Key Takeaways
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Beyond your website. In generative search, AI doesn't just read your site: it learns from the entire digital ecosystem where your institution appears.
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Each model searches differently. ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, and Perplexity prioritize different sources, forcing you to diversify your visibility strategy.
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The new authority. Being cited by AI doesn't depend only on what you publish, but on where and how your university appears in the universe of information.
The central thesis of GEO: not all AIs search the same way
Until recently, the focus of university digital strategies was on optimizing the institutional website to improve its ranking. However, the reality of generative search is more complex: AI doesn't trust a single source, but builds its answers from multiple platforms.
If your university only invests in optimizing its site, it's losing visibility in the spaces where language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT or Google AI Overviews search to validate and cite. The question is no longer whether you're visible, but where you're being cited.
Not all generative engines think alike
A common mistake is assuming that all AI search engines work the same way. In reality, each one prioritizes different types of sources.
Citation patterns by AI platform
According to a Profound study on citation patterns of major AI platforms, there are key differences:
- ChatGPT primarily trusts Wikipedia and encyclopedic sources.
- Google AI Overviews values a mix of Google's own sources and community content.
- Perplexity tends to prioritize recent sources and visual content like YouTube.
These data points aren't just curious: they're strategic. They show that digital authority is built outside the website, in the ecosystem where each AI decides which sources are trustworthy.
From search engines to ecosystems
Discover how GEO transforms your university's visibility in the age of generative search.
If you've read the previous section and enjoyed learning about GEO, you'll probably want to go a step further.
1. Winning the battle of encyclopedic authority (for ChatGPT)
The challenge: ChatGPT, one of the most consulted AIs by students, primarily trusts Wikipedia. If your university's page is incomplete or outdated, AI will take information from third parties and not always accurately.
Immediate action:
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Active entity management: ensure that institutional data on Wikipedia, Wikidata, and academic directories is correct and up to date.
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Data consistency: check that information matches between your website, Wikipedia, and other public sites. AI measures coherence as a signal of reliability.
2. Joining the community conversation (for Google AI and Perplexity)
The challenge: Platforms like Google AI Overviews and Perplexity value real experiences. They consult spaces where people share opinions and visual content, like Reddit or YouTube.
Immediate action:
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Video experience content: optimize your videos (campus life, testimonials, interviews) with question-format titles and accessible transcriptions.
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Forum monitoring: observe conversations in subreddits or communities discussing studies, universities, or cities. It's not about intervening, but understanding students' real questions and answering them with your own content that AI can find and cite.
3. Structured content as a universal language
Amid all the differences, there's a constant: structure remains the common language of AIs.
Best practices:
- Use lists, tables, and Q&A format.
- Maintain simple hierarchies (H1, H2) and clear language.
- Ensure that important data (programs, dates, contacts) are easy for models to identify.
AI rewards what it can understand effortlessly.
Conclusion: diversification as the only hedge
In the era of generative search, each AI has its own ecosystem. If tomorrow a model changes its search method, the only way to maintain visibility is to be present in multiple sources.
The digital success of universities doesn't depend only on optimizing their website, but on building presence and coherence across the entire informational environment where AI searches and cites.
At Griddo, we work every day with universities that are already making the leap toward generative search. Our goal is to become your ally in understanding and applying GEO with clarity and confidence.
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