Is SEO disappearing? Positioning with GEO and Google SGE

For more than two decades, SEO has always been that constant companion: Sometimes more technical, sometimes more creative, but always essential. For years we played by a very simple rule: Google displayed a list of results and brands competed to be at the top.

Today that logic is no longer sufficient. And I say this with absolute conviction.

The emergence of generative AI, the rise of new search engines, and especially the launch of Google SGE, have completely changed the playing field. For the first time, search engines are not just linking: They interpret, synthesize, and respond. They consume hundreds of sources, evaluate authority, structure concepts, and return explanations that previously required several clicks.

Amidst all this change, one discipline emerges that we can no longer ignore: GEO (Generative Engine Optimization). It doesn't replace SEO, but it does transform the way we understand digital visibility. I see it this way: SEO is still the foundation, but now we need another layer.

This article is my personal interpretation—from a strategic perspective, but also from professional intuition—of what is happening, why SEO is not dying, how GEO fits in, and how this new generative search is reorganizing digital authority globally.

SEO isn't going away: It becomes the foundation of web knowledge.

Sometimes I hear that "SEO is going to die." And, frankly, I think it's a huge conceptual error. Generative AI needs real content to learn, cite, compare, and explain. Without a website, there is no data. Without data, there are no answers.

SEO remains the infrastructure that allows search engines to discover content.

If the web were a giant library, SEO would be the system that organizes it. And although many users no longer access that library directly—because they consult generative search engines that do the search for them—the content It has to exist, be well organized and demonstrate real experience.

That's why I'm saying it clearly:
SEO is not dead; It simply ceases to be the ultimate goal. Positioning alone is no longer enough: You have to be understood.

SEO isn't going away: It becomes the foundation of web knowledge

It's tempting to think that SEO will "die" in the face of tools like ChatGPT Search or Google SGE, but that idea is far from reality. Generative AI needs original content to learn, cite, and explain. Without web pages there is no data, no sources, no context.

SEO remains essential because it builds the foundation that allows search engines to discover content.

If the web is the world's library, SEO is the system that organizes it. And although users no longer just consult that library directly (often they do so through generative engines), the content still has to exist, be well structured, and demonstrate real expertise.

SEO isn't dead, but it's no longer the ultimate goal. Positioning alone is no longer enough; now we have to to be understood.

GEO: the layer that makes AI consider you a reliable source

This is where the real revolution begins.

Previously, we optimized so that Google would show us at the top. Now we optimize so that the generative engines... choose as part of his response.

To avoid confusion:

• SGE It's Google's generative experience.
• GEO It's the strategy for generative engines to use your content as a source.

Or to put it more visually:

• SGE is the showcase.
• GEO is what determines who appears inside.

While traditional SEO seeks to "climb rankings," GEO answers a much deeper question:

What should my content have in order for a generative engine to use it as the basis for an explanation?

Generative search engines —ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Copilot— do not work like a classic search engine.
They don't order pages: They perform songs.
They do not value keywords: They value clarity..
They don't reward volume: They reward depth..

The GEO converts content into useful knowledge. And that is the new playing field.

How ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, and Copilot interpret you

Something I repeat a lot at ATLS is that "the future of positioning no longer depends on a single search engine." The fragmentation is total. And each engine has its own rules.

GEO in ChatGPT Search

ChatGPT blends its trained knowledge with real-time information. Select sources that help you explainnot just to "position".
If a brand is mentioned in ChatGPT Search, it's because its content contributes conceptual valueno noise.

GEO in Gemini Advanced

Gemini has great sensitivity to the multilingual coherence and the conceptual depth.
Evaluate PDFs, videos, long texts, technical documentation… everything.
It favors brands with a global and structured message in all languages. Companies with an international vision —like ATLS— have a head start here.

GEO in Perplexity

Perplexity is the search engine most obsessed with quality.
He doesn't improvise: investigates.
If a brand is mentioned, it is because it is recognized as an expert within a comparative analysis. It is an ideal platform for those who truly master their sector.

GEO in Copilot

Copilot combines Bing with its own generative models and rewards linguistic precision, the concrete examples and the editorial clarity.
If a brand doesn't explain itself well, it simply doesn't appear.
Here, as in SGE, the ranking is not what matters: is to be cited.

Google SGE: the new starting point of the search

SGE is probably the piece that is most revolutionizing the search as we knew it.
For the first time, Google is putting a AI-generated explanation to a list of links.

If someone asks, for example:
“How to combine SEO with multilingual content for internationalization”,
SGE analyzes, synthesizes, explains and only then suggests complementary links.

That initial block is a kind of “mini-guide”.
Appearing there is an incredible leap of authority.

But the most important thing is this:
Being at the top of Google no longer guarantees visibility in SGE. And being in SGE is worth much more than a simple ranking.

The new user behavior: First understand, then click

This is key.

Previously, the user searched like this:

• I opened several pages,
• compared,
• was leaking.

Now it's happening the other way around:

• SGE gives an initial explanation,
• highlights the most reliable sources,
• and the user only clicks if they want to delve deeper or take action.

This completely transforms the funnel:

• Visibility begins in the generative response.
• Credibility is decided before the click.
• And the click, when it comes, is worth so much more.

The competition is no longer about attracting, but about be explained.

The content of the future: Less volume, more meaning

I admit that for years we all played by the same logic: mass-produce content to target all possible keywords.
That model no longer works.

Generative engines don't need twenty medium-sized articles:
They need one that actually contributes knowledge.

Today, conceptual density, clarity, and thematic coherence are what matter.
The strategic question is no longer:
“Which keyword should we target?”
And it becomes:
“What knowledge do we need to build to stand out?”

The content becomes an architecture of authority, not an exercise in repetition.

The competitive advantage of the future: Build knowledge, not content

The brands that will lead the positioning in the coming years will be those that know how to organize their own knowledge.
It is not enough to write: one has to structure, prioritize, demonstrate real experience.

And, furthermore, there is a nuance that for me is key:
Generative models work with conceptsnot with languages.
That's why multilingual consistency is no longer optional: It is strategic.

This new paradigm requires combining:

• expert content,
• deep semantic analysis,
• editorial narrative,
• web architecture,
• linguistic precision,
• and international vision.

Few companies can do it alone. It's not an SEO update: It's an evolutionary leap.

At ATLS we understand this: AI needs experts

Generative AI does not replace human knowledge; It amplifies it.
And in a world where visibility depends on be a sourceCompanies need partners who know how to transform their experience into knowledge usable by generative engines.

This goes far beyond writing content.
It's about creating pieces that explain, that structure ideas, that allow a brand to be referenceno noise.

At ATLS we work precisely at that point where language, strategy, internationalization and technology meet. Our goal is to help brands not only adapt to the future, but lead it.

SEO isn't dead, but isolated SEO is.

I insist: SEO is more alive than ever.
What is disappearing is the idea of SEO disconnected from the rest of the digital strategy.

Google SGE and generative engines force us to think more holistically. We no longer optimize pages: We optimize knowledge.

AI models amplify or make brands invisible based on their conceptual clarity, editorial consistency, and ability to provide real value.

And this is where the GEO comes in: the discipline that analyzes how generative engines interpret, connect, and prioritize content.

SEO + GEO = the visibility architecture of the future.

Because the key question is no longer:
“How do I rank a page?”
But:
“How do I make my brand part of the answer?”

Companies that understand this will make a difference. Those that don't, will simply disappear from the map.

At ATLS we are exactly where we need to be: helping brands become sourcesnot only in results.

The real question

It isn’t:
“How do I rank a page?”

The real question is:
👉 “How do I make my brand part of the answer?”

And if: ATLS may be the deciding factor whether a brand is visible… or irrelevant in the new era of generative search.

Frequently asked questions about SEO and GEO positioning

Gemma Marcé