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Search isn't what it used to be. Neither is the vocabulary we use to describe it.

In June 2025, a survey of 2,000 consumers revealed that 82% find AI-powered search more helpful than traditional search engines. By year's end, ChatGPT is forecast to reach 1 billion users. McKinsey estimates that generative search could impact $750 billion in revenue by 2028.

The industry scrambled to name this shift. Was it GEO? AEO? AISO? LLMO?
The acronyms multiplied faster than anyone could track them. Business Insider described it as a "GEO gold rush," with agencies racing to claim expertise in AI-era optimization while platform representatives from Google, Microsoft, and Perplexity urged caution about overhyped tactics.

For B2B firms trying to maintain visibility across fracturing discovery platforms, the confusion created a real problem. When your customers start finding answers through chatbots instead of search results, what does that mean for how you show up?

The stakes are high. Adobe's recent acquisition of Semrush signals how seriously major players are taking AI-driven discovery. But amid the gold rush, skepticism persists about which strategies actually work versus which are simply repackaged fundamentals with new labels.

When one search box becomes a thousand interfaces

Traditional search optimization worked because the rules were relatively stable. Optimize content for keywords. Build authority through backlinks. Improve site speed and structure. The tactics evolved, but the framework held.

Then AI-powered discovery platforms arrived and fractured that model. Consumers now get answers from ChatGPT, Google's AI Overviews, Perplexity, and dozens of other generative interfaces that don't operate like search engines. They synthesize, summarize, and serve answers without sending users to your website. 

Users have been receptive, too. AI bots have been generating huge traffic on publisher websites without ever seeing ads or paywalls, in many ways bypassing the importance of traditional search. When AI overviews provide all the information a user needs without one click, why would they visit a webpage?

The industry responded by inventing new terms to describe optimization for these platforms. Generative Engine Optimization (GEO). Answer Engine Optimization (AEO). AI Search Optimization (AISO). Each acronym attempted to capture a slightly different slice of the problem.

A recent study by Fractl and Search Engine Land analyzed tens of thousands of job postings, surveyed hundreds of marketers, and scraped thousands of social media conversations to understand which terms were actually gaining traction. The results revealed a market in transition, with no consensus on what to call the work of maintaining visibility across AI-driven discovery platforms.

Where the industry is headed

The research revealed a disconnect between awareness and action. While most marketers recognized GEO as a term, less than half actually used it to describe their work. Meanwhile, job postings told a different story entirely. AISO appeared in more job listings than all other AI-related search terms combined.

Hiring managers weren't chasing the acronym of the month. They wanted people who understood AI, search, and optimization as one integrated discipline.

The pattern was clear. Instead of replacing SEO, the industry was stacking new labels on top, each describing a slightly different facet of how discovery now works across platforms.

Why it matters

For B2B firms, a critical visibility risk emerges from the fragmented landscape of discovery platforms.

Your customers are increasingly using new channels to find information. This includes engineers researching solutions with tools like ChatGPT, procurement teams asking AI assistants for vendor comparisons, and decision-makers consuming synthesized answers rather than visiting traditional websites.

If your brand doesn't appear in those answers, you've lost the opportunity before the evaluation even begins. And if your marketing team is debating which acronym to use instead of building systems to show up across all these platforms, the terminology confusion is costing you visibility.

The companies navigating this shift successfully aren't picking sides in the acronym wars. They're building integrated discovery systems where SEO, content strategy, an overall digital presence, and brand authority work together to ensure visibility wherever customers search.

What actually works

The terminology may be evolving, but the fundamentals haven't changed. Discovery, whether driven by traditional search algorithms or AI synthesis, relies on the same underlying signals.

In Google search results, AI Overviews, and chatbot responses, several factors are key: content depth and quality, topical authority, brand mentions across credible sources, and providing clear, valuable answers to your audience's actual questions.

The difference now is that discovery happens across more surfaces. Your content needs to work on your website, be indexed for search results, used as source material for AI summaries, and incorporated as reference points in conversational interfaces.

That requires integrated execution. Content strategy can't operate separately from SEO. Brand building can't happen in isolation from digital presence. Sales enablement needs to connect with how prospects actually discover and evaluate solutions.

When these components operate together as a system, the resulting visibility significantly increases. Authoritative, high-quality content establishes credibility. This authority, in turn, leads to increased citations and mentions. These mentions then contribute to AI training data, with AI citations driving more traffic back to your owned properties, creating a self-reinforcing cycle.

Systems win, semantics don’t

The search industry's terminology confusion reveals a broader truth about how markets evolve. When the rules change, everyone scrambles to name the new game. But the companies that win aren't the ones who pick the right acronym. They're the ones who adapt their systems while competitors argue about vocabulary.

For B2B brands, the lesson is straightforward. Build easily adaptable systems that reflect how customers actually find information.

That means investing in content that establishes expertise. Distributing it across channels where your audience actually spends time. Building brand authority that generates organic mentions. Optimizing for discovery wherever it happens, whether that's Google, ChatGPT, industry publications, or platforms that don't exist yet. And being agile (and willing) enough to update your approach as the discovery of information continues to evolve.

The research showed that AISO is emerging as the market-ready label because it's broad, intuitive, and captures the full scope of AI-driven discovery. But the label matters less than the discipline behind it: creating valuable content, distributing it strategically, and building systems that ensure your brand shows up when customers search for solutions.

HexaGroup treats Brand and Service as pull and Marketing and Sales as thrust, discrete forces that perform best when synchronized. When discovery fragments across platforms, that synchronization becomes critical. Your content strategy needs to generate assets that work across traditional search, AI platforms, social feeds, and direct conversations. Your brand-building needs to create authority that AI models recognize and cite. Your sales enablement needs to leverage the visibility your content creates. And your team needs to understand how the discovery platform affects each stage of the customer journey.

What emerges isn't "content" for content's sake. It's a connective tissue that binds your go-to-market together, ensuring visibility wherever prospects begin their search.

At HexaGroup, we help B2B firms build these integrated discovery systems. The companies that maintain visibility through platform shifts aren't reacting to every new acronym. They're engineering Growth Engines where brand, content, and distribution work together to create sustained momentum.

The terminology will keep evolving. The platforms will keep changing. But the principle stays constant: build systems, not tactics. And make sure those systems work wherever your customers are looking for answers.

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