AI is reshaping how people search for information online, moving beyond traditional search engine results pages toward AI-generated summaries and conversational interfaces. As a result, brands are adapting to a new era of search optimization, giving rise to practices like generative engine optimization (GEO) and answer engine optimization (AEO). Experts from Google, Microsoft, and Perplexity offer key insights for businesses aiming to thrive in this evolving landscape. Danny Sullivan, director at Google Search, emphasizes that the fundamentals of SEO still apply. He stresses the importance of clean website structure, proper use of structured data, and ensuring search crawlers can access content efficiently. These practices remain vital not only for traditional search but also for AI-powered answers, which often pull from standard search results. Sullivan also highlights the growing role of multi-modal queries—such as asking “What’s in this video?”—making visual content like images and videos increasingly valuable. “If you’ve still been a text-only kind of player, more images and videos may help you,” he said. But he cautions against focusing solely on visibility: “Are you doing things that are useful for human beings?” That, he says, is what Google ultimately rewards. Krishna Madhavan, principal product manager at Microsoft Bing, echoes the importance of SEO basics—site structure, freshness signals, and machine-readable formats like schema markup and sitemaps. He recommends adopting IndexNow, a protocol that alerts search engines to content updates. Stylistically, Madhavan advises using lists, tables, and clear, simple punctuation—avoiding em dashes and complex symbols—to improve readability for AI systems. What’s new, he notes, is the need to optimize not just for ranking but for inclusion in AI-generated answers. “Think beyond keywords to user intent, question-answer structure, and machine-readable cues that make your content easy to parse.” Jesse Dwyer, head of communications at Perplexity, warns against oversimplifying GEO. “There’s going to be a lot of people who benefit from implying that they're very good at GEO,” he said, “and then there’s going to be a lot of tech companies, specifically AI companies, who benefit from saying that it's all hogwash.” The truth, he says, lies in the middle. Dwyer advises marketers not to treat GEO as a direct copy of SEO. “The biggest mistake you can make is to just try and transfer your understanding apples to apples.” He also predicts a shift in marketing budgets toward traditional brand-building, as AI reduces the friction of search. With users able to make purchases simply by asking a question, a strong brand identity becomes more critical than ever.