AI doesn’t care about your org chart: key takeaways from BrightonSEO San Diego

I recently had the chance to speak at BrightonSEO San Diego about a topic that’s dominated just about every search conference over the past couple of years: GEO. You probably knew the answer before I finished the sentence. More specifically, though, I talked about how we’re asking the wrong questions about GEO.

Most discussions in boardrooms and agencies revolve around visibility, citations, recommendations, share of voice. These are all important but they’re outcomes, not causes. I’m far more interested in understanding why some brands consistently show up in AI recommendations while others struggle to gain traction. 

After analyzing citation data across different industries, I think the answer comes down to one thing: authority. 

Visibility is the outcome. Authority is the driver.

For years, SEO professionals have understood the importance of authority. Traditionally, links were one of the strongest signals, alongside content and technical foundations. None of that has changed. It’s where authority is earned that is evolving – publishers, online communities, review platforms, creators and affiliates. 

GEO has expanded the playing field, with AI systems analyzing not just how brands portray themselves, but what third-party sources are saying. 

Think about choosing a restaurant. You don’t ring up and ask whether the food is good; you look at reviews, recommendations, articles, and trusted sources. AI models operate in the same way, evaluating signals from across the web to determine who deserves visibility. 

Not all citations are created equal

The natural response from here is, “So we need more citations?”.

That would be too easy. One of the biggest GEO misconceptions is that there’s a universal rule that more citations equal more visibility. Job done. 

Unfortunately, the data doesn’t support this theory. 

After examining authority across different industries, it became clear that sectors earn trust in very different ways. Retail brands, for example, often get authority from lifestyle publishers or commercial content, while travel brands rely much more heavily on review sites and experience-led validation. Meanwhile, industries like finance lean far more on institutional trust and educational content. 

The objective is the same, but authority ecosystems differ. So, if this is the case, why would we recommend the same GEO strategy to every brand? 

It gets even more granular than that

One of the most interesting findings from my research is that authority ecosystems can vary even within the same sector. 

Two travel brands might operate in the same broad category with similar target audiences yet still earn authority through different combinations of reviews, publishers, content formats and specialist sources. 

This reality suggests GEO strategy isn’t just sector-specific – it may actually be category-specific. That’s why the theory of simply gaining more citations doesn’t cut it. Brands need to earn the right ones to influence visibility.

The real challenge is organizational structure

And this is where the talk takes a turn. Because once you accept that authority is built across multiple sources, we run into a new problem. 

Who actually owns it?

Historically, most SEO outcomes were influenced by one team in charge of content, technical SEO, and links. Not anymore. Today, authority is generated through a much wider network: 

• SEO
• PR 
• Social media 
• Communities 
• Reviews
• Affiliates
• Customer advocacy 
• Brand activity 

But these activities are typically spread across different teams, budgets, objectives and KPIs. That's why I believe GEO has become an organizational challenge as much as a search challenge. AI doesn't evaluate channels independently; it evaluates the collective authority those channels create.

Let’s continue the conversation 

It’s time to stop thinking in channels and chasing the highest volume of citations. Start building authority where authority matters most in your category and align teams around earning it consistently. That’s what I’d want marketers to take away from the session at San Diego.