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GEO for business changes by industry in three ways: the sources AI reads, the questions buyers ask and the advertising rules. So a GEO strategy for business in health, law or finance starts with the industry’s advertising rules. In retail or B2B, however, it starts with the sources that compare options.
In short
- Industry changes the sources of the answer: in a Yext study, listings made up 52.6% of citations in healthcare, and owned websites 47.6% in retail.
- In questions about software, products and agencies, “best” lists on blogs were 43.8% of the pages ChatGPT cited in an Ahrefs study.
- Brazil’s medical council (CFM) and bar association (OAB) have rules that cover websites and blogs, and the CONAR code has annexes for finance, education, real estate and travel.
- Without a study of your industry, the way forward is to test: a list of industry prompts, run again and again, shows where the brand appears.
What changes in GEO for business in each industry?
In GEO for business, the method is the same in every industry. First, find the questions. Then, see what AI answers and work on the sources it uses. Three things change, however: the type of source that weighs, the question the buyer asks and what the industry’s advertising may say.
If the concept is new to you, the complete guide to what GEO is explains the method. Here, therefore, the focus is what changes in GEO by industry.
The table sums up the map. The middle column, however, only shows data when there is a study with a published method. In the other cases, it says a study is missing.
| Industry | What weighs in the answer | Rule to check (Brazil) |
|---|---|---|
| B2B and software | “Best” lists on blogs (Ahrefs) | CONAR, comparative advertising |
| Retail | Owned website (Yext, local searches) | CDC and CONAR |
| Restaurants | Listings and reviews (Yext) | CDC and CONAR |
| Healthcare | Listings and directories (Yext) | CFM and CONAR annex G |
| Finance | Brand website (Yext) | CONAR annex E |
| Law | No published study | OAB Provision 205 |
| Education | No published study | CONAR annex B |
| Real estate | No published study | CONAR annex D and CRECI |
| Travel and hotels | No published study | CONAR annex N |
Which industries depend most on AI recommendations?
The industries that depend most on AI are those where buyers compare options before they decide. Examples include software, professional services and hotels. In these cases, the answer often brings a short list of brands. In others, such as healthcare, the average brand visibility was lower in the study below.
The broadest study in Brazil is from ESPM, a business school. It covered 552 brands from 22 industries in four AI tools, over about six months. According to Mundo do Marketing, carmakers, restaurants and hotels had the highest average visibility. Healthcare, primary education and corporate travel, however, were among the lowest. B2B also showed up less than consumer categories.
The author, Wilson Silva, is also the founder and CEO of WS Labs, which offers a tool derived from the study. In addition, the article does not detail the full method. Even so, it is the only data on GEO by industry with a Brazilian sample that we found. The guide to GEO for agencies uses the same study to decide which clients to start with.
The type of question also matters. According to the article, the same study saw two patterns:
- List question: queries such as “what are the best options” (translated) tend to produce lists of brands. So whoever is left out misses the comparison stage.
- Criteria question: questions about how to choose lead to explanations and fewer brands cited. In this case, GEO for companies in the industry works on the criteria that AI repeats.
In other words, the industry tells you which of the two question types dominates. That is why a GEO strategy for business needs prompts of both types.
Which industries have advertising rules (health, law, finance)?
In Brazil, medicine, law, finance, education, real estate and travel have their own advertising rules. The CFM and OAB rules cover websites, blogs and social media, that is, the same content AI reads. Therefore, a GEO strategy for business in these industries starts with the rule, not the tactic.
Besides each council’s rules, Google treats these topics with more care. According to Google Search Central, its systems give even more weight to trustworthy content on topics that could impact people’s health, financial stability or safety. Google calls these topics YMYL (“Your Money or Your Life”). This guidance, however, is about Search. Google does not say it applies the same way to AI answers.
This text is not legal advice. So, before you change pages in a regulated industry, take your questions to the company’s legal team or to the professional council.
GEO for healthcare companies: what does the CFM require?
CFM Resolution 2,336/2023, from Brazil’s Federal Council of Medicine, governs medical advertising. It counts websites and blogs among the doctor’s own channels. Three points, then, affect GEO for companies in healthcare, such as clinics and hospitals:
- Identification: the doctor’s piece shows the name, the CRM number with the word “MÉDICO” (doctor) and, when there is one, the specialty with the RQE number. On websites and social media, this data goes on the main profile page. For clinics and hospitals, the piece shows the facility’s CRM registration and the medical technical director, with his or her CRM number.
- Praise from others: the regional council’s committee investigates patient posts that praise technique and results, when they are repeated or systematic. In our reading, therefore, a campaign of arranged reviews is a risk, even outside the doctor’s channels.
- Sensationalism: the resolution bans sensationalist or self-promoting behavior and the spread of untrue content.
Likewise, annex G of the CONAR code, Brazil’s advertising self-regulation code, says ads for clinical and surgical treatments cannot carry testimonials from laypeople or promise a cure. The CFM resolution, for its part, allows testimonials about the doctor’s work, as long as they are sober. They cannot use words of superiority or promise results. That is why we recommend basing healthcare GEO on informative content, with the doctor identified, and using testimonials with care.
GEO for law firms: what does the OAB allow?
OAB Provision 205/2021, from the Brazilian Bar Association, allows legal marketing. It also defines legal content marketing, which informs the public. However, professional advertising must be merely informative, discreet and sober.
Article 3 bans, among other conduct, persuasive, self-aggrandizing or comparative expressions. It also bans mentioning fees, discounts or free services as a way to attract clients. So, in our reading, a law firm should not publish a list of “the best labor law firms” with its own name on top, a common tactic in other industries. In addition, the provision’s annex only allows yearbooks that explain how firms are included. It also bans paying to appear in an award or ranking.
What remains is content that answers legal questions clearly, with the lawyer identified. After all, that is the kind of text AI can cite when someone asks how a legal case works.
GEO for companies in finance, education, real estate and travel: what does CONAR require?
The CONAR code has annexes with rules for each of these industries. They apply to ads. In our reading, however, they also show what the brand should avoid claiming on any page:
- Investments (annex E): a return projection explains the basis of the calculation, the taxes and whether it comes from past results that may not repeat.
- Education (annex B): a course only calls itself recognized or authorized if it can prove it. In addition, the code recommends stating the official authorization act.
- Real estate (annex D): a company or independent broker includes the registration number, such as the CRECI, in the ad.
- Travel (annex N): tour materials show the total price, what is or is not included and the cancellation terms.
- Liberal professions (annex L): ads show the title, specialty and registration number with the professional order or council.
In short, a GEO strategy for business in these industries starts with pages that carry verifiable data. After all, registration numbers, official acts and clear terms give AI facts it can repeat without risk to the brand.
Which sources weigh in GEO for business in each industry?
Each industry has its own sources in the AI answer. In searches with a location, for example, owned websites weigh more in retail and finance, while listings weigh more in healthcare. In questions about software, products and agencies, “best” lists on blogs were the most cited pages. For other industries, however, we found no study with a published method.
Yext analyzed 6.8 million citations from ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity between July and August 2025. The study covered location-based questions in four industries. It used locations of Yext clients and prospects in several countries. The results changed from one industry to another:
- Retail: owned websites made up 47.6% of citations.
- Finance: brand websites, such as local bank branch pages, had 48.2%.
- Healthcare: listings and directories reached 52.6%.
- Restaurants: listings led with 41.6%, and reviews and social media made up 13.3%, the largest share of those sources among the four industries.
Yext, however, sells listings management. Also, the healthcare directories it highlights are from the US, such as WebMD and Vitals.
In B2B, the closest data comes from Ahrefs: ChatGPT answers to 750 prompts about software, products and agencies. “Best X” lists on blogs were 43.8% of the pages cited. Ahrefs also saw a correlation between ranking well in those lists and showing up in the answer, which does not prove cause. The company also sells tools that track brands in AI.
In a GEO strategy for business in retail, the catalog and reviews also count. The sources for online stores and local businesses are in the guides to GEO for ecommerce and to local businesses in AI. For other industries, then, it pays to map the sources cited by AI in your market’s questions.
How do you build GEO prompts for business by industry?
Build prompts in the language of each industry’s buyer, and mix list and criteria questions. Include city, company size, budget and limits, because that is how people ask. Then, repeat the same list over time to measure the brand’s presence.
Here are examples of a list question and a criteria question for each industry:
- B2B and software: “best ERPs for mid-size manufacturers” and “how to choose an ERP”.
- Healthcare: “hospitals with cardiology in Porto Alegre” and “when to see a cardiologist”.
- Law: “labor law firms in Recife” and “how a labor lawsuit works”.
- Finance: “digital banks for small business owners” and “how to choose a business account”.
- Education: “nursing schools in Curitiba” and “how to know if a course is recognized”.
- Real estate: “real estate agencies for rentals in Campinas” and “what to check before renting”.
- Travel: “family hotels in Gramado” and “when to visit Gramado”.
In regulated industries, reading the answer takes one more step. For example, check whether AI gives the brand a promise that the industry’s rule bans, such as a guaranteed cure or a certain return. If it does, the fix starts with the pages and sources the information comes from.
The collection protocol, with how many prompts to run and how often, is in the guide on how to measure brand visibility in AI. That way, the same yardstick lets you compare GEO by industry, client by client.
Where should GEO by industry start?
Start with what AI uses in your industry and with what the industry’s rule requires. In general, the first step of a GEO strategy for business is the same: run the prompt list and see who shows up. After that, the GEO path changes from industry to industry:
- B2B and SaaS: in a GEO strategy for business in software, map the “best” lists and comparisons that AI cites in your category. Then, see where your company is missing.
- Retail and ecommerce: take care of the catalog, product pages and reviews, as the ecommerce guide shows.
- Local business, restaurants and travel: start with the business profile and the listings, because they weigh in searches with a city.
- Healthcare: identify each doctor with CRM and RQE on the pages and publish informative content. Use testimonials only within the CFM and CONAR rules.
- Law: publish content that explains legal questions, with the lawyer identified and no comparison with competitors.
- Finance: review product pages and projections. After all, in the Yext study, brand websites made up 48.2% of the industry’s citations.
- Education and real estate: put the course’s authorization act or the CRECI number on the pages AI may cite.
Finally, repeat the measurement. After all, a GEO strategy for business in a regulated industry only works if the brand appears and the answer does not say what the rule bans.
Frequently asked questions
GEO for business uses the same method in healthcare and retail, but the sources and rules change. In the Yext study, listings made up 52.6% of citations in healthcare, while owned websites made up 47.6% in retail. In addition, Brazil’s CFM Resolution 2,336/2023 requires the CRM and RQE in ads and bans sensationalism.
In our reading, clinics and law firms take a risk when they arrange praise in bulk. The CFM resolution tells councils to investigate repeated or systematic patient praise. Meanwhile, OAB Provision 205/2021 bans self-aggrandizing and comparative expressions. That is why a GEO strategy for business in these industries relies on informative content, with the professional identified.
The broadest study in Brazil is from ESPM, with 552 brands from 22 industries in four AI tools. Carmakers, restaurants and hotels had the highest averages, while healthcare and primary education were among the lowest. However, the article does not detail the full method, and the author’s company offers a tool derived from the study.
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Main sources
- Yext, study of 6.8 million AI citations in four industries (2025).
- Ahrefs, analysis of 750 ChatGPT answers about software, products and agencies (2025).
- Mundo do Marketing, article on the ESPM study of 552 brands from 22 industries, in Portuguese (2026).
- Federal Council of Medicine (CFM), Resolution 2,336 on medical advertising, in Portuguese (2023).
- OAB, Provision 205 on legal advertising and information, in Portuguese (2021).
- CONAR, Brazilian Advertising Self-Regulation Code and its industry annexes, in Portuguese.
- Google Search Central, creating helpful, reliable content, with the definition of YMYL (2025).
