Implement schema markup
Structured data ensures AI can interpret your content and how it connects to the larger web of knowledge.
Define key entities: Use schema markup to define your essential entities – people, places, products and concepts.
Connect to trusted sources: Use sameAs schema to link your brand to authoritative profiles like Wikipedia, LinkedIn and other trusted sources.
Link verified profiles: Tie your brand’s social media and professional profiles together for a consistent and credible digital presence.
Use mentions schema: Highlight notable entities within your content and use mentions schema to signal engagement in the broader ecosystem.
Build connections in key knowledge networks
Embedding your brand in knowledge networks, graphs and other structured databases lays the foundation for AI recognition and trust.
Claim and manage knowledge panels: Regularly update your Google Business Profile and other knowledge panels with accurate, up-to-date information.
Create and maintain Wikidata entries: Anchor your brand in the Wkidata knowledge graph by consistently providing comprehensive and reliable information.
Aim for a Wikipedia page: While creating a Wikipedia page boosts credibility, not every brand qualifies under its strict guidelines. If it’s not an option, focus on securing mentions in authoritative sources – these can be just as impactful.
Secure brand mentions in reputable sources
Earning brand mentions and links from trusted sources builds credibility, positioning your brand to be a voice AI references in key conversations.
Create shareable, valuable content: Publish insights or resources that naturally encourage others to cite or reference your brand.
Collaborate with thought leaders: Partner with industry experts on articles, interviews or webinars to strengthen your credibility.
Appear in respected publications: Proactively secure placements in well-regarded industry outlets to solidify your reputation.
Use targeted digital PR: Focus campaigns on earning mentions in authoritative sources frequently cited by AI or well-connected to your brand’s core entities.
Let’s refer back to the example from before.
“What’s a good beginner-friendly bike for commuting in San Francisco?”
The AI response highlights the Specialized Sirrus X 2.0 as the top pick. Although the AI doesn’t link to the brand’s website, it mentions the brand name directly.
The source cited in the AI response, Cycling Weekly, had ranked the bike first in its Best Commuter Bikes of 2024 article.
This highlights the importance of indirect inclusion: a brand appears in the AI response because it was mentioned in a trusted industry source.
The AI cited this reputable publication and the brand was part of the conversation – even without a direct link.
Use real-time and dynamic content
AI’s ability to surface relevant insights depends on a constant influx of fresh information.
Platforms like Reddit, Quora and Stack Exchange offer a front-row seat to the questions people are asking and the challenges they’re navigating. They’re also prioritized by AI for their unbiased and authentic experiences.
Participating in active conversations and fostering engagement will keep your brand part of the narrative shaping your industry.
Keep content current: Regularly refresh blog posts, news articles and product pages to reflect the latest trends and updates.
Engage with forums and UGC: Monitor and engage in discussions in your niche and identify shifts in language or topics. These platforms can uncover perspectives that reshape how you approach key themes.
Create content with impact: Publish research, insights or thought leadership that addresses pressing questions and emerging trends that matter to your audience.
Align content and links with entities
Your content and internal links should tie your brand to relevant entities, making it easier for AI to identify and understand those associations.
Tools like TextRazor can help uncover key entity relationships to refine your approach.
Mention known entities: Include significant people, places, products and concepts to strengthen your brand’s relevance to topics in your niche.
Link to verified sources: Reinforce your credibility by linking to well-established, trusted entities.
Use internal linking: Build connections between related content using an ontology-based approach with a clear, hierarchical structure to showcase your expertise.
Develop content clusters: Organize content into clusters to signal depth in your experience, focusing on comprehensive coverage of your key topics.
Focus on E-E-A-T: Build credibility through experience, expertise, authoritativeness and trustworthiness to create a strong digital footprint. Focus on author credentials, citations and high-quality backlinks.
Dig deeper: How to optimize for entities
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4. The rise of multimodal search
Users are now engaging with information through voice commands, videos, images and audio in ways that were only imaginable just a few years ago.
Platforms are evolving quickly to meet this demand.
Google Lens now processes a staggering 20 billion visual searches per month, proof of the growing appetite for interactive search experiences.
Using RAG, AI can retrieve multimodal embeddings and process them alongside text to create richer and more complete responses.
But what makes these experiences feel cohesive? Entities.
They’re the framework that transforms scattered pieces of content into something meaningful – an interconnected narrative.
For brands, this means stepping back from viewing media assets as standalone efforts. Instead, success depends on ensuring that all content formats are part of a unified strategy.
How to optimize and connect your media assets
Images: Use alt text and metadata rich with relevant entities and ImageObject schema.
Voice search: Structure FAQ-style content with FAQ and Q&A schema.
Video content: Add transcripts, captions and VideoObject schema.
Audio content: Add transcripts and AudioObject schema.
Example: A fitness brand optimizing for the topic “core strength workouts”
Blog post with images: Write an article about core exercises, tips and benefits. Include images with alt text like “plank position for core strength” and apply ImageObject schema.
Voice search: Add an FAQ section answering questions like “What are the best core exercises?” with FAQ schema.
Video content: Create and embed an instructional video demonstrating exercises step-by-step, sharing it across social media. Include a transcript, captions and VideoObject schema.
Podcast episode: Release an episode on core strength tips using AudioObject schema and linking a transcript to the blog post.
Entity linking: Reference the video series and podcast within the blog post. Cross-link the blog, video and podcast to reinforce connections.
Structured data: Apply sameAs properties to connect related content and strengthen entity relationships.
This alignment creates an informative, immersive experience ready to engage users no matter how they choose to search.
Dig deeper: Visual content and SEO: How to use images and videos in 2025
5. Personalized, predictive search experiences are here
Now, imagine a search engine that anticipates your needs before you even type the query, offering suggestions and solutions before you even think to ask.
With generative AI, we’re already there.
Personalized search already tailors results to your preferences, but predictive search goes a step further, anticipating needs based on your behavior, interests and engagement across the digital ecosystem.
Let’s say you’re planning a home garden. You start by searching for ” the best vegetables to grow in spring.”
Later, AI comes in with personalized suggestions: planting schedules, frost alerts and nearby nurseries just as you’re ready to shop.
As your project unfolds, it adapts, offering seasonal care tips, connecting you with gardening communities and presenting information in the format you prefer to consume at each stage of your journey.
This layer elevates traditional personalization, moving these experiences from “helpful” to “indispensable.”
Why this matters for GEO
Predictive search runs on dynamic entity profiles which are real-time representations of brands, people, products and concepts that continuously adapt to new data.
AI enriches these profiles with fresh insights pulled dynamically from knowledge networks, making them accurate as things change.
For brands, staying part of this evolving ecosystem requires content that remains agile, timely and responsive to shifting user preferences and expectations.
In other words: listen to your audience – even when they don’t quite know what they’re looking for yet.
How brands can stay ahead
Map content across the user journey: Anticipate user needs at each stage of their journey, building interconnected content that moves seamlessly between related topics and formats.
Adapt with real-time insights: Use trends, emerging data and feedback from your audience to keep your content current and reflective of what they care about right now.
Redefine value in predictive experiences: Think beyond immediate queries. Offer tools, guides and insights that your audience will find useful, even when they’re not actively searching for them.
Meeting users where they are and where they’ll be next builds trust, authority and lasting loyalty.
Stay adaptable
The future is multimodal, personalized, predictive and powered by connections.
Each trend leads to one clear insight: search has evolved into crafting meaningful, interconnected experiences.
If there’s one takeaway, it’s this: search isn’t slowing down and neither can you.
Whether it’s refining your GEO strategies or exploring the technologies shaping this shift, adaptability will keep you ahead.
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