Local agencies push GEO as AI answers replace search results

AI-generated answers are replacing traditional search result pages as the primary way customers find local services. Scott Darrohn, Managing Partner at the New York City-based digital marketing agency fishbat, says this shift has changed how local businesses must compete for visibility.

Darrohn explains that the focus has moved from ranking in Google’s local pack to being the specific option an AI assistant recommends to a user. This process is known as generative engine optimization, or GEO. Fishbat has made GEO a core strategic offering rather than an experimental add-on.

The agency structures a business’s content, listings, and online information so AI systems can read and understand the data. This includes ensuring service descriptions, location details, and customer feedback are consistent across all platforms. Darrohn notes that businesses often get overlooked not because of low quality, but because their information is scattered or unclear to the systems doing the recommending.

“For local businesses, visibility now means being the answer AI gives when someone asks for a recommendation nearby,” Darrohn said. “Generative engine optimization helps brands present their information in a way that’s clear and trustworthy to AI systems, which leads directly to more qualified local leads.”

Consistency is a major factor in how AI models make decisions. These systems cross-reference multiple sources before recommending a business. They check whether the name, address, phone number, hours, and services match across a website, directories, and social profiles. If that information is inconsistent, the AI system may hedge its recommendation or leave the business out entirely.

Even small discrepancies can reduce an AI system’s confidence. An outdated phone number or an old address listed on one platform is enough to make a system less likely to select that business. Darrohn says consistency is not a one-time fix. It requires ongoing monitoring as business details change, new locations open, or service offerings expand.

Many local businesses struggle with this task because keeping every platform aligned takes more attention than most in-house teams can dedicate. Fishbat provides a structured way to audit and align information across the web. This groundwork builds a trust signal that AI systems rely on when deciding which businesses to surface.

Traditional local SEO remains essential, but it serves a different purpose. Local SEO is built around ranking in search engine results pages. GEO is built around being selected and described accurately within AI-generated answers. Optimizing for one does not automatically optimize for the other. A strong local SEO foundation still earns a business a place in search results, but without GEO, that business risks being absent when a customer asks an AI assistant for a recommendation.

Fishbat argues that local businesses should prioritize GEO alongside their existing SEO work. The two strategies work best together, with local SEO establishing baseline visibility and GEO extending that visibility into AI-generated recommendations. Darrohn says businesses that treat GEO as optional are likely to find themselves invisible in a growing share of the searches that matter most.