Customers increasingly ask AI assistants questions like "best digital marketing agency in Bengaluru" or "how much does an ERP cost". The answers name a handful of businesses and cite a few sources. Generative engine optimisation (GEO) is the work of becoming one of them.
How AI assistants pick their answers
AI search tools combine what their models learned during training with live web results. They favour sources that are clear, specific, consistent and widely referenced. If your website is vague, slow or blocks crawlers, and few other sites mention you, you are unlikely to appear.
1. Make sure AI crawlers can read your site
- Allow reputable AI crawlers such as GPTBot, OAI-SearchBot, ClaudeBot, PerplexityBot and Google-Extended in your robots.txt if you want to be included.
- Serve important content as real HTML text, not only inside images or heavy scripts.
- Consider an llms.txt file that summarises your key pages.
2. Write answer-ready content
- Answer the question directly in the first sentence or two, then add detail.
- Use descriptive headings that match the questions people ask.
- Include specific facts: services, locations, years in business, processes and real numbers you can stand behind.
- Add FAQ sections, comparisons and step-by-step guides that are easy to quote.
3. Make your business an unambiguous entity
- Use the same business name, description, address and phone everywhere.
- Add Organization, LocalBusiness, Service and FAQ structured data.
- Keep profiles up to date on Google Business Profile, LinkedIn, Crunchbase and industry directories.
4. Earn mentions on trusted sites
AI systems weigh what others say about you. Genuine reviews, press coverage, guest articles, podcast appearances, partner pages and listings in respected directories all strengthen your presence.
5. Measure your AI visibility
Regularly ask ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Google the questions your customers ask, and note whether and how your business is mentioned. Track referral traffic from AI tools in Google Analytics.
GEO and SEO work together
Most of what helps AI visibility also improves traditional SEO: fast pages, clear content, structured data and authority. The difference is a stronger focus on direct answers and brand mentions across the web.
Get help with AI search
AppSage is an AI and digital marketing company. Our AI search optimisation service audits how AI assistants describe your brand today and improves the signals they rely on.