According to analysis from Orient Securities, AI chatbots and AI search overview products are forming new traffic inlets, with products like ChatGPT, Gemini, Doubao, and DeepSeek boasting 880 million, 650 million, 160 million, and 130 million MAUs respectively, thereby creating novel information distribution channels. Consequently, advertising within AI platforms is set to become a crucial marketing battleground that advertisers must prioritize, with Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) emerging as one key exploratory method. Examining the differences in citation logic and strategies between domestic and international markets, large-scale agency operation platforms may hold a distinct advantage for GEO deployment in China, as they possess extensive data on marketing material creation, placement, and transaction conversion, and their deep understanding of major platforms' traditional businesses provides a solid foundation for launching GEO services. The core views of Orient Securities are outlined below.
GEO fundamentally represents a new form of content marketing shaped by AI's transformation of traffic entry points. It differs from Search Engine Optimization (SEO) from the search engine era, which aimed to improve a link's ranking on search result pages to increase click-through probability. GEO, or Generative Engine Optimization, is based on generative artificial intelligence and optimizes for chatbot and AI search overview products (overseas examples include ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Google AIO; domestic examples include Doubao, Qianwen, DeepSeek, Yuanbao). Its goal is to enhance the probability of relevant content being retrieved by AI and appearing in its responses, essentially improving "AI visibility."
Orient Securities believes that AI chatbots and AI search overview products are indeed forming significant new traffic inlets. With MAUs of 880 million for ChatGPT, 650 million for Gemini, 160 million for Doubao, and 130 million for DeepSeek, they establish new information distribution channels. Therefore, allocating advertising flow within AI platforms is an essential future marketing front for advertisers, and GEO stands as one method of exploration. Currently, GEO leans more towards brand building, with various players still in the phase of developing and testing their methodologies.
Taking the business model of the overseas GEO startup Profound as an example, its product functionalities are divided into two categories: monitoring/analysis and optimization/intervention. Front-end monitoring and analysis include answer engine insights and intelligent agent analysis, which track a brand's crawling and mention status across major AI platforms in real-time, along with how the AI analyzes the brand and its cited sources. Back-end optimization and intervention then use the monitored data and identified content gaps to perform active optimizations, such as structuring webpage content for easier AI parsing and enhancing page credibility and authority to increase the likelihood of AI crawling. Thus, the core of GEO is to help enterprises quantify their brand's visibility and citation within AI systems and provide optimization suggestions.
Given the potential for "zero-click" scenarios in AI-powered searches, GEO metrics are challenging to link directly to traffic conversion indicators; its role is more aligned with brand building. Frequent appearance within AI responses serves to reinforce brand recognition among users. Differences in the data ecosystem between overseas and domestic markets lead to variations in the key players and strategies involved in GEO.
In overseas markets, the foundational work lies in SEO; having a high-quality official website that can be indexed by search engines is a prerequisite. The strategy therefore involves first concentrating resources on creating excellent official website content, supplemented by content investments in high-authority vertical communities like YouTube, Reddit, and Quora. In the domestic Chinese market, AI systems show a greater tendency to crawl content from self-media accounts on large portal sites, third-party platforms like CSDN, and content within their own ecosystems (e.g., Doubao's Douyin short videos and Toutiao, Yuanbao's WeChat Official Accounts). Consequently, the prevailing strategy is widespread content deployment, building a content matrix around various search queries.
Orient Securities posits that, based on the differing citation logics and strategic approaches domestically and internationally, large-scale agency operation platforms are likely better positioned for GEO implementation within China. These platforms have accumulated vast amounts of data related to marketing material production,投放, and transaction conversion. Their inherent understanding of the traditional business models of major tech giants provides a strategic lever for initiating GEO services.
Regarding investment recommendations and targets: (1) Companies that are early adopters in deploying GEO are poised to be the first to establish a closed-loop of technology-data validation. They can gain clearer insights into large language models' citation logic, accumulate more feedback data, and develop robust methodologies. Related stock targets include: BlueFocus (300058.SZ), Yeahka (301171.SZ), and Gravity Media (603598.SH). (2) Companies specializing in agency operations for major platforms possess extensive operational data and rich experience in marketing content. Related stock targets include: SMZDM (300785.SZ), Aokum Technology (301110.SZ), OneNetwork OneCreative (300792.SZ), BlueFocus (300058.SZ), and Gravity Media (603598.SH).
Investors should be aware of potential risks, including the impact of macroeconomic conditions on advertiser budgets, slower-than-expected practical application of GEO, and intensifying market competition.
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