This article is from a conference we hosted with Troople, dedicated to the issues of local visibility and the new expectations of response engines powered by artificial intelligence.

Discover here:

https://youtu.be/9--ZTu8Pqwo?feature=shared

Among the digital trends in 2025, there is one not to be missed: what you will discover in this article

• Why generative AI is transforming the way consumers search for and choose your stores.
• What is Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) and why it complements classic SEO.
• How usage is evolving: more reads, fewer clicks, but more decisions made in an instant.
• The four essential pillars for building an effective and sustainable GEO strategy.
• The concrete steps to structure your data and content to appear in the generated responses.
• Why anticipating these developments is essential to maintain your market share.
• How Mobilosoft supports brands in successfully navigating this transition.

AI, search engines, and changing buyer behavior

Even before stepping into a store, most of your customers research online. A simple query like "shoe repair in Boulogne" or "hairdresser open today" can trigger a visit... or make them switch to a competitor.

Until recently, these searches were mainly done on Google or Maps. Internet users consulted several links and compared. Today, artificial intelligence is reshuffling the cards. Tools like ChatGPT, Bing, Copilot or Perplexity have taken to providing a single written response that synthesizes the information they deem relevant.

If your local data is not up-to-date, complete, and structured, these engines don't use them... You are neither visible nor cited. In this new model, the question is no longer 'am I well-referenced?' but 'am I understood and chosen as a credible source?'.

"GEO": the logical continuation of SEO to appear in ChatGPT and others

Natural referencing (SEO) has been based for years on well-known techniques: optimizing keywords, multiplying incoming links, and taking care of technical tags. These levers remain important. But they are no longer enough.

Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) is emerging as the essential continuity. GEO involves preparing your content, data, and local pages to be interpreted, validated, and integrated into AI-generated responses.

Unlike classic SEO, GEO involves anticipating how AI will cross-check and verify your information. If the data lacks consistency from one medium to another, if your local listings are not enriched, if the descriptions do not match the usual wording of your audience, your brand disappears from suggestions. That's the big difference with 2024 (and even more so 2023!).

Creating content is not enough: it needs to be structured and linked together to be considered credible. In short, think about offers and customer experience!

Customer behavior is evolving rapidly, and so is their way of searching for brands

We observe a clear evolution: users consult more but click less. The user reads the snippet proposed by AI, often a few sentences, and makes their decision immediately. Tech recommendation therefore plays a major role in reaching a new audience. (Or even for customer loyalty, in fact!).

This has two major consequences for your marketing campaigns.

First of all, your website alone is no longer enough. Answer engines draw from your Store Locator, your Google Business Profile listings, your Facebook pages, or your Apple Plans information.

Then your content must be explicit and detailed enough for a customer to understand the essentials without having to click. Your digital presence becomes a lever of direct influence and no longer just a gateway to your site.

So how to navigate in 2025? The four pillars of a successful GEO strategy

During our conference, we presented a structuring method called S.U.B.P.

S for Site and Store Locator
Your site must contain a modern Store Locator with a page per point of sale, clear tags, and localized content. This architecture is the foundation of your referencing and GEO visibility.

U for User Generated Content
Content produced by your customers, reviews, photos, ratings, have become crucial trust signals. An establishment that regularly collects recent reviews and responds to them proves its credibility.

B for Proprietary databases
Google Apple Bing and Facebook accumulate information about your establishments. It is essential to verify their consistency and update them so that AI integrates them into its responses.

P for Press and third-party publishers
Mentions in recognized articles and specialized media contribute to reinforcing your brand's authority in the eyes of search engines.

This approach allows you to prioritize actions: it's better to have a site and impeccable local listings than a scattered strategy.

How to appear in the responses generated by artificial intelligence?

The heart of GEO is semantic correspondence. Artificial intelligence compares the wording of the question with your content. If a customer asks "where to buy bio clothing in Paris?" and your pages use these expressions, you increase your chances of being cited.

For this, three essential levers are needed to keep up the pace:

1- Identify generic and frequent queries that your customers use.
2- Structure your content around these questions with precise and up-to-date answers.
3- Ensure that this information is consistent across your website, listings, and networks.

The channels change, but the fundamentals remain the same.

The proportion of queries processed by generative AI remains modest today. However, their growth is rapid. Within two years, they could account for up to 20% of local searches.

Waiting means risking having to catch up in an emergency. On the other hand, preparing now makes it a sustainable competitive advantage.

You already have assets: your local listings, customer reviews, and content. It's a matter of optimizing them, not rebuilding everything.

What we implement within the platform

At Mobilosoft, we support brands in making AI an opportunity rather than a constraint. Specifically, we help you:

- Design a Store Locator adapted to GEO requirements.
- Publish and synchronize your data across over 30 platforms.
- Organize the collection and management of customer reviews.
- Measure the local performance of each point of sale with actionable dashboards to engage retailers.

Our conviction is simple: an effective GEO strategy is built without unnecessary complexity and with a clear vision.

Is your network ready?

We offer you a free GEO audit to assess your visibility, identify your strengths and define your priorities.

Contact us 📩

🌐 More info: www.mobilosoft.com

About Mobilosoft

Mobilosoft is a recognized European player in local digital optimization for retail networks. For over 10 years, we have been supporting brands in the centralized management of their presence, updating their information on all key platforms (Google, Apple, Waze, Facebook, Bing…) and enhancing their points of sale through a comprehensive solution and personalized support.