The search landscape has changed
In 2024, ChatGPT surpassed 100 million daily users asking questions that used to go directly to Google. Gemini, Perplexity, and Claude are joining the shift. What does this mean for your business? People are increasingly asking AI assistants for product recommendations, travel advice, and service comparisons — and getting answers that cite specific websites.
If your website isn't being cited by these AI systems, you're invisible to a growing segment of your potential customers. This is the new frontier of SEO — Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO).
How AI search works differently from Google
Traditional search engines rank pages based on hundreds of signals — backlinks, content quality, technical SEO, user engagement. AI systems work differently. They're trained on large datasets of web content and then use that training to generate responses to user queries.
When ChatGPT is asked "what's the best email marketing tool for e-commerce stores?", it doesn't crawl the web in real time. It recalls patterns from its training data and recent browsing. What gets cited depends on:
- Content clarity and structure — AI systems favour content that's clearly written, well-structured, and directly answers specific questions
- Factual density — pages with specific data, statistics, and concrete claims are more likely to be cited
- E-E-A-T signals — Experience, Expertise, Authority, and Trust are increasingly important for both Google and AI systems
- Schema markup — structured data helps AI systems understand what your page is about and what entity it represents
- Brand mentions across the web — a brand mentioned frequently in authoritative sources is more likely to be recommended
How to check if AI recommends you
The simplest way to check your AI visibility is to ask directly. Go to ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity and ask queries that your ideal customer would ask. For example:
- "What are the best tour operators in [your city/region]?"
- "Recommend an e-commerce agency for Magento 2"
- "What tools do e-commerce stores use for SEO?"
- "Best digital marketing agencies for online stores"
If your business or website doesn't appear in the responses, you have a visibility problem. Note which competitors do appear — their content and online presence is doing something better than yours.
7 ways to improve your AI search visibility
1. Write clear, direct answers to specific questions
AI systems love content that directly answers the question at hand. Instead of writing vague marketing copy ("We provide exceptional digital solutions"), write specific, informative content ("We manage Google Ads campaigns for e-commerce stores, with a focus on Shopping campaigns and Performance Max for product-based businesses").
Think about the questions your customers actually ask — and then answer each one directly and completely on a relevant page.
2. Add an FAQ section to every key page
FAQ sections are heavily indexed by AI systems because they directly model question-and-answer pairs — the exact format AI uses to generate responses. Add FAQ schema markup to make them even more machine-readable.
3. Implement comprehensive schema markup
Schema markup is the language of structured data — it tells both Google and AI systems exactly what your page is about. For most businesses, the priority schemas are:
- Organization — your business name, logo, contact details, social profiles
- LocalBusiness — address, hours, service area
- Service — what services you offer, prices, descriptions
- FAQPage — question and answer content
- Product — for e-commerce
4. Build brand mentions across the web
AI systems are more likely to recommend brands that are mentioned frequently and positively across the web. Focus on:
- Getting featured in industry publications and news sites
- Building relationships with bloggers and journalists in your niche
- Creating shareable research, data, or resources that get cited
- Getting listed in authoritative directories and review platforms
5. Create authoritative long-form content
Comprehensive guides and in-depth articles are disproportionately cited by AI systems compared to thin or surface-level content. A 2,000-word definitive guide on a specific topic will be cited more often than 10 short posts on related topics.
6. Build your E-E-A-T signals
AI systems (like Google) use Experience, Expertise, Authority, and Trust signals to decide which sources to cite. Build these by:
- Publishing author bios with credentials and experience
- Citing sources and linking to authoritative references in your content
- Displaying certifications, awards, and social proof prominently
- Having a strong Wikipedia, LinkedIn, and social media presence
7. Optimise for conversational queries
AI queries tend to be more conversational than traditional search queries. Instead of optimising only for "tour operator Barcelona", also optimise for phrases like "who offers the best day trips from Barcelona?" or "what should I know before booking a wine tour in Rioja?"
The intersection of GEO and traditional SEO
The good news is that most GEO best practices overlap with traditional SEO — high-quality content, structured data, strong backlinks, and technical optimisation all improve both Google rankings and AI citability. The difference is emphasis: GEO rewards direct, factual, well-structured content more than keyword density.
Want to know your AI search visibility score? Our Dr. Marketing audit includes a full GEO analysis alongside traditional SEO diagnostics. Run your free audit →