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Eps.91 | The zero-click era: how generative AI is rewriting B2B discovery, with Bex Howie
By the time a B2B buyer lands on your site, the shortlist is already drawn up. Generative engine optimisation, or GEO, is changing how B2B buyers find and evaluate vendors, often before they ever visit a website. AI engines are quietly deciding which brands they feel safe recommending, and most enterprise marketing teams have no real visibility into where they stand.
In this episode, Taryn Breetzke sits down with Bex Howie, Strategy Director at Gilroy, the agency behind LumusIQ. Bex unpacks why the GEO market jumped to measurement before anyone understood the mechanism, what AI is actually looking for when it builds a shortlist, and why most enterprise content is making brands less visible rather than more.
Four takeaways
Confidence, not ranking, decides AI shortlists. That confidence comes from third-party signals and consistent external mentions, not just your website.
Volume metrics are giving way to influence metrics. Traffic is down and engagement is up. The visitors who do click through are more qualified because the research now happens inside LLMs.
AI rewards new thinking. Generative engines favour original opinions, fresh data and SME-backed analysis. Opposing expert views strengthen visibility.
Personal brand is back. LinkedIn algorithm changes and citation-led discovery now push employee-led commentary above corporate posts.
Timestamps
02:45 Why LumusIQ exists
05:21 How AI builds its shortlist of brands
06:17 The zero-click reality check
07:41 SEO and GEO as a budget stack
10:18 Inside the LumusIQ audit
14:13 Trust signals and why AI rewards original thinking
18:25 From audit to activation
21:18 Measuring influence, not traffic
23:12 Common enterprise GEO mistakes
31:50 On-site LLMs and the rise of the "content librarian"
Notable quotes
"We're entering a zero-click era and it's changing the role of the website and search as we know it." Bex Howie.
"I don't see this as a split. I see it as a stack." Bex Howie.
"AI loves to learn something new." Bex Howie.
"It's less about ranking and more about confidence. AI is effectively building a shortlist of brands it feels safe recommending." Bex Howie.
The LumusIQ audit
Bex walks through the five-point GEO audit and how each is scored.
Generative AI referrals. Are you being cited in responses across ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Perplexity?
Technical crawlability and rendering. Can generative systems access, interpret and index your content?
Search and content health. Are you discoverable for category-level, non-branded, high-intent queries?
Accessibility and metadata. Is your site structured for clarity, speed and summarisation?
Third-party signals and authority. Do you provide the trust signals AI engines rely on to recommend you?
Stats and references
Around 30 million American adults claim to have used AI for search, projected to rise to roughly 90 million by 2027 (Bex Howie).
LumusIQ by Gilroy. Audit and activation programme that improves how brands show up in AI-led discovery. Visit LumusIQ to apply for a GEO audit or try the on-site content librarian: https://www.gilroy.co.uk/lumus-iq
Resources and links
Connect with Bex Howie on LinkedIn
Connect with Taryn Breetzke on LinkedIn
Email: [email protected]
Do you have burning topics you'd like us to explore on the podcast? Email us at [email protected]
Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/enterprise-thought-leadership/
TechPros runs research-led thought leadership programmes that surface original thinking from senior B2B leaders. Visit techpros.io to join over 4,000 professionals who have participated in challenge forum roundtables, interviews and industry reports. To sponsor a programme get in touch with Taryn Breetzke
View all episodes
By TechPros.ioBy the time a B2B buyer lands on your site, the shortlist is already drawn up. Generative engine optimisation, or GEO, is changing how B2B buyers find and evaluate vendors, often before they ever visit a website. AI engines are quietly deciding which brands they feel safe recommending, and most enterprise marketing teams have no real visibility into where they stand.
In this episode, Taryn Breetzke sits down with Bex Howie, Strategy Director at Gilroy, the agency behind LumusIQ. Bex unpacks why the GEO market jumped to measurement before anyone understood the mechanism, what AI is actually looking for when it builds a shortlist, and why most enterprise content is making brands less visible rather than more.
Four takeaways
Confidence, not ranking, decides AI shortlists. That confidence comes from third-party signals and consistent external mentions, not just your website.
Volume metrics are giving way to influence metrics. Traffic is down and engagement is up. The visitors who do click through are more qualified because the research now happens inside LLMs.
AI rewards new thinking. Generative engines favour original opinions, fresh data and SME-backed analysis. Opposing expert views strengthen visibility.
Personal brand is back. LinkedIn algorithm changes and citation-led discovery now push employee-led commentary above corporate posts.
Timestamps
02:45 Why LumusIQ exists
05:21 How AI builds its shortlist of brands
06:17 The zero-click reality check
07:41 SEO and GEO as a budget stack
10:18 Inside the LumusIQ audit
14:13 Trust signals and why AI rewards original thinking
18:25 From audit to activation
21:18 Measuring influence, not traffic
23:12 Common enterprise GEO mistakes
31:50 On-site LLMs and the rise of the "content librarian"
Notable quotes
"We're entering a zero-click era and it's changing the role of the website and search as we know it." Bex Howie.
"I don't see this as a split. I see it as a stack." Bex Howie.
"AI loves to learn something new." Bex Howie.
"It's less about ranking and more about confidence. AI is effectively building a shortlist of brands it feels safe recommending." Bex Howie.
The LumusIQ audit
Bex walks through the five-point GEO audit and how each is scored.
Generative AI referrals. Are you being cited in responses across ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Perplexity?
Technical crawlability and rendering. Can generative systems access, interpret and index your content?
Search and content health. Are you discoverable for category-level, non-branded, high-intent queries?
Accessibility and metadata. Is your site structured for clarity, speed and summarisation?
Third-party signals and authority. Do you provide the trust signals AI engines rely on to recommend you?
Stats and references
Around 30 million American adults claim to have used AI for search, projected to rise to roughly 90 million by 2027 (Bex Howie).
LumusIQ by Gilroy. Audit and activation programme that improves how brands show up in AI-led discovery. Visit LumusIQ to apply for a GEO audit or try the on-site content librarian: https://www.gilroy.co.uk/lumus-iq
Resources and links
Connect with Bex Howie on LinkedIn
Connect with Taryn Breetzke on LinkedIn
Email: [email protected]
Do you have burning topics you'd like us to explore on the podcast? Email us at [email protected]
Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/enterprise-thought-leadership/
TechPros runs research-led thought leadership programmes that surface original thinking from senior B2B leaders. Visit techpros.io to join over 4,000 professionals who have participated in challenge forum roundtables, interviews and industry reports. To sponsor a programme get in touch with Taryn Breetzke