Ah, SEO. Remember when optimizing for search engines was all the rage? Titles stuffed with keywords, backlinks from shady directories, and that magical belief that page one of Google was digital nirvana. Good times.
Well, welcome to 2025, where Facebook is not just farmland anymore, and where SEO has a shinier, scarier cousin: Generative Engine Optimization, or GEO. It’s like SEO, but for AI, because clearly, search engine poisoning and malicious ads weren’t enough of a security risk on their own. Yeah, we really need THIS as well.
So, What’s GEO Anyway?
GEO is the art (read: hustle) of crafting content specifically to influence what generative AI engines spit out. We are talking about influencing ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude and their friends. Instead of trying to rank on Google, GEO tries to make your content the one that pops out when someone asks an AI a question.
Neat? Sure. Harmless? Oh, bless your heart.
When used responsibly, GEO can help brands stay competitive, engage customers, and even save time. I mean we can’t blame marketing teams for wanting to the be first source of information, but like every cool new tech trick, it didn’t take long for the internet’s darker side to show up. Can’t we just have nice things?
Enter the Bad Actors
GEO is a goldmine for the same kinds of folks who once flooded your inbox with offers from a “Nigerian prince.” Only now, the schemes are slicker, faster, and fueled by AI.
Here’s how the fun can go sideways:
Misinformation Gets a Facelift: Instead of some tinfoil-hat blogger writing about lizard people, now we’ve got well-written, AI-endorsed garbage that sounds legit. Perfect for spreading disinformation campaigns or seeding conspiracy theories in AI results. I mean LLMs have a voracious appetite for data, but it’s not really fact-checking what it’s taking in, and it’s certainly not doing that with what it spits out. That’s just not how it works.
Phishing, But Make It Fancy: Bad actors may be able to use GEO to make AI suggest fake tech support numbers, phony login pages, or “helpful” links that end with you giving away your soul, or at least your credentials. I personally have not seen it yet (that I know of), but it’s coming, don’t you worry.
Reputation Jacking: Why go through the trouble of earning a good reputation when you can trick a generative engine into recommending your shady product? Just toss in a few prompts and let the AI do the legwork. Disappointment at the speed of Amazon Prime, and not only that, but they may also get an affiliate payout on top of it all for the affiliate link. Clever. Really clever.
Security, Privacy, and Compliance, Oh My
With more organizations relying on AI to push out content faster than ever, it’s a recipe for security gaps. Sensitive data can accidentally leak into generated content, AIs might hallucinate company policies, and suddenly you’re on the hook for something a robot said.
Then there’s the regulatory mess. If your AI-crafted content violates privacy laws or spreads false information, guess who’s on the legal hook? (Hint: it’s not the AI.) You can rage against the machine, but in the end, it’s falling on you.
What Can You Do About It?
You don’t need to toss your generative tools into the digital dumpster. Just use them with a little more common sense than the people trying to game the system:
Fact-check everything: Just because AI wrote it with confidence doesn’t mean it’s true. It lies with authority. Run a human sanity check before publishing and maybe don’t use the same AI to fact check it. Just sayin’.
Boost your security game: Assume someone is going to try to poison your content pipeline. Secure access, train employees, and monitor AI output.
Know the rules: Compliance isn’t optional, even if your chatbot says otherwise.
Final Thoughts: Not All That Glitters is GEO
GEO has the potential to reshape marketing, education, and even customer support. But let’s not kid ourselves, it also gives cybercriminals a sleek new vehicle for manipulation. If you think misinformation was bad before, wait until it’s optimized.
Bottom line? Use GEO wisely. Be skeptical. And for the love of all things good and secure, don’t assume that just because it came from an AI, it must be safe.