Adha Gozali, Founder of AGC Journey, discusses how businesses can adapt as ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity replace Google as the primary search tools
Search engine optimization is dying. Not slowly, not gradually—but rapidly, as artificial intelligence fundamentally rewrites how consumers discover brands, products, and services online.
The numbers tell the story: ChatGPT reached 100 million users faster than any consumer application in history. Perplexity processes over 500 million queries monthly. Google itself has integrated AI-powered answers directly into search results, often eliminating the need to click any links at all.
For businesses still investing heavily in traditional SEO, this represents an existential crisis. For those who understand Generative Engine Optimization (GEO), it’s the opportunity of a decade.
Adha Gozali, founder of AGC Journey and one of Indonesia’s pioneering AI strategists, has been preparing businesses for this shift. His message is urgent but clear: “We’ve moved from the ‘search era’ to the ‘answer era.’ Google gave you ten blue links and made you choose. AI gives you one authoritative answer. If you’re not that answer, you’re invisible.”
The Search Paradigm That Ruled for 25 Years Is Over
For a quarter-century, the playbook was straightforward: optimize your website for Google’s algorithm, rank high in search results, capture clicks, convert visitors. Businesses built entire departments around this model. An entire industry—worth billions—grew to serve it. SEO became the foundation of digital marketing.
Then, almost overnight, the game changed.
“I first noticed the shift in late 2023,” Adha recalls. “I asked clients how they researched purchases. Increasingly, they said ‘I just asked ChatGPT.’ Not ‘I Googled it.’ That’s when I realized we were watching a paradigm shift in real-time.”
The implications are staggering. When consumers ask AI for recommendations, they’re not scrolling through ten options—they’re getting one or two definitive answers. If your brand isn’t included in that response, you’ve lost the customer before the conversation even starts.
What Is GEO, and Why Does It Matter?
Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) is the practice of ensuring your brand, products, or services appear in AI-generated responses. Unlike traditional SEO—which focused on ranking in search results—GEO focuses on becoming the answer itself.
The distinction is critical. Traditional SEO optimized for visibility. GEO optimizes for authority and relevance in AI training data and real-time queries.
“Think about it this way,” Adha explains. “When someone asks ChatGPT ‘What’s the best project management tool for remote teams?’ the AI doesn’t provide a list of 20 options. It provides two or three recommendations with rationale. If you’re not one of those recommendations, you’ve lost.”
AGC Journey has developed a proprietary GEO methodology that combines technical optimization with strategic positioning. The goal isn’t gaming AI systems—it’s genuinely establishing authority in your domain so AI engines naturally recommend you.
The Three Pillars of Effective GEO
Based on AGC Journey’s work with businesses across industries, Adha has identified three core pillars of effective GEO:
- Authoritative Content Architecture
AI engines prioritize sources they deem authoritative. This means:- Consistently publishing high-quality, original insights (not recycled SEO content)
- Demonstrating expertise through depth, not just keyword density
- Building a body of work that establishes you as a thought leader in your domain
- “The content that worked for SEO—keyword-stuffed, formulaic blog posts—actively hurts your GEO,” Adha notes. “AI engines can detect low-quality content. They’re trained to prioritize genuine expertise.”
- Strategic Signal Amplification
Getting mentioned by authoritative sources matters more than ever. AI engines weigh citations, references, and mentions when determining who to recommend. This includes:- Media coverage in respected publications
- Citations in industry reports and whitepapers
- Mentions by recognized experts and thought leaders
- Customer reviews and testimonials that demonstrate real-world value
- “It’s not about gaming the system,” Adha emphasizes. “It’s more on genuinely building a reputation that merits recommendation.”
- Cultural and Contextual Relevance
AI engines are sophisticated at understanding context—not just keywords, but intent, culture, and nuance.
“A GEO strategy built for Western markets often fails in Asia,” Adha observes. “You can’t just translate a U.S. strategy and expect it to work in Jakarta.”
AGC Journey’s approach respects local context and values to optimize for AI in culturally relevant ways.
Real-World Application: How One Company Adapted
Consider a B2B software company AGC Journey worked with. They had invested heavily in SEO, ranking high for dozens of keywords. But when Adha’s team audited their GEO positioning, they found a problem: when users asked ChatGPT for software recommendations, the company never appeared in the response.
The solution required a content overhaul:
- Before: Generic blog posts like “10 Tips for Better Project Management” designed to rank for keywords.
- After: In-depth case studies, original research, and thought leadership. The CEO began publishing quarterly industry analyses, contributing to respected publications, and building relationships with recognized experts.
Within six months, the company began appearing in AI-generated recommendations. Qualified leads from AI-referred sources increased by 340%.
The Mistakes Most Businesses Make
- Mistake #1: Treating GEO like SEO 2.0
“Companies think they can just optimize existing content with new keywords. That fundamentally misunderstands how AI engines work. They’re evaluating authority and expertise, not keyword density.” - Mistake #2: Focusing on Volume Over Quality
“Publishing 50 mediocre blog posts doesn’t help your GEO. Publishing 5 exceptional, deeply researched pieces does.” - Mistake #3: Ignoring Cultural Context
“You need localized strategies. What constitutes authority varies across cultures.” - Mistake #4: Neglecting Ethical Considerations
“Some agencies are teaching clients to manipulate AI systems. That’s incredibly short-sighted. AI engines are getting better at detecting manipulation. The brands that win long-term are those building genuine authority.”
What Businesses Should Do Now
For businesses wondering how to adapt, Adha offers practical guidance:
Immediate Actions (This Month):
- Audit your current positioning: Ask AI engines about your category and see if you appear
- Identify gaps: Where should you appear but don’t?
- Assess your content: Is it genuinely valuable or just SEO filler?
Short-Term Strategy (Next 3-6 Months):
- Shift from volume to quality in content creation
- Build relationships with authoritative sources who can reference your work
- Develop original research, case studies, and thought leadership
- Train your team to create content that demonstrates expertise, not just keywords
Long-Term Investment (6-12 Months):
- Establish genuine thought leadership in your domain
- Build a body of work that merits AI recommendation
- Create systems for consistently producing authoritative content
- Monitor and adapt as AI engines evolve
“The key insight,” Adha notes, “is that GEO rewards what SEO often punished: depth over breadth, quality over quantity, expertise over optimization.”
The Indonesian Perspective on AI Discovery
Adha’s approach to GEO is distinctly influenced by his Indonesian background and philosophical training. While Western strategies often focus on aggressive optimization and competitive positioning, Adha emphasizes collaborative value creation.
“Indonesian philosophy teaches us gotong royong, which means communal cooperation,” he explains. “Applied to GEO, this means asking: does our content genuinely serve the user asking the question? Or are we just trying to capture attention?”
This isn’t just philosophical musing—it’s strategic. AI engines are increasingly sophisticated at detecting whether content genuinely helps users or simply tries to game the system.
“The businesses that win at GEO long-term are those providing genuine value,” Adha argues. “Not because they’re more ethical—though that matters—but because AI engines are designed to recommend genuinely valuable sources.”
The Future: What Comes Next
As AI continues evolving, Adha predicts several shifts:
- Prediction 1: Hyper-Personalization
“AI engines will increasingly provide personalized recommendations based on user history, preferences, and context. Generic content won’t cut it. You’ll need to establish authority across multiple dimensions.” - Prediction 2: Multimedia Integration
“Text-based content dominates now, but AI engines will increasingly integrate video, audio, and visual content. Brands that adapt across formats will have advantage.” - Prediction 3: Real-Time Verification
“AI engines are developing better fact-checking capabilities. False claims or exaggerated positioning will increasingly be caught and penalized. Authenticity becomes non-negotiable.” - Prediction 4: Cultural Intelligence
“As AI engines improve at understanding cultural context, localized strategies become crucial. The one-size-fits-all approach will fail.”
Conclusion: Adapt or Become Invisible
The transition from search engines to AI engines represents one of the most significant shifts in digital marketing history. For businesses, the choice is stark: adapt to the age of AI-powered discovery, or become invisible to the next generation of consumers.
“In five years, every business will have adapted to AI-powered discovery, or they’ll be irrelevant,” Adha concludes. “The difference between thriving and surviving is whether you start strategizing for GEO today or wait until your competitors have already won.”
The search paradigm that ruled for 25 years is over. The answer era has begun. The question is: will AI recommend your brand?
About AGC Journey
AGC Journey specializes in helping businesses transition from traditional SEO to Generative Engine Optimization (GEO), ensuring they remain discoverable and competitive in an AI-first world. The consultancy also provides AI strategy training, helping organizations implement ethical, effective AI solutions.
Ready to ensure AI engines recommend your brand? Visit AGC Journey Website to learn how GEO can transform your digital strategy.
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