Today, more and more people prefer to address AI directly, such as ChatGPT, Gemini, or Perplexity, rather than seeking information by clicking on links. As a result, search engines are evolving to become generative engines. GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) involves making your content visible, understandable, and usable by these AIs, representing a new stage of optimization beyond traditional SEO.
Shift from click-based searches to clickless answers.
It is important to note that GEO does not replace traditional SEO but builds upon its foundations. Good SEO practices (content quality, site speed, solid technical structure) remain fundamental and serve as a base for GEO.
The major difference lies in the final goal and the way information is presented to users.
What's changing: It is crucial to become the source that AI chooses to summarize, not just a well-ranked page.
Key factors in AI search engine optimization
To appear in AI-generated responses like ChatGPT or Gemini, certain types of content are better understood, better evaluated, and more frequently cited. Here are the most important factors to consider (in order of importance):
1- Content Quality (E-E-A-T)
This involves producing clear, precise, well-structured texts demonstrating:
- Expertise (you know what you're talking about),
- Experience (you've lived it),
- Authority (you are recognized in your field),
- Trust (you are a reliable source).
This encourages AI to cite you as a reliable source. These principles were explored in detail in our post SEO explained for artists: how to get seen on the web? where we explain how these factors directly influence your content visibility and how you can implement them on your website.
2- Structured Data (Schema.org)
Adding semantic tags to your site (such as FAQ, HowTo, Event, Person, Organization, etc.) allows AI to:
- better understand the type of information published,
- extract answers directly,
- highlight your events or pages in enriched results.
This makes your site machine-readable, not just human-readable.
Given the growing importance of this topic within the context of GEO and SEO, we will soon publish a complete guide on implementing Schema.org structured data. Stay tuned to catch this article!
3- Presence in recognized lists
Being included in compilations, rankings, or selections published by authoritative sources serves as a strong signal for AIs. For example:
- "The Top 10 Jazz Festivals in Canada"
- "Cultural Organizations to Follow in 2025"
- "Must-see Cultural Events of the Season"
These lists act as trusted aggregators in the online information ecosystem.
Impact on GEO: When AI generates a response to a question like "Which cultural events to visit in Montreal this month?", it will naturally favor organizations and events mentioned in multiple credible lists. It is the digital equivalent of a third-party recommendation.
Action strategy: Identify cultural publications, influential blogs, and event guides in your field. Build relationships with journalists and cultural critics. Regularly submit your events to online cultural calendars. For a cultural organization, this might include submissions to industry awards, sharing case studies on your innovative projects, or collaborations with other recognized figures in your field.
4- Citations and Statistics
Including verifiable factual data significantly enhances the credibility of your content in the eyes of AIs. For cultural and community organizations, this includes:
- Attendance figures: "Our festival hosted 15,000 spectators in 2024"
- Program reach: "Our cultural mediation reached 45 schools and 2,800 students"
- References to sector studies: "According to the 2025 report of the Arts Council..."
Why it's effective: AI algorithms are trained to recognize and value precise, numerical information as indicators of reliability. Additionally, quantitative data allows AIs to better understand the scope and impact of your organization.
Practical application: Regularly integrate updated statistics into your event descriptions, activity reports, and press releases. Favor specific figures (1,327 participants) rather than approximations ("over a thousand"). Document the social and cultural impact of your initiatives with concrete data. Cite your sources when referencing external studies.
5- Named Entities
Named entities are simply "real things" that machines can identify and understand as distinct elements with their own identity. Specifically, these include:
- People (artists, creators, personalities)
- Organizations (festivals, theaters, museums, companies)
- Places (cities, performance venues, cultural centers)
- Works (shows, exhibitions, films, books, songs)
- Events (festivals, openings, premieres, artistic seasons)
These entities are typically referenced in knowledge bases such as:
- Wikipedia and Wikidata (encyclopedia and structured database)
- MusicBrainz (for artists and musical works)
- IMDB (for films and audiovisual industry people)
Why it's crucial for GEO: AI builds its understanding of the world from these named entities and their relationships. When you mention on your site "Montreal International Jazz Festival" instead of just "a jazz festival," AI can immediately link this mention to a recognized entity, with all its characteristics (location, usual dates, reputation, etc.).
How to apply it: Consistently use the official and complete names of your organization, events, and artists in all your content. If possible, contribute to enriching their Wikipedia pages or Wikidata entries. Ask your web team to use appropriate tags to identify these entities in your site's code.
6- Content Freshness
The freshness of information is a major quality signal for generative engines, especially important for cultural organizations whose programming constantly evolves. AI favors content that is:
- explicitly dated (with mention "Updated on..."),
- presenting your current and upcoming programming,
- announcing your new collaborations or projects,
- mentioning your recent achievements or media coverage.
Concrete impact: A page presenting your 2023-2024 cultural season without updates will be ignored by AI in favor of similar content but presenting the 2025-2026 season, with invited artists and confirmed dates.
Best practices:
- Regularly update the "News" and "Upcoming Events" sections of your site
- Clearly indicate publication and last update dates
- Archive past events while keeping your history visible
- Add photos, reviews, and testimonials of your recent events regularly
- For seasonal organizations, update your site before each new season
This regular updating signals to AI that your content deserves to be cited because it reflects the current state of your activities and cultural offerings.
7- Online Reviews and Awards
External validations in the form of public reviews and professional recognitions are powerful credibility signals for generative engines:
- Public reviews (Google Business, TripAdvisor, Facebook)
- Detailed testimonials from participants or spectators
- Sectoral awards and distinctions
- Institutional grants and support
- Positive media coverage
How it influences GEO: These external trust signals help AI determine the quality and relevance of your activities. For a query like "Best contemporary dance shows to see this month," algorithms will naturally favor productions that have received rave reviews and recent awards.
Implementation strategy: Systematically encourage your audience to leave reviews. Create a "Awards and Recognition" page on your site. Collect and publish testimonials from spectators or participants. Ask your web team to use appropriate tags so that these details are perfectly readable by machines.
8- Engagement Signals (shares, comments)
The interaction generated by your content is an indicator of its relevance and quality to your audience:
- Shares on social media
- Comments and discussions around your events
- Time spent on your event pages or programming
- Mentions and links from other cultural sites or media
Relationship with GEO: Although the exact functioning of generative AIs remains partially opaque, analyses suggest that they integrate these engagement signals as secondary relevance factors. A widely shared and commented content is more likely to be considered a valuable source.
Application for cultural organizations:
- Facilitate sharing of your events with well-positioned social buttons.
- Create "shareable" content such as artist announcements, exclusive photos, or video snippets.
- Encourage your community to interact by asking questions or soliciting feedback.
- Analyze what types of content generate the most engagement (artist interviews, behind-the-scenes creation, programming announcements) and adjust your communication strategy accordingly.
- Regularly share your news on platforms where your audience is most active.
How AIs Understand Search Intentions
Traditionally, search optimization relied on four major search intents, as defined by Google:
Informational: the user wants to learn something.
Example: "What is Gypsy Jazz?"
Navigational: they are looking to reach a specific site.
Example: "Théâtre Outremont website"
Transactional: they are ready to buy, book, register.
Example: "Buy tickets for Vivier's Nine Week"
Commercial/Comparative: they want to compare options before buying.
Example: "Best arranger keyboard 2025"
With the arrival of generative engines like ChatGPT, Gemini, or Perplexity, search behaviors are evolving. Interaction becomes more natural, contextual, and continuous. This has led to new forms of intent or a finer revision of existing intentions:
Instructional:
The user looks for a clear, step-by-step approach.
Example: "How to book an artist via Scène Pro?"
AI expects structured content (type "HowTo"), simple and educational.
Contextual or Scenario-based:
The user formulates a complex, sometimes multi-criteria request in a concrete situation.
Example: "Recommend a jazz concert in Montreal tonight under $30"
AI must understand the place, date, musical style, budget... and provide a synoptic response.
Why it's important for GEO
In the context of AIs, search intentions:
- are more precise, nuanced, anchored in real scenarios,
- require content that anticipates user questions, conditions, and preferences,
- necessitate a more conversational and structured writing style.
In other words, it's no longer enough to target a keyword. You must respond as a good cultural advisor would, able to adapt to what the user is experiencing or looking for, here and now.
The GEO process in 6 simple steps:
- Research the real questions of the public
- Example: "What outdoor jazz festivals in Quebec in 2025?"
- Tip: explore Reddit, Quora, ChatGPT, Perplexity.
- Understand the intentions behind these questions
- Is it a request for explanation? Recommendation? Reservation?
- Write clear, useful, direct answers
- Use a natural tone, avoid jargon.
- Anticipate FAQ, list, "How-to" formats.
- Improve content over time
- Update dates, add testimonials or reviews.
- Use analysis tools (Matomo, Semrush, Perplexity).
- Optimize technical elements
- Mobile-friendly structure, fast loading.
- Integrate schemas (e.g., FAQ, Event, Person...).
- Structure for AI
- Clear titles, explicit questions, list sections.
- Content that can be cited, ready to be integrated into a generated response.
In summary
In summary, Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) represents a natural evolution of web optimization, adapted to the era of artificial intelligence. Rather than relying solely on classic SEO techniques, GEO emphasizes clarity, relevance, and structure of content so it can be understood and relayed by generative engines like ChatGPT.
It is a valuable opportunity for artists and small cultural organizations: it's not about having a large advertising budget, but about offering well-presented, useful, and reliable content. In other words, today what matters is not the size of your network... but the quality of your answers.