound.
The final takeaway? Your website may never get visited. Your newsletter may never get opened. But your name, story, and credibility might show up in summary form—as told by a bot.
To help organizations prepare, Force4 is offering complimentary GEO audits to assess how well-positioned a brand is in the generative ecosystem. It's a service aimed at marketers, founders, and communications teams who want to remain discoverable in a world where AI is writing the introduction.
In a time when attention is earned not just from people but from machines, understanding GEO isn’t optional—it’s essential.
