How Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO) is already shaping your talent brand story before you get the chance to tell it.


🔍 The Way We Search Has Changed

Think about how you research a product or service today. You used to browse (Google), check multiple sites, read reviews, scroll social feeds, and maybe watch a few videos before deciding.

When was the last time you actually “Googled” something the old way?

Now? You open ChatGPT, Co-Pilot, Perplexity, or Gemini, type your question, and get the answer in seconds. No browsing. No digging. Just a neatly packaged response.

It’s no different for candidates exploring potential employers or employees researching their own company. Your brand has always been there, whether you liked it or not. The difference now? Every detail about your workplace is more accessible than ever.

⚡ Enter GEO

And in comes GEO – Generative Engine Optimisation. If SEO was about ranking high in Google search results, GEO is about showing up accurately and positively in the answers AI gives when talent asks about your place of work.

Instead of serving a list of links, AI delivers a collective answer pulled from a constantly updated mix of online sources. Sometimes, all it takes is one well-crafted prompt for AI to scrape, collect, and present the story of your workplace in a few confident lines.

As Mike Parsons explains in his Employer Branding News article, these platforms are constantly pulling from review sites, careers pages, job ads, media coverage, social posts, and more.

We’re still learning how to prompt AI to give the most accurate responses. But here’s the truth: if your online presence isn’t clear, consistent, and credible, AI will make its own judgment from whatever it finds – good or bad.

📡 Where AI Gets Its Story

When AI answers “What’s it like to work at [Company]?”, it doesn’t check just one source – it stitches together your story from a variety of places, whether you manage them or not:

  • Your own shop window – careers site, job ads, role descriptions that signal what you value, how you hire, and the experience you promise.
  • Review platforms – Glassdoor, Indeed, Reddit, and others offering unfiltered accounts of life inside your workplace.
  • Social media – what leaders, employees, and alumni share publicly often carries more weight than formal employer branding.
  • Articles, blogs and industry mentions –  awards, culture features, or uncomfortable headlines that can shape perceptions for years.

❗ Why This Matters Now

We’re in a world where trust is eroding, and every generation – especially the emerging, tech-savvy workforce – is doing its homework before making career decisions. GEO is no longer a “future trend.” It’s here, and it’s already shaping perceptions about your organisation.

It’s no longer enough for your organisation to simply “show up” online. The quality of your content needs to be accurate, resonate with your audience, and be an authentic reflection of the culture, values, and behaviours you actually live.

If the information AI finds is outdated, inconsistent, or incomplete, it will still provide an answer. That answer shapes their first impression. They know no different and they’ve already formed their perceptions before you’ve had a chance to position your brand reputation.

🛠️ Practical GEO Actions for Talent Leaders

In my recent article for a tech association, GEO was echoed as a rising trend brands can’t afford to ignore. Consumer brands are already building GEO strategies alongside SEO. In employer branding? Many haven’t yet realised that the ‘click’ is being replaced by AI answers.

Start here:

  1. Activate authentic voices: Encourage leaders, employees, and alumni to share their experiences in their own words. AI values credible, human accounts over corporate content.
  2. Manage reviews openly: Glassdoor, Indeed, Reddit – don’t ignore them. Respond with transparency, encourage balanced input, and act on the patterns.
  3. Keep your own house in order: Career sites and job ads still matter. Write them for both people and AI: current, clear, and consistent with your EVP.
  4. Share what you want AI to find: Culture stories, recognition wins, purpose-led initiatives – place them where AI scans: LinkedIn, industry press, credible features, even podcasts or webinars.
  5. Run your own AI check: Ask your preferred AI assistant:
  • “What’s it like to work at [Company]?”
  • “How would you describe the culture at [Company]?”
  • “What is [Company] known for as an employer?”
  • “Why would a Gen Z professional want to work at [Company]?”

💬 In the minds of our emerging workforce: “If AI can’t give me a real, accurate, and trustworthy answer – I assume the company either isn’t proud of its culture or has something to hide. I’ll move on before I’ve even clicked Apply.”

🎯 Final Thought

Your employer brand has never been more exposed. GEO isn’t coming – it’s here. The question is: will you let AI decide your story for you, or will you take the lead in shaping it?

📥 Your next move: Run your own AI audit today. Then take one step to improve how your company shows up in the answers your next great hire is already reading.

🚀 Turn insight into action:

🃏 Put some fun into your transformation into an Employer Brand Marketer with our Power Pack Cards – bite-sized prompts to sharpen your voice, presence, and positioning.

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