GEO, hype, and the decision-making gap
The growing attention around Generative Engine Optimization (GEO), often referred to as LLMO or AI Optimization, is driven by a widespread expectation: over time, a significant share of search traffic will move from traditional search engines to AI tools and chatbots. Much like the rise of search once gave birth to the SEO industry, this shift is now shaping a new market focused on brand representation in AI-generated answers.
Unlike traditional search, where ranking mechanisms are supported by decades of tools, metrics, and relatively clear cause-and-effect relationships, the GEO space is still at an early stage. There is no solid understanding yet of how brand representation in AI systems is shaped, or how it can be influenced in a predictable way.
The market has largely learned how to measure visibility. By running the same prompts through the same models over time, it is possible to track how often a brand appears in answers related to a product or category. However, measurement alone does not translate into decision-making.
From the perspective of marketers and business leaders, this creates a practical gap. Changes can be observed, but predicting how specific actions will affect future results remains difficult. This is not simply a limitation of existing tools. It follows from how large language models work. Their outputs are probabilistic, and the process behind individual answers is only partially observable.
Why we founded Citeus
We, Irina Luchak and Vitaly Gradoboev, began this project with a central question: how Generative Engine Optimization technologies can help business leaders make better decisions in an AI-driven search environment where outcomes are difficult to predict.
As the work evolves, we’ll be sharing regular updates here. These will be short notes on what we are building, what we are learning, and how our approach evolves over time. If you would like to stay in touch, leave your email and we will send these updates to your inbox.
If you would like to talk, feel free to email hello@citeus.ai or connect with Irina and Vitaly on LinkedIn. Thanks for reading.
