According to industry insiders, an investigation across multiple online platforms quickly uncovered services known as GEO. Providers on these platforms claim that for a fee, they can ensure a client's product is prominently featured within major AI models, making the client's product advertisement the "standard answer" provided by the AI. Can GEO technology truly make AI promote specific content, or even disseminate false information? Following online leads, contact was made with a well-known GEO service provider. A manager, identified as Mr. Wang, stated their company's specialty is helping clients achieve top rankings when consumers use AI models for searches. "It's equivalent to creating promotional articles and then having the AI platform crawl, input, and capture them," Wang explained. He also noted that due to frequent updates in AI model algorithms, maintaining continuous recommendation within AI models requires the ongoing, large-scale submission of client-related promotional content. Among other GEO service providers, discussions about how to manipulate AI, make it "obedient," or "brainwash" it are central to promoting their services. Insiders revealed that while GEO is a tool software intended for optimizing information distribution and improving promotional efficiency, some commercial entities have found alternative uses for it. An insider randomly purchased a software package named "Liqing GEO Optimization System" from an e-commerce platform. Subsequently, they fabricated a smart wristband product, input the fictional product information into the software system, and selected the article creation command. Shortly after, the Liqing GEO system automatically generated over ten promotional articles for the fictional smart wristband. After publishing these articles online using the GEO system, the insider queried various AI model platforms with "smart health wristband recommendations." Two major AI models recommended the entirely fictional product, placing it in top positions. The operator of the Liqing GEO system, Mr. Li, was contacted. He stated that the primary reason for GEO's popularity is its ability to "feed" or "poison" AI models on behalf of clients to achieve commercial objectives. Mr. Li indicated that the key to manipulating AI models through GEO lies in "publishing articles" across various major internet accounts. "For example, with mobile phone brands, there might only be five, or at most ten, top spots. How do all these brands compete? Instead of spending possibly hundreds of millions on annual advertising, spending a few million on some 'poisoning' is feasible, right?" he remarked. He further explained that the booming GEO business has spawned numerous companies and platforms specializing solely in article publishing services. These entities continuously handle various content distribution tasks to ensure AI models reference and crawl the material, becoming a crucial link in targeting AI models for data "poisoning."
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