The SEO Works on GEO: From Destination to Source in AI Search
As generative AI begins to reshape how answers are surfaced, not just searched, agencies are starting to rethink what visibility actually means.
In this edition of The GEO Series, Ben Foster, CEO of The SEO Works, shares a perspective grounded in SEO fundamentals, but evolving toward something more: a shift from attracting clicks to becoming a trusted source within AI-generated responses.
Based in Sheffield, UK, Ben鈥檚 approach reflects a transitional phase in the industry, where GEO is gaining importance but remains deeply connected to established SEO practices.
GEO Strategy & Services
At The SEO Works, GEO is positioned as a strategic expansion area, but not a standalone shift away from SEO.
Instead, as Ben Foster explains, it is something layered on top of existing capabilities:
鈥淭he fundamental building block is still strong SEO, but there are additional layers that help move the needle.鈥
This framing is important. While some agencies are carving out GEO as a distinct offering, others, like The SEO Works, are embedding it into familiar workflows.
From what we鈥檝e seen across The GEO Series, this approach is particularly common among agencies operating in more mature SEO environments, where the priority is evolution rather than reinvention.
At the same time, client demand is still uneven. GEO conversations are happening, but not yet at scale, suggesting that adoption is still catching up with industry momentum.
What The SEO Works鈥 GEO Services Include
The SEO Works approaches GEO as an extension of SEO, layering new capabilities onto established foundations.
- Strengthening brand and entity signals through digital PR
- Aligning content with how AI systems interpret and extract information
- Leveraging LLM-focused tools such as LLMrefs
- Enhancing visibility across AI-generated answers
What stands out here is the balance between continuity and change.
Rather than reinventing their offering, the agency is evolving SEO into something more aligned with AI-driven discovery.
How The SEO Works Structures GEO Services
The agency鈥檚 approach reflects a layered model where GEO is not isolated, but embedded within a broader search strategy.
- Building authority through strong SEO fundamentals
- Expanding into AI-driven visibility
- Aligning outputs with how generative engines interpret content
- Integrating GEO into cross-functional workflows
This structure highlights an important shift: GEO is not treated as a separate channel, but as a new visibility layer across existing activities.
How GEO Actually Works
Ben Foster鈥檚 perspective captures one of the most fundamental shifts in generative search:
This distinction reframes how we think about visibility.
Traditional SEO is built around destinations, websites designed to attract clicks.
Generative AI, however, prioritizes content that can be extracted, trusted, and reused within answers.
This shift has significant implications.
It means that visibility is no longer tied solely to rankings, but to how useful, reliable, and citable your content is within a broader information ecosystem.
For The SEO Works, this translates into a continued focus on:
- topical authority
- strong brand and entity signals
but applied in a way that supports AI interpretation, not just search engine indexing.
Measuring GEO Performance
Measurement is where this transition becomes most visible.
The SEO Works continues to rely on familiar indicators such as:
- AI Share of Voice
- AI-influenced traffic quality
But as Ben highlights, the bigger challenge lies not in tracking performance but in structuring and communicating it.
Two issues stand out:
- Pricing and packaging GEO services
- Educating clients on what GEO actually is
This reflects a broader pattern across agencies: GEO is not just a technical shift, but also a commercial and strategic one.
Agencies are still figuring out how to define, sell, and explain something that does not yet have fully standardised metrics.
Generative Engine Optimization Tools & Platforms
Ben Foster and his team prioritise:
- ChatGPT
- Google AI Overviews
as the most critical platforms today.
Their tooling reflects a hybrid approach combining traditional SEO platforms with emerging LLM-focused tools.
Yet, like many agencies in this space, they highlight a persistent limitation, which is unreliable AI citation tracking.
Across the dataset, this challenge appears to be part of a broader pattern.
46% of agencies point to limited transparency from AI platforms, followed by 27% citing unreliable AI citation tracking, highlighting how difficult it is to understand how AI systems select and reference sources.
Ben Foster鈥檚 perspective fits directly into this trend.
While his team specifically highlights citation tracking, it ultimately reflects the same underlying issue: limited transparency in how generative AI systems evaluate content.
This lack of visibility continues to slow down how confidently agencies can measure and optimize GEO performance.
The Future of GEO
Looking ahead, Ben Foster sees GEO extending well beyond traditional search.
鈥淚t will become a foundation for AI agents, assistants and robotics.鈥
GEO is not just about visibility within search results, but about becoming part of the information layer that AI systems rely on.
As generative technologies evolve, brands will increasingly need to position themselves not only as discoverable, but as trusted inputs within AI-driven decision-making systems.
What emerges from this perspective is clear.
The future of GEO is less about ranking and more about being referenced, relied on, and embedded across AI ecosystems.
