The traffic landscape of 2026 is being redrawn. According to public StatCounter data, Google holds roughly 90% of the global search engine market; in China, Baidu remains the leading traditional search entry point. At the same time, AI search is scaling fast. The CNNIC's 55th Statistical Report counted 249 million generative AI users in China by December 2024, and by December 2025 that number had reached 602 million — up 141.7% year on year, according to CNNIC data released in February 2026. Gartner predicted as early as 2024 that traditional search engine volume would drop 25% by 2026.
Facing this shift, many companies ask: should we still do SEO? Will GEO replace it? The answer: they are complementary, not competing.
Search engine optimization: Baidu and Google remain the baseline
SEO (search engine optimization) aims to improve your pages' rankings in traditional engines such as Baidu, 360, Sogou, Google and Bing. The methodology is mature: keyword research, content quality (EEAT principles), structured data, link building, and technical optimization (page speed, mobile readiness, HTTPS).
For most B2B companies, traditional search remains one of the highest-converting traffic sources — users with a clear intent search "XX supplier," land on the website, and leave an inquiry. Abandoning SEO means abandoning the most predictable acquisition channel. So the first principle is: keep SEO running. It is the baseline of traffic acquisition.
It is also worth noting that the Gartner 25% prediction is a forecast, not a fact. Search Engine Journal published a widely read critique listing seven reasons the 25% drop may not materialize as predicted, noting that search engines themselves are adding AI answers. The direction of travel is clear, but the timing is uncertain — which is exactly why keeping the SEO baseline while adding GEO is the prudent play.
The rise of AI search: from a list of links to a single answer
Meanwhile, AI engines — Doubao, DeepSeek, Qwen, Kimi, Perplexity, ChatGPT — are changing how users find information: instead of comparing blue links, they ask a question and receive a synthesized answer drawing on multiple sources. A brand is either in that answer or invisible. There is no middle ground.
The scale is no longer marginal. QuestMobile's Q1 2026 AI Application Insights reported that China's AI native apps reached 446 million monthly active users in March 2026. Perplexity processed roughly 780 million queries in May 2025, according to its CEO's statements reported by TechCrunch in June 2025. Third-party estimates put DeepSeek's China monthly active users near 143 million by August 2025. When hundreds of millions of users receive their answers from a synthesized paragraph, the unit of competition changes from the ranking position to the citation itself.
The core differences between the two disciplines:
| Dimension | SEO (Search Engine Optimization) | GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) |
|---|---|---|
| Goal | Better rankings on Baidu/Google | Higher probability of citation by AI engines |
| Primary assets | Website pages, landing pages | Multi-source content: website, media, directories, social |
| Core tactics | Keywords, links, technical fixes | Quality content, entity recognition, structured data, source building |
| Time to effect | Weeks to months, measurable | Requires ongoing content asset accumulation |
| Role | Secures the predictable baseline | Captures the new AI search entry point |
| Measurement | Rankings, clicks, conversions | Mention rate, recommendation rate, answer context |
A dual-track strategy: three ways SEO and GEO reinforce each other
- Produce content once, use it on both tracks: industry articles published on your website feed indexable pages for Baidu and Google and serve as citable sources for AI engines. Hold one quality standard — professional, data-backed, authored — and both tracks benefit from the same investment. This is also how you satisfy the experience, expertise, authoritativeness and trust (EEAT) signals that search engines and AI engines both reward.
- Structured data first: JSON-LD structured data (Organization, Article, FAQPage, etc.) is parsed by both search engines and AI engines — the lowest-cost, highest-certainty technical move in a dual-track strategy. Implementation details are in our Structured Data Guide, and the mechanics of how LLMs pick sources are explained in our LLM citation mechanism guide.
- Let search data feed AI content: rewrite high-volume, high-intent keywords into question-and-answer, list-style content that AI engines love to cite, so GEO content builds on SEO-validated demand instead of guesswork. Start with the question bank approach described in our GEO and AI Search Guide.
One warning: don't build GEO content by guessing what AI engines "like." The same content standards that earned rankings in 2020 — accuracy, named sources, verifiable facts, clear authorship — are the ones AI engines reward in 2026. If a fact cannot be verified across at least two independent sources, it is unlikely to be cited.
FAQ
Will GEO make SEO obsolete?
No. Traditional search still converts, and it still feeds most B2B inquiry pipelines. GEO adds a second entry point for question-based, decision-stage users. The two coexist; the budget split is a strategy question, not an either/or.
How do I know if my brand appears in AI answers?
Run the questions your customers actually ask through Doubao, DeepSeek, Qwen, Kimi, Perplexity and ChatGPT, and record whether your brand is mentioned, recommended and in what context. Repeat monthly and log changes — that is the core of GEO measurement.
Does content created for SEO hurt GEO?
Only if it is keyword-stuffed and source-poor. Content with real data, named sources and authorship serves both tracks. Thin, derivative pages help neither.
Which AI engines matter most for a Chinese B2B company?
Start with the engines your buyers actually use: Doubao, DeepSeek and Qwen lead China's AI native apps by monthly active users (QuestMobile, Q1 2026), and international buyers will be exposed to Perplexity, ChatGPT and Google's AI answers.
Related reading
This article was written by Zheming Digital Communication Research Institute. Data updated to 2026. Figures are drawn from the named public sources (StatCounter, CNNIC, Gartner, QuestMobile, TechCrunch) as of the publication date. For a dual-track traffic strategy review, call +86 18917757529 or email jaysun@widesight.cn.