Hello SIGDOC attendees,
As you’re registering for SIGDOC 2026 (early bird rate expires Sep. 23! – less than 2 weeks away), consider adding one of the four workshops offered on the morning of Oct. 23. I’m highlighting one of them below. Hope to see you in St. Paul!
How AI changes online search: Moving from Search Engine Optimization (SEO) for AI-Driven Generative Engine Optimization (GEO)
Presenter Names: Huiling Ding and Jiaxin Zhang
The rise of large language models (LLMs) not only transforms how we read and write but also how machines search for, rank, and summarize online content. In other words, LLMs transform both human and algorithmic reading behaviors. With LLMs changing search behaviors, people increasingly resort to AI tools like ChatGPT, Claude, Bing Copilot, Google Gemini, and other LLMs to find and engage with information online, , traditional SEO is now challenged by the so-called “Generative Engine Optimization” (GEO) in AI-driven search, which aims to get cited and used by LLMs in answers rather than just ranking high in search engine responses. When delivered by LLM, the search results page is no longer a simple list but a dynamic conversation. Rather than focusing on rankings in search results like SEO, GEO requires new strategies that prioritize content structure, clarity, context, and accessibility. Meanwhile, with AI acting as a discerning researcher, Google’s core EEAT principle, namely Expertise, Experience, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness, becomes vital for content to be included in AI overviews. Therefore, to achieve good GEO results, content developers have to explore ways to help AI understand, evaluate, and synthesize their content and make sure it is accurate, comprehensive, and authoritative enough to be cited by AI.
But how can we improve SEO in an AI-first world?
Aiming to open the black box of AI searches, this workshop will teach you how to develop and optimize content for LLM driven answers provided by both browsers and LLM interfaces. We have three objectives for this two-hour workshop:
- Understand the concepts of SEO and GEO and the basics of how they work.
- Learn how AI and LLMs transform search processes and results through hands-on analysis.
- Explore how to write for GEO differently and effectively.
- Use the GEO Technical Audit to evaluate webpages of interest to you, identify what’s not working, and explore ways to redesign the content for algorithmic audiences.
Abi
Abigail Bakke, PhD
Communications Manger, SIGDOC
Associate Professor, Technical Communication
Graduate Director, Department of English
Minnesota State University, Mankato
Armstrong 307D