numero® Launches Groundbreaking Guide to Help Kiwi Businesses Win in AI-Powered Search
New Zealand’s digital agency empowers local companies with strategies for SEO, AEO, and GEO in the era of AI and zero-click searches.
Auckland-based digital agency numero® has published a first-of-its-kind guide for New Zealand businesses navigating the shift to AI-powered search. The article, "SEO, AEO & GEO Explained: Get Found in AI Search (NZ Guide)," explains how to future-proof business websites in an era of zero-click search results, where AI agents like ChatGPT and Google’s AI Overviews summarise answers to search questions.
Online search is evolving beyond traditional Google results. Whilst 91.7% of Kiwis still mostly use Google, AI-powered search results offering complete answers without requiring clicks through to websites are now appearing at the top of Google. This is a threat to kiwi businesses that rely on search clicks to get customers. The newest SEO technique is Generative Experience Optimisation (GEO), designed to get business visibility in AI search results.
“Search is no longer just about ranking on Google - it’s about becoming the trusted source for AI bots,” said Richard Gilbert, Founder at numero®. “Our new guide empowers New Zealand businesses to stay visible, competitive, and relevant in this new era of digital discovery.”
John Talaguit, head of SEO at numero®, explains
“There are three optimisation techniques which help to overcome zero click searches - SEO, AEO and GEO. Blending all of these into traditional SEO best practice gets websites quoted in AI results, featured snippets and answer boxes. This is a new frontier in Search Engine Optimisation.”
Before AI, SEO professionals needed to understand four things: the search algorithm, the competitive landscape for keywords for each client’s website, technical SEO on websites, and ways of writing web content. Google users now get “zero-click searches” when customers use a search engine but never click through to a destination website. Many people forgo a search altogether and instead use AI tools like Grok or ChatGPT to get answers that they’d previously got from search results. AI services visit websites to research their answers.
Richard Gilbert foresaw the rise of AI-dominated search in 2024 when he described search engines as “answer engines” because using voice search means we now expect conversational questions and answers in our search results. He said
“I see a future when chatbots provide search answers which may be drawn from multiple sources, not necessarily Google, and these are faster, more personalised and concentrated on the very top websites only. This has implications for non-US business websites and smaller niche businesses who risk never being cited in AI search results. In 2025, numero® created an SEO service that neutralises these tendencies.”
The Guide explains detailed strategies for SEO, AEO and GEO which work for all types of business websites, 6 unique tactics for GEO, as well as 4 worked case study examples. Overall, the goal is to build trust with AI platforms to search your business website as a source for AI results; it’s not about persuading a human who is searching for answers.
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About numero®
numero® is a New Zealand-based digital strategy and SEO agency helping businesses grow through search, content, and AI optimisation. We specialise in Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), Answer Engine Optimisation (AEO), and Generative Experience Optimisation (GEO) — helping Kiwi companies stay visible across both traditional and AI-powered search platforms. Trusted by forward-thinking brands, numero® blends strategic insight with creative execution to build lasting digital visibility.
Learn more at numeroagency.co.nz