Even in the face of "black box" algorithms, the history of artificial intelligence—natural language processing, more specifically—has left plenty of clues. While we can't understand the full equation, we can see how building blocks create common patterns in how current algorithms process language.
Infrastructure, no matter how solid or planned or continuously improved, gets messy. Observing humanity in July feels like the ultimate UX research experiment.
To put it another way: optimizing with GEO reverse engineering tactics is like entering a house through a small attic window. GEO ignores that the research frameworks literally embedded in the outputs of the model are the keys to the front door.
