When a customer asks an AI, "Which company in this industry is the best?", is your brand in the answer?
More and more business customers now use AI search tools such as ChatGPT, Gemini andGoogle AI Overviewto research and compare suppliers before deciding. If your brand isn't mentioned by AI, you may be filtered out in the customer's first round of shortlisting, even if your traditional search rankings are strong.
This is exactly the problem China Mobile Hong Kong (CMHK) wanted to solve. Over a 6-month project from January to June 2026, SDMC helped CMHK improve its performance in AI search. Here is the full case study.
Background and Challenge
Project focus: 5G enterprise broadband
Key competitors: HKT, 3HK, SmarTone
5G enterprise broadband is a highly competitive category, with several telcos competing for business customers. When prospects ask AI unbranded questions like "Which 5G business broadband is best?", AI cites only a handful of brands in its answer.
At the start of the project, CMHK's AI search visibility for relevant queries was just 20%, meaning most answers did not mention CMHK at all. The challenge: how to get AI search tools to cite and recommend CMHK more often, and more prominently.
Results
After 6 months of GEO optimization, the key metrics are:
| Metric | Before | After |
|---|---|---|
| AI search visibility | 20% | 50-60% |
| Average position in AI answers | 6.5 | 2.9 |
Other highlights:
- Brand mentions: mentioned in 5-6 out of 10 tracked checks
- Owned-site citation share: 8.3% (9 citations)
- Mention share by source: Google AI Overview 60%, Gemini 40%
- Query rankings: 6 of 10 tracked queries ranked in positions 1–3 (original target: 3)
In other words, CMHK now appears more often in AI answers on 5G enterprise broadband, and in a clearly higher position.
What Did SDMC Do?
The strategy in this case fell into three areas:
1. Building content clusters around unbranded queries
When searching with AI, customers often don't type a brand name. They ask things like "Which 5G business broadband is best?" or "How should we choose enterprise broadband?" We planned and built content clusters around these unbranded queries, so the brand could be cited by AI at the comparison stage.
2. Optimizing structured data and crawlable content
AI search tools must be able to read and understand a website before they can cite it. We helped optimize the site's structured data (schema) and content crawlability, making it easier for AI to extract key brand and product information.
3. Building third-party trust signals
When deciding whether to recommend a brand, AI also looks at external sources. Through media mentions and partner references, we built third-party trust signals that increase the chance of the brand being trusted and recommended by AI.
Key Takeaways
- GEO deserves its own budget:AI search now influences how business customers shortlist suppliers, so relying on traditional SEO and ads alone is no longer enough.
- Prioritize unbranded queries:Branded queries usually mention you already. Real growth comes from comparison questions asked before customers have chosen a brand.
- Content, technology and external trust all matter:Content clusters, crawlable structure and third-party mentions need to work together for results to last.
- Keep tracking to keep improving:Regularly tracking visibility, position and citation sources is the only way to tell whether the strategy is working.
To plan your 2027 GEO and SEO budget, see our article:How to Allocate Your 2027 Digital Marketing Budget? 5 Key Tips Before Q4 Planning.
To find out how your brand performs in AI search today
request SDMC's free GEO analysis report.
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FAQ
Q: What is GEO (Generative Engine Optimization)?
GEO means optimizing content, site structure and external trust signals to increase the chance your brand is mentioned and recommended in answers from AI search tools such as ChatGPT, Gemini and Google AI Overview.
Q: How is GEO different from SEO?
A: SEO mainly targets rankings in traditional search engines, while GEO targets answers from AI search tools. They complement each other rather than being an either/or choice.
Q: What does "AI search visibility" mean in this case?
A: Visibility reflects the share of AI answers across a set of tracked queries in which the brand is mentioned. CMHK's visibility rose from 20% before the project to 50-60% after.
Q: How long does GEO take to show results?
A: It depends on industry competition, existing content and the scope of optimization. This case ran for 6 months.
Q: How can I check my brand's current AI search performance?
A: Use a professional GEO analysis tool to track how often your brand is mentioned, its position and its citation sources. SDMC offers a free GEO analysis report.
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