New AI SEO Report Details 6 GEO Trends for 2026
Serge Bulaev
AI is changing the way people search online, and now brands must change too. A new report shows that when AI answers appear, fewer people click on website links, so companies need to make content that AI can use. Marketers are quickly updating their websites, focusing on short, clear answers and strong author info. Success is measured not just by clicks, but by how often AI tools use the content. Businesses that adapt now will show up in AI answers and stay visible as search keeps changing.
A new AI SEO report reveals the top 6 GEO trends for 2026, showing how Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO) has become a core digital strategy. As AI reshapes search, this report provides marketers with the metrics and content formats needed to adapt to large language models and maintain visibility as organic clicks decline.
How user behaviour is changing
The key GEO trends for 2026 focus on adapting content for AI consumption. This involves creating deeply authoritative, citable content structured for machine parsing, reinforcing expertise signals like E-E-A-T, and prioritizing rapid publication to stay relevant in AI-driven search results and answer engines.
Recent studies confirm a dramatic shift in user behavior due to AI search. An Ahrefs analysis of 300,000 searches found a 34.5% average click-through rate drop when AI Overviews are present, with some keywords losing 64% of their traffic (case study). This aligns with Bain & Company data showing 80% of consumers use AI for at least 40% of queries. Marketers are adapting swiftly: an eMarketer poll reveals 54% plan full GEO implementation within six months, reallocating budgets to content restructuring and new tracking tools (eMarketer poll).
Generative Engine Optimisation playbook for 2026
An analysis from SEO.com outlining the 6 GEO trends for 2026 emphasizes topic depth, strong citation signals, and publishing speed (SEO.com analysis). Based on this and related studies, the immediate strategic priorities for marketers are:
- Place a concise, citation-ready answer within the first 75 words
- Use a hub-and-spoke structure that builds topical authority
- Enrich author bios and About pages to reinforce E-E-A-T signals
- Monitor impression-to-click gaps across ChatGPT, Gemini, Copilot, and Perplexity
Measuring success without rankings
As traditional rankings become less relevant in generative engines, success must be measured with new KPIs. Visibility is now tracked through AI-centric metrics. Platforms like OmniSEO and Ahrefs Brand Radar provide data on:
| Metric | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| AI impressions | Indicates how often content is surfaced inside AI answers |
| Citation frequency | Shows topic authority across engines |
| Click assist ratio | Compares AI impressions to downstream site visits |
| Answer freshness score | Flags whether updates occur within the 60-day window that BrightEdge links to 1.9x higher inclusion |
Early adopters have found that combining these new signals with traditional Search Console data is key. This approach can reveal when content is being used to generate AI summaries, even if direct traffic dips. A drop in clicks paired with a surge in impressions is the new leading indicator that your content is successfully feeding AI responses.
Budget, talent, and timing
According to Firebrand's best practices, teams should dedicate about 10% of their search budget to training writers in creating modular, citable content. An additional 5% should be allocated to experimenting with AI-friendly formats like Q&A blocks. Experts emphasize that GEO expands, rather than replaces, traditional organic strategy, with overall search spend expected to rise through 2026 as brands pursue visibility across multiple engines.
By structuring content for machine interpretation, businesses can establish themselves as authoritative sources, ensuring they are featured prominently within the AI-generated answers that users increasingly rely on.
What is Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO) and why does it matter in 2025?
GEO is the practice of shaping content so AI systems cite or recommend your brand inside their direct answers. Traditional rankings disappear when ChatGPT, Gemini or Perplexity give a single synthesized reply. The new goal is to become the source that the model quotes, paraphrases or lists. Early adopters are already seeing brand mentions replace click-throughs as the primary traffic driver.
How are user research habits changing because of AI answers?
Studies released this year show three clear shifts:
- 64% of Google searches in the U.S. now end without a click (SparkToro/Datos panel, 2025)
- When an AI Overview appears, organic CTR for the old "position one" drops 34.5% on average and up to 64% for high-volume phrases (Ahrefs, 2025)
- 82% of Gen-Z users prefer an AI direct answer over opening a list of blue links
The pattern is simple: people ask, AI answers, users only click if they want to verify.
Which GEO tactics improve the chance of being cited by generative engines?
- Topic-first structure: cover a theme in a hub page and link detailed spokes; engines reward breadth plus depth
- Citable chunks: place a concise answer directly under each H2 question so models can lift it intact
- Original data points: unique stats or mini-case studies give the AI "information gain" it cannot find elsewhere
- Consistent E-E-A-T signals: up-to-date author bios, About pages and external references remain decision factors for quality filters
What metrics actually prove GEO is working?
Visibility inside AI answers is trackable:
- Impression-to-click ratio inside Google Search Console - a surge of impressions with flat clicks often means your text is feeding an AI summary
- Citation frequency - tools such as OmniSEO or Otterly.ai count how often ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Copilot mention your domain
- Brand mention growth - set alerts for unlinked references the same way you monitor backlinks
Marketers who combine these three data points can forecast share-of-voice inside generative engines rather than legacy SERP positions.
How fast are teams moving and what budget should be planned?
Fifty-four percent of U.S. marketers surveyed expect full GEO implementation within three to six months. Budget guidance for 2025-2026 splits roughly this way:
- 70% on content creation and re-structuring (the highest-impact lever)
- 15% on cross-channel PR and community presence to seed citations
- 10% on team training
- 5% reserved for testing new AI-native formats
Most brands increase total search spend, but they spread it across traditional SEO and GEO instead of replacing one with the other.