When did you last scroll through ten links to find an answer?
More people now ask an AI a question and accept whatever it says. That small behaviour change moves the whole internet’s furniture around.
On a normal search page, you used to win by ranking. Get to position one, win the click, capture the visitor. Now, search engines and chatbots often summarise the answer directly on the page. The user gets what they need without visiting any website at all.
Real-world data shows the pattern. When Google users saw an AI summary, they clicked a traditional link much less often than when no AI summary appeared. Other research has reported sizeable click-through drops when AI summaries show up.
This creates the “zero-click” effect. It does not mean clicks vanish. It means you cannot rely on them.
The new goal: become the source
This shift gives rise to a new discipline. People call it Generative Engine Optimisation, or GEO.
Traditional SEO aimed at ranking in search engines. GEO aims at something slightly different. You want AI systems to mention you, quote you, or cite your pages as a source in their answers.
That matters because AI answers often produce a shortlist. The shortlist becomes the market. If your practice does not appear, you lose the enquiry before the customer even sees your website.
An case example
Architecture clients behave like careful mammals.
They ask questions. They look for reassurance. They compare. They try to avoid risk. They also do lots of research before they contact anyone.
If the “front door” to research shifts from Google links to AI answers, then your visibility must shift too. Not only on your own site, but inside the systems that summarise your field.
This affects:
Residential work (extensions, conversions, listed buildings, planning strategy)
Commercial work (fit-out, feasibility, compliance)
Specialisms (retrofit, conservation, low-energy design, Passivhaus-adjacent work)
Reputation flywheels (who gets recommended when someone asks, “Who can I trust?”)
What makes an AI cite you
AI systems tend to prefer content that looks reliable and easy to extract. In practice, this means pages that:
Answer the question fast, near the top
Use clear headings and short sections
Include FAQ blocks that mirror real queries
Show evidence of experience and process
Cite credible sources where relevant (regulations, official guidance, recognised standards)
This overlaps with what Google has pushed for years under E-E-A-T, but the stakes rise because the AI answer can replace the click.
The opportunity
Most firms still measure the old thing. Rankings, traffic, enquiries.
Few measure the new thing. “Do AIs mention us when a client asks the obvious questions?”
That gap creates opportunity. If you start now, you can become the practice the AI keeps pointing at.
Your GEO exercise for a UK architecture practice
Stage one
Write down three questions a potential customer might ask an AI about your business.
Here are three you can use, for our example:
“Which architects in [your city] specialise in high-quality home extensions, and how do I judge whether I can trust them?”
“Do I need planning permission for a loft conversion or rear extension in the UK, and what steps should I expect from an architect?”
“What does an architect cost in the UK for a typical home project, and what changes the price?”
If you want these to lean more premium, tweak the wording:
“high-end residential”
“listed building”
“conservation area”
“low-energy retrofit”
“planning strategy”
Stage two
Ask those exact questions to four AIs:
Gemini
ChatGPT
Perplexity
Claude
Then record three things for each question:
Were you mentioned?
Were competitors mentioned?
What sources did the AI cite?
That becomes your GEO baseline.
Copy/paste logging sheet
Use this format in a doc or spreadsheet.
Question:
AI platform:
Mentions our practice? Yes / No
Mentions competitors? (names)
Cited sources: (sites, directories, articles, guidance)
Notes: (accuracy, tone, missing points, odd claims)
How to track this over time
You can do this manually once a month, or use monitoring tools designed for AI visibility tracking, such as Otterly.AI and Profound.
What to do if you're not mentioned
That outcome does not mean you have “bad SEO”. It means the AI cannot confidently use you as a source yet.
A simple response plan:
Create three “answer pages”
One page per question. Each page should include:
A direct answer in the first paragraph
Clear headings
A short FAQ
A “how we work” process section
Proof signals: case studies, constraints handled, planning approach, drawings, on-site experience
Make your pages easy to quote
Think like an examiner. If an AI needs one paragraph to answer “How do I choose an architect I can trust?” then give it that paragraph, clean and confident.
Add grounded citations
Where you mention rules, processes, or compliance, cite an authoritative source. That increases trust signals and reduces hallucination risk.
© 2025 Stephen Bray. Patterns in life and business, simply told.