This article appears the September 2025 issue of Air New Zealand's inflight magazine, Kia Ora.
In the age of Artificial Intelligence, the way people are searching online and making decisions is changing, fast. Payper PR’s Lewis Hampton tells us how New Zealand brands can stay on top of the biggest-ever change in internet search.
For years, marketers have spent enormous energy and money to ensure they land on top of Google searches like “best coffee nz”. Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) has become a multi-billion dollar industry, but now there’s a new kid on the block. Is GEO the new SEO?
Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO) is the new field of getting brands and products recommended by Artificial Intelligence tools like ChatGPT, Claude, and Google’s search summary.
“AI isn’t just reading your ad copy or crawling your website. It’s looking for brands other people are talking about.”
The AI revolution is creating the biggest shift in search since Google launched. Today, if your brand isn’t being picked up and recommended by AI tools like ChatGPT, you might be invisible to your next customer.
Payper co-founder Lewis Hampton explains: “The rise of AI search means we’re no longer searching via keywords on Google. Instead, we’re having conversations with AI and asking things like, ‘What is the best sustainable clothing brand from New Zealand?’, ‘Which EV charger should I get at home?’, ‘What’s yum on a bagel?’, or ‘What’s a great gin to use in a cocktail?’”
Hampton and the Payper team work with clients to help ensure they are at the forefront of AI’s answers on those questions - clients like Mons Royale for the first question, Evnex for the second, Abe’s Bagels for the third, and Scapegrace for the last one.
“AI isn’t just reading your ad copy or trawling your website. It’s pulling from credible, third-party sources. Things like news articles, interviews and trade coverage. It’s not looking for brands talking about themselves. It’s looking for brands other people are talking about. That’s where PR and Payper can help.”
Payper’s model is a first in the PR world. Clients pay for successful news coverage rather than the effort Payper puts in to get coverage. “It’s results-based and accountable. If you win, we win,” explains Hampton.
So next time you open ChatGPT and ask a question, take a look at which brands get mentioned. Then ask yourself: Why not mine?