GEO & Technical SEO in 2025: What Our Agency Team Is Doing Right Now for AI Search Visibility

Google’s AI Search features now pull answers directly from the same index that powers traditional results. That single fact has changed how we approach every client project. The line between classic SEO and generative engine optimisation (GEO) has effectively dissolved — if your site’s technical foundations are weak or your content doesn’t answer real queries with clarity, you lose visibility in both channels simultaneously. Here’s what we’re acting on this week.

Key Takeaways

• Google’s own AI search guide confirms that core SEO principles still drive visibility in AI-generated answers.
• Technical SEO checklists must now account for how AI systems crawl and cite sources, not just traditional bots.
• URL parameter management directly affects crawl budget and can create duplicate content issues that hurt both standard and AI search.
• SEO writing in 2025–2026 demands structured, entity-rich content that AI models can confidently reference.
• Keyword strategy must evolve to target conversational, long-tail queries that mirror how people interact with AI search tools.

Google’s AI Search Guide Validates Core SEO — With Gaps We’re Filling

Google recently published guidance on optimising for AI search. The message is clear: do good SEO. No secret sauce. But as our team noted when reviewing the breakdown of Google’s AI search optimisation guide, the document is conspicuously silent on structured data best practices, citation mechanics, and how AI Overview sources are selected. We’re filling those gaps for clients by auditing schema markup, improving topical authority signals, and ensuring every key page answers a specific question concisely within the first 150 words.

Technical SEO Checklists Now Serve Two Masters

Our standard technical audits have expanded. Crawlability, indexation, Core Web Vitals, and HTTPS remain non-negotiable. But AI systems grounding their answers from Google’s index means technical errors carry double the penalty. A blocked resource or a misconfigured canonical tag doesn’t just lose you a ranking — it removes you from the AI answer pool entirely.

We’ve integrated the updated checks outlined in this comprehensive technical SEO checklist for search engines and AI search into our monthly client maintenance workflows. Key additions include verifying that AI crawlers (such as Google-Extended) are not inadvertently blocked in robots.txt and confirming that structured data validates without errors across all template types.

URL Parameters: A Small Detail With Outsized Crawl Budget Impact

Parameter-heavy URLs remain one of the most overlooked technical issues we encounter during onboarding audits. Faceted navigation, tracking codes, and session IDs can generate thousands of near-duplicate pages. For large e-commerce clients especially, this eats crawl budget and dilutes page authority.

We now follow the practical framework set out in this guide on URL parameters and how to use them: canonicalise aggressively, use the URL Parameters tool in Google Search Console where applicable, and strip unnecessary parameters via server-side rules before they reach the index.

SEO Writing Must Be Built for AI Extraction

Content that earns visibility in 2025 and beyond needs to be structured for extraction, not just readability. AI models favour content with clear definitions, concise answers, and well-labelled sections. We’re applying the 12 SEO writing tips outlined for 2026 visibility across all new content briefs: front-load answers, use descriptive subheadings, cite credible sources, and write at the appropriate depth for the query’s intent.

Keyword Strategy Shifts Toward Conversational Intent

Traditional keyword research still matters. But the queries triggering AI Overviews tend to be longer, more conversational, and more question-based. Our keyword strategies now explicitly segment targets by format: which queries return AI Overviews, which return featured snippets, and which remain standard blue links. This segmentation, consistent with the methodology in this keyword strategy framework, lets us allocate content resources where the ROI is highest for each client’s vertical.

The convergence of traditional SEO and GEO isn’t a future concern — it’s the current operating environment. Every technical fix, every content brief, and every keyword map we produce now accounts for both channels. Clients who treat AI search as a separate project will fall behind. Those who embed it into their existing SEO programme will compound their visibility gains.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is generative engine optimisation (GEO) and how does it differ from traditional SEO?

GEO focuses on earning visibility within AI-generated answers, such as Google’s AI Overviews, rather than just traditional blue link results. In practice, the techniques overlap heavily with solid technical SEO and well-structured content — Google’s own guidance confirms this.

How do web designers ensure their sites appear in AI search results?

Start with clean technical foundations: fast load times, valid structured data, correct canonical tags, and no crawl blocks for AI user agents. Then ensure key pages provide concise, well-structured answers within the first few paragraphs of content.

Why do URL parameters cause SEO problems for e-commerce sites?

Faceted navigation and tracking parameters can generate thousands of near-duplicate URLs, wasting crawl budget and splitting link equity across redundant pages. Canonicalisation and server-side parameter stripping are the most effective fixes.

What is the best keyword strategy for AI search visibility in 2025?

Segment your keyword targets by the type of search result they trigger — AI Overview, featured snippet, or standard listing. Prioritise conversational, question-based long-tail queries, as these are the formats most commonly answered by AI systems.