GEO for Pharma: How to Stay Seen in AI Search Engines 

Being on page one isn’t the ultimate win anymore. The new priority is being cited by AI as a credible source. Today, people ask precise questions, and AI systems return complete answers by synthesizing content from many sources. The search journey often ends there without visiting the actual source website.  

Last year, nearly 60% of searches resulted in no clicks at all. This is bad news for companies that rely on search engine optimization (SEO) alone. People may still see your content, but never click through.  

Yet, the zero-click reality doesn’t necessarily mean there’s no other effective way to reach healthcare providers (HCPs) and patients. Leading pharmaceutical brands now embrace generative engine optimization (GEO) to boost brand visibility and drive traffic. But what is GEO, what does it mean for your brand visibility in 2026, and how can you leverage it to your benefit? Let’s find out!

What Does GEO Stand for? 

Generative Engine Optimization (GEO), sometimes also called Answer Engine Optimization (AEO), is an emerging practice that helps brands ensure AI engines pull their content to generate answers. AI-generated answers shape how HCPs, patients, and payers understand topics, products, and brands.  

Appearing in answers from tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, or Perplexity helps you build trust and credibility and increases the chance of engagement when users want to explore a topic in more detail. 

It’s common for people to ask which brand is best for their situation. Search “which modular content vendor is best for pharma,” and you’ll often see Viseven near the top of generative AI search results. 

The challenge (and the real opportunity) is making sure your brand shows up as the best option in your disease area. Patients aren’t always starting their journey with a doctor’s visit. More often, they’re asking a large language model for an answer the moment the first symptoms appear. 

This means your content has to do two jobs at once. It should be useful to people when they land on your site and structured in a way that AI models and featured snippets can easily cite.  

Below are a few best practices we’ve learned on how to make content resonate with both users and algorithms. 

Define Questions 

GEO relies on retrieval-augmented generation (RAG). In other words, the system first searches for relevant facts in its index (Retrieval) and then generates the answer (Generation).  

This changes our priorities. We’re no longer focused on keywords alone. Instead, we optimize pages to contain clear, factual information that’s easy for the system to pull and synthesize. 

You need to know exactly what questions your customers are asking. The best approach is to combine organic search insights with competitors’ paid search data and use that to generate targeted questions. 

You can always reach out to your customer-facing team, such as medical representatives, to learn what HCPs ask during face-to-face meetings. From there, you can create content that aligns with your positioning, addresses what your audience cares about, and fills gaps that competitors’ blogs haven’t covered. 

Perform Query Fan-Out 

When a customer asks a question, AI doesn’t just look for that exact keyword. Instead, it breaks the query into a series of related questions to provide a complete answer. What the AI “feeds on” depends on who’s asking. Your history, location, device, and even your previous clicks all shape the response.  

But what does a complete, or “comprehensive” answer actually mean? It means the AI goes beyond the surface. It clarifies what the user wants by considering context and asking follow-up questions. It weighs alternatives, compares information, and checks which sources are trustworthy. In other words, every single query generates a network of related sub-queries. 

If your content can provide comprehensive answers to all related questions and help customers throughout their journey, AI search engines are more likely to surface it. One of the most effective ways to do this is by writing comparison articles about your competitors. Many brands shy away from this. They worry about doing marketing for rivals or appearing less innovative.  

Whether you like it or not, customers are already comparing alternatives. Besides, if you don’t clearly explain how your product differs from competitors, large language models will fill the gaps themselves, sometimes by hallucinating or oversimplifying key distinctions. 

So, it’s better to take the initiative and shape how customers see your brand. And there’s no need to be cringe by claiming you’re the top provider for everything. Take your positioning and be honest about where your products deliver the most value for patients. 

Publish Helpful Content 

Google recommends writing people-first content if you want to show up in AI overviews and AI mode, because the model prioritizes fact density. The more citations to authoritative sources, statistics, and expert quotes your content includes, the more likely it is to get surfaced. According to Princeton University, which coined the term “GEO”, citing experts can increase visibility by up to 41%, while citing authoritative sources can boost it by up to 29%. 

But at the same time, according to Ahrefs, 35% of content cited by ChatGPT comes from low-authority or questionable sources, meaning AI might cite any content that’s structured and fresh. We believe this won’t last forever. A new EEAT-like framework (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness) will eventually govern all AI citations.

That makes now the perfect time to create helpful, compliant, and evidence-based healthcare content that resonates with both users and algorithms. This is particularly important for patients, who increasingly ask AI to summarize clinical trial results in plain language. To ensure your content is interpreted correctly by the model, consider asking it to summarize your material back to you.

Apply Schema Markup Religiously 

Schema markup helps AI engines process and extract meaning from your content. That’s why it makes sense to prioritize it on pages that don’t already appear in special search results. It works across formats, from landing pages to blog posts. 

For example, adding FAQ Schema Markup can help your content surface in AI Overviews and People Also Ask. A simple rule of thumb:  

• Use the question as a clear H2 or H3 
• Answer it in 40–60 words 
• Structure answers with bullet points where possible 

Clarity matters more than creativity here. Be explicit in your headings and questions. Call a spade a spade. AI engines struggle with vague or abstract phrasing and won’t spend resources guessing what a passage is about.  

Strengthen PR Efforts 

McKinsey argues that time alone no longer defines customer engagement, adding intent and focus to the “attention equation.” AI models now prioritize answers users are most likely to pay attention to, drawing from sources they deem trustworthy.  

This is creating a growing divide between life sciences brands that invested in PR before the rise of GEO and those that did not. As AI systems increasingly rely on established authority signals, new entrants may find it far harder to catch up. 

In a world where AI has become the most influential storyteller, brands must ensure the model tells their story. When your narratives and distinct points of view appear in authoritative media, your brand becomes a source that engines cite and customers trust. 

To shape public opinion, start by auditing your brand’s mentions and citations across earned media and social channels. ORM or online reputation management moves from a nice-to-have to a non-negotiable.

It’s not just about showing up in AI search engines. It’s about showing up with the right story and angle. That requires closer attention to customer feedback, industry forums, negative mentions, and even unverified accusations that may influence how AI systems interpret your brand. 

When selecting outlets and podcasts, a “spray and pray” approach rarely works. Instead, focus on building relationships with publications that large language models frequently cite. 

Measurement matters just as much. Beyond impressions, track mention velocity (a fancy word for how often your brand is referenced) and AI answer share to understand how frequently your experts appear in AI-generated responses. 

Ditch the Keyword Overload 

Princeton University’s research shows that keyword stuffing is not only ineffective but can also reduce your visibility in large language models by 10%. Many pharma brands start with keywords and build strategies around them, but the smarter approach is to clarify your positioning first, define what you want to communicate, and then identify the keywords that support your message.  

Next time you open Ahrefs, focus on your brand’s strengths before hunting for keywords. This ensures AI engines consume the right information, users receive the correct story, and you avoid the pitfalls of keyword “overdose.” Even if your traffic might slightly drop, you are more likely to get more leads and connect with your audience. 

Final Words 

GEO isn’t here to replace optimization for traditional search engines. It complements it and changes some of the rules. Your content needs facts that AI can pull, clear structure, and a unique point of view. Generative AI loves original angles and authoritative sources. It’s not enough to write well. You also need strong earned media relationships and solid ORM.  

One strategy won’t work for every AI model. ChatGPT leans on earned media. Perplexity favors fresh content and whitelisted domains. So, stay on top of trends, track how models behave, and adjust your SEO and GEO strategy accordingly. Otherwise, you risk feeding AI search engines the wrong story or no story at all.