AI Search and GEO for Communicators
10 am – 3 pm (ET) | 16:00 – 21:00 (CET)
Let’s start with a slightly uncomfortable question.
If someone asks ChatGPT, “What does your organisation actually do?” — would you be happy with the answer?
Not the answer you wish existed.
The answer AI would generate today.
Because this is where reputation now lives. Not on page one of Google. Not in a carefully curated newsroom. But inside a single AI-generated paragraph that someone reads, trusts, and acts on.
Welcome to the age of AI Search.
We’ve spent years fighting for visibility in traditional search. First-page rankings. Strong headlines. Media coverage. Thought leadership. Executive profiles. It was a competitive sport, but at least you could see the leaderboard.
AI search doesn’t give you a leaderboard.
It gives you one answer.
When someone asks ChatGPT, Claude, or Copilot to compare providers, explain your industry, or recommend a solution, they don’t scroll through ten links. They get a summary. A short explanation. A confident recommendation.
In that moment, your organisation is either clearly positioned and credible… or quietly missing.
That’s where Generative Engine Optimisation, or GEO, comes in.
And no, this is not about technical hacks or trying to “game” AI systems. GEO is about something much more familiar to communicators: clarity. AI tools don’t invent stories. They synthesise them. They pull together signals from media coverage, reviews, explainers, industry commentary, and your own published content. If those signals are sharp and consistent, AI will describe you well. If they are fragmented or vague, AI will reflect that too — often more bluntly than Google ever did.
This workshop is designed to make that shift practical.
In five focused hours, you will understand how AI search actually works, why certain organisations are confidently described while others are hedged or omitted, and how to build a clear “AI-ready” source of truth that defines who you are, who you serve, and why it matters.
You’ll explore the real questions people are already asking AI about your category. You’ll see how comparison narratives are formed. You’ll test how your organisation shows up across multiple AI tools. And most importantly, you’ll leave with a concrete plan to strengthen visibility, trust, and accuracy in AI-generated answers.
Leading the session is Peter Heneghan, who has held senior roles at BBC News, BuzzFeed, and 10 Downing Street. During the Covid-19 pandemic, he helped transform UK Government digital communication using technology and audience-first strategies. In 2023, he founded The Future Communicator, advising organisations — from the United Nations to major global brands — on how to integrate AI into communications with discipline and credibility.
This is not a theory-heavy session. It is not a trends overview. It is a working session for communicators who want to understand how reputation is being rewritten in real time — and how to shape it.
Communications has always influenced how organisations are perceived.
Now it influences how AI explains them out loud.
The question is simple: when AI answers on your behalf, is it telling the right story?
If you’re not sure, this workshop is for you.