The best GEO specialists in Australia
GEO, short for generative engine optimisation, is the work of helping a brand appear accurately in answers from AI tools such as ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google's AI Overviews. Most practitioners came to it from SEO. This list ranks people in Australia doing that work, on what their public record shows.
How this list is scored
To qualify, a person must be publicly documented working on how brands appear in AI search answers while based in Australia. Each person is scored out of 10 on 6 criteria, 60 points in all. Scores measure how much of a person's work is publicly documented, not how good they are at the job: plenty of excellent people keep their results private, and they score lower here for that reason alone.
- Outcomes
- Results tied to the person's own work.
- Verification
- How independently those results can be checked.
- Craft
- The range of documented work on how brands appear in AI answers.
- Teaching
- What they have published or presented for others in the field.
- Peer citation
- Awards, press and peers pointing at them.
- Currency
- Whether they are verifiably working in Australia in 2026.
The list at a glance
| # | Name | Role | Outcomes | Verification | Craft | Teaching | Peer citation | Currency | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jeff Deutsch | Head of Growth, That's Heaps and Hourglass AI | 7 | 5 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 10 | 47 |
| 2 | Celia Harding | Founder, LEOPRD (AI visibility and reputation advisory) | 5 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 40 |
| 3 | Joe Alder | Head of SEO & GEO, Rocket Agency | 5 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 9 | 39 |
| 4 | Brodie Clark | Independent SEO consultant, Brodie Clark Consulting | 4 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 9 | 38 |
| 5 | James Norquay | Founder and Managing Director, Prosperity Media | 4 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 9 | 38 |
| 6 | Dan Petrovic | Founder and leader, DEJAN (AI SEO agency) | 6 | 6 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 38 |
| 7 | Andrew Raso | Founder and Global CEO, Online Marketing Gurus | 3 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 9 | 36 |
| 8 | Lawrence Hitches | Chief of Staff, StudioHawk; AI SEO consultant | 3 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 35 |
| 9 | Michael Costin | Co-founder, Local Digital; co-host, The SEO Show | 3 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 5 | 8 | 32 |
| 10 | Arthur Fabik | Head of Delivery, Local Digital; co-host, The SEO Show | 3 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 8 | 30 |
| 11 | Shayna Burns | SEO and GEO Principal, Luminary | 3 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 7 | 30 |
The ranking, with the workings
- 1
47/60Jeff Deutsch Site owner
Head of Growth, That's Heaps and Hourglass AI · Sydney
Jeff runs this site, so weigh this card accordingly. He opened Rakuten Advertising's DealMaker Australia 2026 with a keynote on what the new era of AI search demands of brands and publishers, and spoke at Ascend 2026 on how high-growth startups operationalize AI. By his own account, his search work took Superpower from 3k to 250k organic visitors a month. Michael Batko, founder of Hourglass AI, credits him with getting him properly set up with AI tools.
Scores and evidence for Jeff Deutsch Outcomes 7 His search record includes Superpower: 3k to 250k organic visitors a month (83x), by his own account. Verification 5 Roles and speaking are confirmed by third parties (Hourglass AI, Rakuten Advertising, Ascend); the search figures are his own account. Craft 8 Rakuten Advertising's recap of his keynote sets out his approach: build named expertise, publish consistently, and promote the expert point of view. Teaching 9 Opened Rakuten Advertising's DealMaker Australia 2026 with a keynote on what AI search demands of brands and publishers; spoke at Ascend 2026 on how high-growth startups operationalize AI. Peer citation 8 Michael Batko, founder of Hourglass AI, credits him with getting him properly set up with AI tools; named in Boomcycle's Top 50 Content Marketing Influencers. Currency 10 Head of Growth at That's Heaps and, on contract, at Hourglass AI, in Sydney. Public sources: DealMaker Australia 2026 recap (Rakuten Advertising) · Connected context: how high-growth startups operationalize AI (Ascend 2026) · Alex Dam's post (LinkedIn) · Top 50 Content Marketing Influencers (Boomcycle) · Peter Farrell Cup 2021 (UNSW Founders) · SEO (Hourglass AI) · My journey after Startmate (Michael Batko (Substack))
- 240/60
Celia Harding
Founder, LEOPRD (AI visibility and reputation advisory) · Sydney
Celia Harding founded LEOPRD, a Sydney advisory focused on how brands appear and are recommended in ChatGPT, Perplexity and Gemini. Inside Retail quoted her in April 2025 on brands showing up in AI responses, alongside a LEOPRD report finding that ChatGPT gives editorial coverage up to 33 per cent of the weighting when recommending brands. In October 2026 she wrote for B&T on the gap between AI mentions and recommendations. LEOPRD reports featuring in 94% of key prompts, by its own account.
Scores and evidence for Celia Harding Outcomes 5 LEOPRD reports featuring in 94% of key prompts across ChatGPT, Perplexity and Gemini, by its own account Verification 5 Inside Retail independently quotes her and cites LEOPRD's Leo Insights Report 2025 Craft 7 Advisory practice on how brands are mentioned and recommended in ChatGPT, Perplexity and Gemini Teaching 7 October 2026 B&T guest article on AI mentions versus recommendations; Leo Insights Report 2025 Peer citation 7 Quoted by Inside Retail Australia; published by B&T Currency 9 B&T article 9 Oct 2026; states she lives in Sydney Public sources: The new era of generative AI-driven search: What retailers need to know (Inside Retail Australia) · AI Knows Your Brand, But It's Recommending Someone Else (B&T) · LEOPRD (LEOPRD (own company)) · About LEOPRD (LEOPRD (own company))
- 339/60
Joe Alder
Head of SEO & GEO, Rocket Agency · Sydney
Joe Alder is Head of SEO & GEO at Rocket, a Sydney agency. He appeared on Smarter Marketer episode 115 in July 2026 to discuss Rocket's STAR framework for building GEO strategies, and on Rocket's own podcast in September 2025 on how ChatGPT retrieves information and how copy structure affects citations. On LinkedIn he published an AU versus US AI Overview tracking analysis, reporting that ato.gov.au had 2 AI Overview terms in Australia against 3,289 in the US, by his own account.
Scores and evidence for Joe Alder Outcomes 5 Published AU versus US AI Overview tracking analysis, by his own account Verification 5 Smarter Marketer podcast independently introduces him in his GEO role Craft 7 STAR framework for GEO strategies, ChatGPT citation structure and AI Overview tracking Teaching 7 Two podcast appearances on AI search plus a public LinkedIn analysis Peer citation 6 Guest on the third-party Smarter Marketer podcast Currency 9 July 2026 podcast as Head of SEO & GEO at Sydney-based Rocket Public sources: 115. How to Win in AI Search w. Joe Alder (Smarter Marketer (Apple Podcasts)) · How to Rank in ChatGPT (Episode 95) (Rocket Agency (employer)) · AI Overview tracking analysis, AU vs US (LinkedIn (his public post))
- 438/60
Brodie Clark
Independent SEO consultant, Brodie Clark Consulting · Melbourne
Brodie Clark is an independent SEO and organic growth consultant based in Melbourne. On his own site he writes about ecommerce answer engine optimisation, including an article updated in August 2026 arguing that, as ChatGPT increasingly uses product feeds, ecommerce strategies should involve Microsoft Merchant Center. He spoke on enterprise SEO for ecommerce and marketplace sites at Sydney SEO Conference 2026, as listed by Optimising. A nimbl recap of the session highlighted free listing visibility as a response to zero-click traffic.
Scores and evidence for Brodie Clark Outcomes 4 Public record centres on published analysis and talks rather than client results Verification 6 Optimising and nimbl independently document his Sydney SEO Conference 2026 session Craft 6 Writes on ecommerce AEO, Bing visibility and ChatGPT's use of product feeds via Microsoft Merchant Center Teaching 7 Own-site articles plus a 2026 conference session on enterprise ecommerce SEO Peer citation 6 Speaker listing by Optimising and a session recap by nimbl Currency 9 Article updated August 2026; Sydney SEO Conference 2026 speaker; based in Melbourne Public sources: Bing product feeds and ecommerce AI SEO (brodieclark.com (own site)) · About Brodie (brodieclark.com (own site)) · A Review Of Sydney SEO Conference 2026 (nimbl) · Sydney SEO Conference 2026 (Optimising)
- 538/60
James Norquay
Founder and Managing Director, Prosperity Media · Sydney
James Norquay is Managing Director of Prosperity Media, the Sydney SEO agency he started in 2012, which by its own account has grown from three staff to 31. Mumbrella reported the agency's Generative Engine Optimisation launch in June 2025. At Sydney SEO Conference 2026 he argued that digital PR is the primary driver of LLM visibility at scale, as recorded in a nimbl recap. He bylines the agency's GEO service page, which covers AI visibility audits and LLM citation reporting.
Scores and evidence for James Norquay Outcomes 4 Agency growth from three staff to 31 since 2012, by its own account Verification 6 Mumbrella reported the GEO launch and nimbl recorded his conference argument Craft 6 Bylined GEO service page covering AI visibility audits and LLM citation and share-of-voice reporting Teaching 6 Sydney SEO Conference 2026 talk arguing digital PR drives LLM visibility at scale Peer citation 7 Coverage in Mumbrella and a nimbl conference recap Currency 9 Spoke at Sydney SEO Conference 2026; GEO page bylined September 2026 Public sources: A Review Of Sydney SEO Conference 2026 (nimbl) · GEO Agency Sydney (Prosperity Media (own company)) · Prosperity Media launches GEO to future-proof brands in AI-driven search (Mumbrella) · About (Prosperity Media)
- 638/60
Dan Petrovic
Founder and leader, DEJAN (AI SEO agency) · Brisbane
Dan Petrovic leads DEJAN, an AI SEO agency with a Brisbane address. On 30 May 2025 he published 'AI Mode & Page Indexing', describing two controlled tests, one with a deleted then republished page and one with a hidden message, and stated that his tests showed Google's AI Mode retrieves page content from somewhere other than the live web. PPC Land covered the experiments. By his own account he is a double Google award winner and trained a language model from scratch to study how these systems choose words.
Scores and evidence for Dan Petrovic Outcomes 6 Published May 2025 test findings on where Google AI Mode retrieves page content Verification 6 PPC Land independently covered the AI Mode & Page Indexing experiments Craft 8 Controlled AI Mode retrieval tests plus a language model trained from scratch, by his own account Teaching 6 Published the 'AI Mode & Page Indexing' write-up of two tests for the field Peer citation 6 PPC Land coverage; double Google award winner by his own account Currency 6 Leads DEJAN, listed at a Brisbane address with staff across four Australian cities Public sources: About DEJAN (DEJAN (own company)) · AI Mode, FastSearch and the antitrust case that exposed how Google works (PPC Land)
- 736/60
Andrew Raso
Founder and Global CEO, Online Marketing Gurus · Sydney
Andrew Raso is Founder and Global CEO of Online Marketing Gurus, headquartered in Crows Nest, Sydney. He founded the agency in 2012 and, by its own account, it has grown to more than 200 specialists across Australia, the US, Singapore and the UAE. He is the listed author of 12 articles on the agency's AI Search hub, including a playbook on ranking in ChatGPT and a comparison of SEO, GEO and AEO. He gave a keynote on answer engine optimisation at Intrigue MAdVerse Sydney in March 2026.
Scores and evidence for Andrew Raso Outcomes 3 Agency growth to more than 200 specialists across four countries, by its own account Verification 5 Salesgasm third-party post documents his March 2026 keynote Craft 6 Bylines guides on ranking in ChatGPT, Google's AI search and SEO versus GEO versus AEO Teaching 7 Listed author of 12 AI search articles plus an answer engine optimisation keynote Peer citation 6 Keynote billing at Intrigue MAdVerse Sydney 2026 Currency 9 Keynoted in Sydney March 2026; agency headquartered in Crows Nest, Sydney Public sources: AI Search & GEO Guides (Online Marketing Gurus (own company)) · Andrew Raso keynote at Intrigue MAdVerse Sydney (Salesgasm (LinkedIn)) · Andrew Raso author page (Online Marketing Gurus)
- 835/60
Lawrence Hitches
Chief of Staff, StudioHawk; AI SEO consultant · Melbourne
Lawrence Hitches is Chief of Staff at StudioHawk in Melbourne, where his employer describes his work as building systems that establish trust across Google and AI search. He joined StudioHawk in 2018 and has eight years in search, by his own account. He presented 'How to do an AI SEO Audit for eCommerce' at Online Retailer in Sydney on 22 July 2026. A third-party SEO Conferences profile lists him as a speaker at Phuket Summit 2026 and Shenzhen SEO Conference 2025.
Scores and evidence for Lawrence Hitches Outcomes 3 Public record centres on roles and talks rather than documented results Verification 5 SEO Conferences third-party profile confirms role, city and speaking dates Craft 6 Employer describes his work as building systems that establish trust across Google and AI search Teaching 7 Talk on AI SEO audits for ecommerce at Online Retailer 2026, plus Phuket and Shenzhen conference slots Peer citation 6 Third-party speaker profile on SEO Conferences Currency 8 Spoke in Sydney July 2026; Chief of Staff at Melbourne-based StudioHawk Public sources: Lawrence Hitches (StudioHawk (employer)) · SEO Speaker (lawrencehitches.com (own site)) · Lawrence Hitches speaker profile (SEO Conferences)
- 932/60
Michael Costin
Co-founder, Local Digital; co-host, The SEO Show · Australia
Michael Costin co-founded Local Digital, an Australian SEO agency with offices in Parramatta and Burleigh Heads, in 2015. He co-hosts The SEO Show, on air since June 2021 with 136 episodes by its own account, which runs an AI search theme covering ChatGPT and AI Overviews. Episode 137, released in March 2026, covered how a local service business can appear in AI assistants. A 2026 Arobis roundup of SEO podcasts names him as one of two Australian hosts with about a decade each in the field.
Scores and evidence for Michael Costin Outcomes 3 Public record centres on the agency and podcast rather than documented results Verification 4 Arobis third-party roundup names him as an Australian SEO host Craft 5 Podcast AI search theme covering ChatGPT, AI Overviews and local businesses in AI assistants Teaching 7 Co-hosts The SEO Show, on air since June 2021 with 136 episodes by its own account Peer citation 5 Named in a 2026 Arobis best SEO podcasts roundup Currency 8 Co-hosted Episode 137 in March 2026; Local Digital offices in NSW and QLD Public sources: The SEO Show (Local Digital (own company)) · The SEO Show (Buzzsprout (show feed)) · Best SEO Podcasts in 2026 (Arobis)
- 1030/60
Arthur Fabik
Head of Delivery, Local Digital; co-host, The SEO Show · Australia
Arthur Fabik is Head of Delivery at Local Digital, an Australian SEO agency, where he was the first hire in 2016 and runs delivery across the SEO team. He co-hosts The SEO Show with Michael Costin; the show runs an AI search theme, and Episode 137 in March 2026 covered how local service businesses can appear in AI assistants. A 2026 Arobis roundup of SEO podcasts names him as one of two Australian hosts with about a decade each in the field.
Scores and evidence for Arthur Fabik Outcomes 3 Public record centres on his delivery role and podcast rather than documented results Verification 4 Arobis third-party roundup names him as an Australian SEO host Craft 4 Co-hosts a podcast with an AI search theme, including an episode on local businesses in AI assistants Teaching 6 Co-host of The SEO Show Peer citation 5 Named in a 2026 Arobis best SEO podcasts roundup Currency 8 Co-hosted Episode 137 in March 2026; Local Digital offices in NSW and QLD Public sources: The SEO Show (Local Digital (employer)) · The SEO Show (Buzzsprout (show feed)) · Best SEO Podcasts in 2026 (Arobis)
- 1130/60
Shayna Burns
SEO and GEO Principal, Luminary · Melbourne
Shayna Burns is SEO and GEO Principal at Luminary, a Melbourne-based agency, where she oversees its SEO and generative engine optimisation services. Originally from Toronto, she has lived in Australia since 2012. Luminary's GEO service lists platforms such as Google AI Overviews, ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Claude. In an August 2025 AdNews feature on search, she was quoted on boards and C suites that treat clicks as the core metric, and on whether brands want their IP showing up in AI search.
Scores and evidence for Shayna Burns Outcomes 3 Public record centres on her role and press commentary rather than results Verification 5 AdNews independently quotes her in her Luminary role Craft 5 Oversees Luminary's SEO and GEO services across platforms such as AI Overviews, ChatGPT and Perplexity Teaching 4 Public commentary centres on an AdNews feature on measuring search Peer citation 6 Quoted in AdNews, August 2025 Currency 7 Current Luminary bio; has lived in Australia since 2012 Public sources: A survivor's guide to the SEO apocalypse (AdNews) · Generative engine optimisation (GEO) & SEO agency (Luminary (employer)) · Shayna Burns (Luminary (employer))
Method notes
Candidates were found from conference speaker pages, industry press, podcasts and bylined writing, then every source was opened and checked to confirm it names the person and supports the facts quoted. Where a person's 2026 role is not publicly listed, they are described by the role they are known for, and the Currency score reflects that.
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If you are on this list and something is wrong, out of date, or you would rather not be listed, email jeff@thatsheaps.com. Removals are honoured without question, and corrections are made and noted on the page, usually within two business days.
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