From SEO to GEO: How AI Is Reshaping Economic Development Visibility

Earlier this year, we wrote about AI’s growing influence on SEO for EDOs. Since then, that influence has accelerated into something more significant: a move away from traditional search optimization and toward Generative Engine Optimization (GEO). This updated perspective reflects what we are now seeing every day in AI-driven search, answer engines and zero-click decision-making. 

The internet is no longer just where economic developers market their regions. It is where shortlists are formed, perceptions are shaped and early decisions are made. As Winning Strategies in Economic Development makes clear, your website remains the most important asset in that process. Even as search becomes more conversational and AI-driven, your website is still the primary source AI systems rely on to understand, summarize and validate your region.  

Today’s audiences increasingly turn to AI-powered tools to get answers quickly, often without clicking a traditional search result. When your organization is not optimized for this environment, it does not simply lose traffic. It disappears from the conversation entirely. At DCI, we are studying how AI has reshaped search behavior, from keyword rankings to answer engine visibility. Economic development organizations that adapt early will have a clear advantage in how their regions are interpreted and surfaced by AI platforms.  

This is not a future-state discussion. The shift to GEO is already underway. 

Why The Shift from SEO to GEO Matters 

Traditional SEO, focused on rankings, backlinks and top 10 positioning, is no longer enough. The future of search optimization is what the industry now calls Generative Engine Optimization or Answer Engine Optimization: optimizing content so that AI platforms like Google’s Search, Generative Experience, ChatGPT, Gemini or Perplexity cite or synthesize your region’s information directly into answers.   

Why this matters for EDOs: 

• Zero-click search is rising: AI summaries and conversational results mean users may never visit your site, unless your content appears in the answer itself. 

• Authority is now multi-dimensional: AI systems measure signals like expertise, trust and external validation when deciding which content to include in responses.  

• EDOs must compete: Organizations need to vie for attention from machine readers just as they do from traditional search queries. 

What This Means for Your EDO Strategy 

This shift to GEO changes how EDOs need to think about content, structure, and authority online. Success now depends on how clearly AI systems can interpret and trust the information you publish. 

Content that AI Understands 

AI doesn’t “index” content the same way search engines once did. It interprets it. That means: 

• Structuring content for machine readability — clear headings, modular layouts, bullet points, schema markup — so AI can extract answers easily.  

• Anticipating conversational queries and crafting content that show real users ask questions. 

This goes beyond traditional keyword targeting and is more about speaking the language of AI searchers. 

Authority and Trust Have New Value 

AI systems are designed to favor reliable sources. To become the go-to authority for economic development questions, your organization must: 

• Publish well-researched content backed by data. 

• Build relationships that generate consistent citations and references across earned media, trade publications, and other trusted third-party sources used by AI systems. 

• Leverage proprietary insights to differentiate your region. 

This is why DCI’s research-driven content, from state site selection data to talent relocation insights — paired with our ability to secure consistent placements in credible earned media, gives our partners a measurable advantage in the AI era.  

Practical Tactics You Can Implement Today 

Here’s how to start optimizing not just for search rankings, but for AI visibility:  

1. Map User Intent to Conversational Queries 

Research the real questions investors, site selectors, and talent are asking using tools like AI analytics, forums, and long-tail conversational phrases. Then answer those directly in your content. 

2. Align Content Structure with AI Signals 

Use rich formatting (FAQ blocks, concise answers, structured data) that makes it easy for generative models to extract and cite your content. In addition, make sure that your content is consistent everywhere. We can’t tell you how often we see EDOs who have a PDF that says one thing about workforce and the website that says another. It’s conflicting and confusing.  

3. Measure New KPIs 

Traditional SEO metrics are still useful, but GEO requires new benchmarks like: 

• AI citations (mentions in generative responses) 

• Branded visibility within AI overviews 

• Zero-click visibility 

4. Map Your Media Influence 

Map where and how your region appears across earned media and trusted third-party sources, and how those narratives evolve over time. In an AI-driven search environment, this requires more than a traditional media audit. Our PR teams are beginning to use this type of AI-informed media mapping to help direct and pivot client stories, identifying patterns in coverage, emerging narratives, and opportunities to reinforce positioning across high-impact outlets. 

Why Economic Developers Can Win Big 

For economic development organizations, this shift represents opportunity, not risk. Regions with strong data, clear storytelling and credible authority are exactly what AI systems are designed to surface, and organizations that adapt early can shape how their regions are understood before competitors catch up. 

DCI is helping economic development organizations lead in the next generation of search intelligence, from traditional SEO to AI-driven discoverability. The shift to GEO is already happening, and organizations that respond now will not just rank better. They will become the voices AI platforms trust and surface. 

If this feels overwhelming, it doesn’t have to be. We offer a four-hour AI training designed to help EDO teams take practical, manageable first steps toward AI readiness and turn AI-driven visibility into real investment, talent attraction and long-term economic impact. Connect with Susan Brake at Susan.Brake@old.aboutdci.com to learn more.