Move over, SEO, there’s a new search in town.
Since the dawn of easy-to-use generative AI apps like ChatGPT, tech behemoths including Alphabet and Microsoft have been busy integrating AI into their existing search offerings. It’s given rise to a new kind of search, called generative engine optimization, or GEO, which extracts answers from online writing and serves them up as quick takes.
Already, half of consumers use AI-powered search, including GEO, according to new research from McKinsey. It’s putting 20% to 50% of traffic from traditional search at risk by capturing decisions earlier in the process. McKinsey forecasts that by 2028 up to $750 billion of consumer spending will flow through AI-powered search.
Translation: GEO is a game changer for brands and organizations that spent years building content marketing strategies around SEO. By extension, it’s changing the nature of the work done by the content writers that those in-house content strategists hire—including ASJA members.
In its ongoing effort to help members keep up with trends and learn how to incorporate GEO into the services they offer clients, ASJA is hosting a webinar on the topic on Wednesday, Dec. 3. The event takes place 1-2 p.m. Eastern time, and is free for members and $20 for nonmembers. Register here. A recording of the session will be available on demand.
What to Know About the Dec. GEO Webinar
The webinar will provide an expert overview of the new and evolving search landscape, suggest tips on how to approach it and fine-tune your skills, and answer some of your burning questions:
- Are SEO strategies falling in importance?
- Do keywords still matter?
- Should GEO change your writing strategy?
The presenters are:
‘Webinar host and ASJA member Debbie Abrams Kaplan, a journalist and content marketing writer who went from keyword stuffing to keyword strategy as the SEO landscape changed over time. Kaplan writes primarily about health care and business for startups to Fortune 500 companies like Mastercard and JPMorganChase. She is the lead editor for Inc. and Fast Company’s thought leadership programs, where AI has become the hottest business topic. Read more about Kaplan here.
Ashley Mann, a tech-focused communications strategist and co-founder of The Colab. Mann specializes in GEO-optimized visibility—designing narratives and content structures that help companies surface inside AI search while still winning traditional earned media. She’s spent more than 15 years leading communications across agencies and high-growth tech, blending narrative strategy, large language model (LLM) behavior, and business outcomes to help brands show up exactly where modern audiences are looking. Read more about Mann here.
No need to wait until the New Year to follow through on your resolution to improve your search and AI-related skills: sign up for the Dec. 3 webinar today. And tell a friend! Register here.
More on ASJA Virtual Education Offerings
The event caps off ASJA’s virtual education offerings for 2025. Recordings of the nine sessions we offered this year — including building a successful newsletter on Substack, finding international clients, secrets of self-publishing, and writing and pitching reported personal essays — are available free for members through our member portal.
If you have an idea for a future webinar or would like to join the Virtual Education Committee, email asjaoffice@asja.org.
To learn about other ASJA events, including the Dec. 10 holiday open house, virtual pitch slams, 2026 conference, and more, subscribe to the ASJA Weekly newsletter: sign up here.