GEO in 2026: what Google, OpenAI and Microsoft actually say (and the hacks you can ignore)

GEO (generative engine optimisation) is the work of getting your business found, quoted and linked in AI answers such as Google’s AI Overviews and AI Mode, ChatGPT, Copilot and Perplexity.

In the UK, an SEO consultant usually costs somewhere between a few hundred pounds and a few thousand pounds a month. Freelancer platform YunoJuno puts the average day rate for SEO consultants booked through its network at £374 (rates page, read 2 November 2026).

Hire an SEO consultant if you want one experienced person doing the work, talking to you directly and costing less. In Ahrefs’ poll of 439 SEO providers, agencies charged 138% more than freelancers on average (global figures, updated August 2024).