The search landscape is changing quickly, and brands that wait to adapt risk falling behind. When Google began rolling out AI Overviews back in May 2024 (in the US), it was the start of an entirely new world of search optimisation. Search is no longer just the traditional list of blue links that used to appear when someone typed a question into a search engine. Users can now ask longer, more complex questions and receive AI-generated answers that combine information from multiple sources.
With the introduction of AI Overviews, search is increasingly shifting toward a zero-click environment. When an AI Overview answers a user’s question directly on the search results page, they often get all the information they need in one place and are less likely to click through to a website. Being explicitly cited or mentioned directly within the AI-generated response is therefore critical for visibility.
AI Visibility Drives Conversions
AI search traffic is already showing strong commercial potential, with one set of data finding a 14.2% conversion rate compared with 2.8% for traditional organic traffic. Another report found that AI referrals convert at around 11 times the rate of traditional search for enterprise industries. Recent data from Shopify suggests that new shoppers arriving through AI channels convert at nearly double the rate of traditional visitors.
This creates a new challenge: how do you know whether you’re visible in AI experiences? Large language models (LLMs) don’t produce fixed rankings, so the same prompt can generate different recommendations or citations – especially across different platforms. And AI platforms also don’t provide the same impression, query, or click-through data that we’re used to working with. While this doesn’t make AI visibility impossible to measure, it does mean we need to look at tracking data differently.
What is Generative Engine Optimisation?
Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO) is essentially SEO for artificial intelligence (like Google’s AI Overviews, ChatGPT, Claude and Perplexity). GEO focuses on making your content clear, well-structured and easy for AI platforms to understand. The goal is to ensure that when an AI tool answers a user’s question, it recognises your content, summarises it accurately, and explicitly recommends or links your brand in the final answer.
Traditional SEO focuses on helping your website reach the top of organic search results. The goal is to rank for the right keywords, earn backlinks, and encourage users to click through to your website. This is still important, but you now have another opportunity to improve your online visibility by appearing directly within AI-generated answers. Rather than relying on keyword density, AI models prioritise content that:
- Provides concise, direct answers up front
- Uses organised formatting like bullet points, tables and clear headings
- Implements structured data (schema markup) to define context
- Demonstrates genuine expertise
- Includes well-crafted, quotable snippets that can be cited directly in AI-generated overviews.
AI Visibility Metrics
Measuring AI visibility is important because AI recommendations can influence what people discover, research, consider, and ultimately buy. If AI-referred visitors convert at higher rates than those from organic search, being cited or recommended by an AI system can have a direct commercial impact. At Herdl, we focus on:
- Prompt presence – Measures how often and for how many different questions or “prompts” your brand is recommended or mentioned by AI search tools. The more relevant prompts your brand appears for, the stronger your overall AI visibility and reach. Just like ranking for only one or two keywords can indicate weak organic visibility, appearing for very few relevant prompts indicates a limited AI presence.
- Link presence – Appearing in AI responses is a great start, but it’s important to track whether the AI includes a direct, clickable link to your website (creating the opportunity for website traffic).
- Overall presence – Including visibility across LLMs, topic presence, and prompt visibility.
- Citations – The specific web pages that are being linked within AI responses.
- Share of voice – The percentage of AI mentions your brand receives compared with your competitors.
- Sentiment and context – How your brand is discussed, i.e. whether the AI recommends you as a top choice, groups you neutrally with competitors, or highlights potential drawbacks.
Our view is that professional input from a GEO agency is valuable because there’s no single measurement platform that provides a fully comprehensive overview. Unlike traditional search engines where rankings are relatively stable, different AI tools (such as ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews) can generate completely different recommendations for the exact same prompt. True prompt presence requires tracking across multiple platforms.
How Herdl Approaches AI Visibility
Not all AI search prompts carry equal value. Tracking commercial or transactional prompts (e.g., “best GEO agency for B2B SME“) is usually far more valuable for driving revenue than tracking broad informational queries. Our prompt research breaks down prompt intent, categorising prompts according to what the user is trying to achieve:
- Informational – The user wants to learn something, such as “What is the difference between standard and flat rate VAT?”
- Navigational – The user is looking for a specific brand, website, or destination, e.g. “Salesforce login page”
- Transactional – The user is ready to take action or make a purchase, such as “Buy football jersey online”
- Commercial – The user is comparing options or service providers before making a decision, such as “Compare Shopify and WooCommerce for an enterprise eCommerce store.”
This gives us an idea of where your business is visible and where opportunities exist. For example, if our research shows that AI is already favouring your informational content, we can focus on commercial and transactional prompts for your service pages.
Free GEO Audit
Herdl’s free GEO audit is a comprehensive evaluation of your brand’s presence across AI search platforms. The audit covers:
- Competitor visibility and benchmarking
- Prompt presence and intent
- Brand visibility, share of voice, and sentiment
- LLM impressions
- Pages receiving AI impressions
- AI referral traffic and sources
- AI Overview keyword visibility
- Prompt mentions vs. links
- Technical verification (can AI bots properly crawl and index your site?)
- On-page content assessment
We work through our 32-point AI Search Visibility Audit Checklist to identify areas for improvement. The resulting report is an action plan with clear findings and recommendations to capture high-intent AI traffic.
The Final Word
AI search is becoming another important way people discover businesses and products. If you only measure traditional rankings and organic traffic, you’re not seeing the full picture. Measuring AI visibility properly means understanding which prompts matter, where your brand appears, which pages are being cited, and how you compare with your competitors.
If you’re curious about GEO, we’d love to help you understand where you stand and what to do next. Feel free to get in touch, and let’s start a conversation.