A couple of years ago, the most frequently asked question of our clients was, “How do we rank number one?” Now, the new question that people ask is, “Why doesn’t ChatGPT talk about us?”
Well, that is understandable. ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google’s AI Mode are becoming popular among people who use them to look up information about businesses, compare offers and search for solutions.
For instance, a query like “Who can help a B2B company generate more leads through search?” can result in a summary of an article on the topic. If your business does not have any mentions in it, then this might mean that you are ignoring some critical aspects of the customer’s research experience.
So, what are the things that you can actually do to be found and referred to in AI search engines?
And, unfortunately, the solution is far less sexy than the multitude of “AI hacks” that are promoted online. However, it is much more straightforward. You should create valuable content, prove your expertise, establish trust towards your brand and be easily searchable and understandable for AI and search engines.
First, a reality check
Nobody can guarantee you a spot in an AI answer. OpenAI has said that ChatGPT Search draws on many factors and that appearance isn’t assured, and Google says there’s no special trick for its AI features. If someone promises guaranteed citations, walk away.
What you can do is make your site easy to find, easy to understand, and worth quoting. That’s the whole game.
Start by checking the door isn’t locked
Usually, the problem stems from something very basic which people don’t think of: technical SEO. Without access to your key pages by search crawlers, there is nothing much you can do about content and GEO.
Firstly, verify via Google Search Console if your key pages are indexed. Take a look at your robots.txt file, noindex tags, and XML sitemap to ensure that you have not inadvertently blocked any pages that you want search engines to reach out to. If your website has a restrictive firewall or bot protection in place, then it is advisable to check if legitimate search crawlers are being blocked.
That holds true even for AI-based search. As per OpenAI, websites seeking inclusion into ChatGPT Search need to allow their OAI-SearchBot crawler, so you may want to verify current documentation on that front. Google too specifies that your pages will generally need to be indexed and eligible for Search to qualify for its AI features.
None of this is really very exciting, but it does matter. Many times we have found that strong websites failed on the front of visibility just because search crawlers could not access their content.
Say what you do, in plain English
Read your homepage as a stranger would. If it says “We help businesses grow online,” you’ve told them almost nothing, and an AI tool can’t do much with it either.
Compare that to: “We’re a digital marketing company offering SEO, PPC, social media and website development for businesses that want measurable growth.” Now there’s something to work with.
Make sure your site, your LinkedIn page and your business listings all describe you the same way. Mixed messages make you harder to understand, for people and for machines.
Answer the actual question
Here’s a trap many websites fall into: they rank for a keyword but never answer the question behind it. Someone searching “GEO services” is really asking something like “How can my business show up in AI search?” A page that repeats the phrase but never answers that isn’t much use.
A simple habit helps. Under each question-style heading, give the answer in two or three sentences, then explain, give an example, and point to the next step. Readers get what they need fast, and curious ones can keep going. It’s also the kind of content that’s easy for a summary to draw on.
Be the page that says something new
This is when the game starts to be important. AI tools can create an adequate definition of ‘What is SEO?’ in seconds, and another mediocre article will not provide them with any reasons to use your website as a reference point.
AI cannot imitate your actual experience. It is not informative to say that ‘technical SEO is important’ – it does not inform anything. However, ‘During one audit, we discovered three indexation issues which prevented our important service pages from being visible in the search engines’ makes the statement credible, backed with evidence and informative.
Case studies, unique data, tests, screenshots, examples and reasonable personal opinion can make your articles more valuable for AI tools. The research process of Perplexity includes multiple searches and citations of the used information. Detailed guides, unique research and comparisons provide AI tools with more material to process.
Build depth, not duplicates
If you’ve got separate pages for “GEO services,” “GEO company” and “GEO agency,” you’re competing with yourself. Instead, pick the topics you want to be known for and cover them properly: what it is, how it works, how it compares with the alternatives, how to measure it, and what to avoid. Link those pages together so visitors can move through them naturally.
That does more for you than ten near-identical pages ever will.
Don’t worry too much about schema
People love to tell you schema markup is the secret key. It isn’t. Structured data like Organization, LocalBusiness or Article markup does help search engines understand your pages, and it’s worth using accurately. But Google has said no special markup is required for its AI features, so treat it as part of good SEO rather than a shortcut.
Look beyond your own website
AI tools don’t only learn about you from your site. Reviews, directories, industry publications, YouTube, LinkedIn and podcasts all shape the picture. Be a genuine presence in the places your customers already spend time. Just don’t buy mentions or fake reviews to look established. It tends to backfire.
Images and video matter too. An original chart or a short explainer video often says more than a stock photo ever could. Add useful alt text while you’re at it.
Measure what matters
Rankings alone won’t tell you whether this is working. Keep an eye on branded searches (more people typing your name is a good sign), referral traffic, engagement, leads and revenue. According to OpenAI, ChatGPT referral links include a utm_source=chatgpt.com tag, so you can spot that traffic in your analytics. Then compare how those visitors behave against your regular organic ones.
And remember, someone might see you in an AI answer, say nothing, and come back a week later by searching your name. That visit counts too.
If you want a starting point
Here’s how we’d tackle the first month:
- Week 1: Check indexing, crawler access, speed and mobile experience.
- Week 2: List your top ten customer questions and rewrite your key pages to answer them directly.
- Week 3: Publish a case study, improve your About page and tidy your business profiles.
- Week 4: Set up referral tracking and note your baseline, then decide what to improve next.
The bottom line
Being visible on ChatGPT, Perplexity or any of Google’s AI products isn’t about flipping some sort of secret switch. The companies who stand a chance of being discovered are those who are doing everything right, have accessible websites, clear messages, valuable and original content, and credible brands.
This might be far from sounding like an “AI hack” but provides valuable context for algorithms to analyze and refer to. Even more importantly, it makes your future customers trust you once they see you.
If you’re interested in knowing how your website stands right now, ANSUV Groups can help you. We operate on SEO, GEO, AEO, content marketing, PPC, social media and web development to create a better and more connected search presence.
Want a clear picture of your AI search visibility? Get in touch for a free consultation.