The recently introduced technique, namely the generalized exponential rational function method, is applied to acquire some new exact optical solitons for the generalized Benjamin–Bona–Mahony (GBBM) equation. Appropriately, we obtain many families of solutions for the considered equation. To better understand of the physical features of solutions, some physical interpretations of solutions are also included. We examined the symmetries of obtained solitary waves solutions through figures. It is concluded that our approach is very efficient and powerful for integrating different nonlinear pdes. All symbolic computations are performed in Maple package.