What is GEA?
Generative Engine Advertising is paid placement inside the answers produced by AI assistants and AI search: Google's AI Overviews and AI Mode, Microsoft Copilot, Perplexity, ChatGPT. Where GEO earns a mention in the answer, GEA buys one, in the conversation itself rather than in a list of links below it.
Why it matters
People increasingly ask instead of search. A question answered inside an assistant never reaches a results page, so the sponsored link at the top of that page never gets seen. Being inside the answer is the new position one, and the inventory is being defined right now, platform by platform.
How it works
- Intent, not keywords: the ad is triggered by the meaning of the conversation, not a matched string.
- The assistant decides fit: relevance to the question is judged by the model, which rewards clean feeds and clear product data.
- Conversational formats: a sponsored suggestion, a product card, a follow up prompt, rarely a banner.
- Measurement is young: attribution back to the conversation is partial and differs per platform. [TO CONFIRM which platforms offer self serve ad buying at publication date]
The bigger picture
GEA sits next to GEO and SEA, not instead of them. The same product feed, the same landing page and the same creative feed all three. Brands whose content, media and data already talk to each other will be ready the day the inventory opens at scale. The others will be buying blind.
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