Everything you need
to know about GEA.

Generative Engine Advertising is the practice of placing paid ads inside AI-generated responses, within platforms like ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, and Microsoft Copilot, rather than next to traditional search results.

Where a Google search shows ten blue links with ads above them, an AI Overview gives one synthesised answer. GEA is how your brand appears in that answer as a paid placement.

SEO optimises for rankings in traditional search result pages. GEA focuses on paid placement inside AI-generated answers. The channel, format, intent stage, and mechanics are fundamentally different.

In SEO, users scan a list of results. In GEA, users receive a direct answer, and your brand appears within it. Click-through intent is higher, but the inventory is newer and harder to access.

GEO (Generative Engine Optimisation) is the organic layer, structuring your content, schema, and authority signals so AI systems cite your brand without paid placement. GEA is the paid layer.

They work together. GEO builds the foundation; GEA amplifies it with paid visibility. Without strong organic AI signals, paid placements have less context to draw on.

Traditional search is losing share fast. AI Overviews now appear on over 48% of Google searches. ChatGPT processes over 1 billion queries per day. As users shift to AI for answers, the ad inventory shifts with them.

Brands that establish GEA presence early, before the channel is saturated, will hold a structural advantage. The window to move first is now.

Google AI Overviews: The most accessible channel. Ads now appear in 25.5% of AI Overview results, up from 3% a year ago. Available via standard Search and Performance Max campaigns.

Microsoft Copilot: Sponsored placements available to select advertisers. Copilot delivers 73% higher CTR than traditional search ads. Broader access expanding in 2026.

ChatGPT: Ad programme launched in 2025. Currently US-only with a $200,000 minimum commitment. Access expanding throughout 2026.

Perplexity: Discontinued its advertising programme in early 2026.

For Google AI Overviews: yes. If you are running Search or Performance Max campaigns, you are already eligible. Most advertisers are not yet optimising for it, which is the opportunity.

For ChatGPT and Copilot: access is currently limited to select advertisers and markets, but expanding. We help clients get on waiting lists and prepare creative and budget structures ahead of broader access.

Perplexity launched a sponsored follow-up questions format in 2024, but discontinued its advertising programme in February 2026. We do not currently offer Perplexity ad management. We monitor the platform and will reassess if advertising returns.

OpenAI launched its ad programme in early 2025, starting with US advertisers and a $200,000 minimum. Based on current signals, broader international access and lower minimums are expected throughout 2026, though OpenAI has not published a formal timeline.

We track this closely. Clients on our ChatGPT waitlist will be the first to activate when access opens for their market.

We currently offer three services:

• GEO Foundation: Organic AI visibility through content restructuring, schema, and authority signals.
• Google AI Overviews Advertising: Campaign setup and management specifically optimised for AI Overview placement.
• GEA Strategy & Advisory: Roadmapping, platform prioritisation, and creative frameworks for the full GEA landscape.

ChatGPT and Copilot management services are in development. See all services →

Our pricing is scoped per engagement based on the services selected, your current baseline, and the platforms involved. We do not publish fixed-rate packages because the right starting point varies significantly between brands.

Get in touch and we will provide a clear scope and cost estimate after a short intake conversation.

For GEO Foundation and Google AI Overviews Advertising, we can typically start within two to three weeks of a signed agreement. Strategy & Advisory engagements can often begin sooner.

The first step is always an audit, understanding where your brand currently appears in AI-generated answers. That gives us a real starting point.

It helps, but is not required. If you are running existing Search or Performance Max campaigns, we build on top of those. If you are starting from scratch, we set everything up as part of the onboarding.