CCTV’s 315 show names a “trillion-yuan” hidden business: the GEO firms allegedly “polluting” DeepSeek

CCTV flags GEO services that feed AI falsehoods

China’s flagship consumer-rights program, the CCTV 315 Gala, singled out what it called the GEO industry chain for injecting misleading data into AI systems — a practice now described as “polluting” conversational search results. It has been reported that CCTV’s financial reporters searched multiple platforms and quickly found services marketed as GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) that claim to influence AI retrieval and answer ranking by feeding tailored or falsified content to large models such as DeepSeek.

From SEO to “Generative Engine Optimization”

GEO is essentially SEO retooled for answer-generating AI. A 2024 paper by researchers at the Indian Institutes of Technology and Princeton first articulated the concept; its goal is to increase a brand’s “presence” inside AI-generated responses by manipulating authority signals, keyword placement and data citations — strategies the paper said can boost a brand’s appearance rate by as much as 40%. Industry players such as Profound have attracted venture capital: according to Fortune, Profound closed a $35 million B round led by Sequoia Capital (红杉资本) with participation from Khosla, Kleiner Perkins and Nvidia’s NVentures. Analysts and vendors now predict rapid market growth as users shift from traditional search to chat-based answers.

Money, mom-and-pop customers and broader risks

On the ground, GEO services are already being sold to restaurants and small brands at modest monthly rates domestically and much higher overseas; one operator quoted in reporting charges up to ¥10,000 for guaranteed top-three mentions over 90 days. It has been reported that Bochajia (博查家) data shows DeepSeek’s SearchAPI reached tens of millions of daily calls this year, making it a major conduit for AI recommendations — and therefore a lucrative target. The surge comes as global competition over AI infrastructure intensifies and chip export controls reshape supply chains, with Nvidia-linked capital visibly invested in the space. If answers from chatbots can be bought, who certifies the “authority” of those answers? CCTV’s exposure suggests regulators and platforms will have to answer that question soon.