Fire on the Hill launches new Generative Engine Optimization service

Fire on the Hill has today launched a new Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) service to help brands shape how they appear in the responses provided by Generative AI (GenAI) tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity and AI Overviews from Google.

The service sits within Fusion, our digital arm, which specializes in AI and Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) solutions.

The launch coincides with the emergence of clearer measurement standards for GEO, providing brands transparency into their share-of-voice across GenAI platforms, alongside detailed keyword monitoring to track message resonance, product visibility and competitive benchmarking. As generative AI becomes embedded in how people search, evaluate and buy, our GEO service offers a strategic and measurable way for brands to stay visible, trusted, and discoverable in this new information landscape.

Nick Ward, Co-Founder, Fire on the Hill said: “Arguably in B2B we’ve seen marcomms budgets re-directed to paid digital over recent years. However, Gen AI is the emerging traffic acquisition channel, and it works on language semantics, favoring clear, concise and credible content that answers the user’s query.

“That’s why the demand generation budget pendulum is swinging back to earned and owned content, supported by media relations campaigns. It turns out that in a world guided by AI, the core discipline of clearly explaining what your brand does, how it relates to industry issues and your audiences, is even more important.”

Generative AI is changing how people discover brands

The launch comes amid significant shifts in digital behavior. Recent Voice of the CCO research by Fire on the Hill highlighted AI adoption as the most critical issue organizations currently face, with rapid integration reshaping communications. Some 87% of corporate communications professionals are already utilizing AI in their workflows, and 39% of organizations are ‘very positive’ about the role of AI in communications.

Further research is also showing that behavioral change is happening. Some 71.5% of us have used generative AI instead of a search engine, while traditional searches on Google have seen its AI Overviews appear in more than twice as many results, in just three months (January – March 2025). This is having a direct impact for brands, which have seen web traffic increase by more than 400% due to AI link referrals.

Fire on the Hill also analyzed a snapshot of 100 comms professionals’ LinkedIn profiles and 100 comms job ads between 11-17 July, finding over half of communications professionals list GEO at least once on their profile, yet it is only referenced in one in every eight job adverts. This indicates a strong awareness among PR professionals of GEO’s significance but brands themselves have been slower to capitalize on this new opportunity.

“GEO combines the foundational principles of reputation management with the evolving realities of search,” said David Clare, Director at Fire on the Hill and Head of Fusion. “Much like social media in the late 2000s, early adopters today will establish a competitive advantage by solidifying their visibility and trust in the GenAI landscape ahead of competitors.”

GEO has subtle differences to SEO, with generative engines favoring trusted sources such as editorial coverage, analyst reports, structured databases, Wikipedia, and properly formatted owned content. Visibility in generative AI responses depends on authority, credibility, and narrative quality rather than keyword density or pillar and cluster content.

A strategic, authority-led approach with measurable impact

Our GEO service integrates strategy, storytelling, and search expertise to enhance brands’ prominence in generative AI answers.

The service includes:

• Discovery and communications mapping across key AI platforms, including ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Claude, Google AI Overview, and Bing CoPilot
• Strategic content development and placement across earned and owned channels, enabled by the agency’s editorial lens
• AI Visibility Index tracking using industry-standard tools that accurately measure true GenAI performance, so brands can appear with authority
• Continuous optimization informed by AI platform behaviors and visibility insights.

Where PR fundamentals meet the future of search

This new offering represents a broader shift in PR’s role, positioning the industry as central to shaping the authoritative information landscape from which AI draws, ultimately influencing consumer decisions.

Clare adds: “A clear shift is happening. SEO has long valued authority and optimization, but visibility in GenAI hinges on credibility, trust signals, and quality content. Now that the measurement aspect of GenAI has been cracked, the opportunity for brands is clear – and those who move early will gain a lasting advantage.”