What is GEO and how to appear in ChatGPT or Gemini
GEO prepares your website so AI assistants understand your business and can recommend it. What it is, how it differs from SEO and what you can do today.
More and more people are not searching on Google: they ask ChatGPT, Gemini or Perplexity directly. “Which dentist do you recommend in Arona?”, “Which accountant works with freelancers in Tenerife?”. The AI answers with a handful of names, and if yours is not among them, for that person you do not exist.
GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) is the work of preparing your online presence so these AI assistants understand what you do, trust that information and can mention you when someone asks about what you sell.
GEO in one sentence
It means giving AI assistants clear, consistent and verifiable information about your business, in the places where they look for it.
It is not a trick or a magic tool. It is very similar to doing SEO well, but with a different reader in mind: a system that summarises and recommends instead of showing a list of links.
How it differs from SEO (and how it does not)
SEO aims to get your website ranking well in Google’s results. GEO aims to get your business inside the answer an AI generates.
The good news: they share almost the same foundations. A fast, well-structured website with useful content and a well-kept Google Business Profile helps with both. That is why GEO does not replace SEO: it extends it.
The differences are in the details:
- Direct answers. AI assistants pull out passages that answer a specific question. A page that clearly answers “how much does it cost?” or “do you work in my area?” is far more useful to them than generic copy.
- Consistency everywhere. If your address, services or opening hours change depending on where you look (your website, Google Maps, directories, social media), the AI has reasons to doubt.
- Third-party mentions. What others say about you (reviews, press, industry blogs) carries weight, because it signals that you exist and can be trusted.
How AI assistants decide which businesses to mention
Nobody outside these companies knows exactly how it works, and it changes often. What is known is that, to answer questions about specific businesses, many of these assistants check the web at that moment and combine what they find with what they already “know”.
That means your website, your Google listing and what is published about you are the raw material. If that material is thin, confusing or contradictory, the AI will recommend whoever makes it easier.
Seven things you can do today
- Say clearly what you do, where and for whom. On your home page, in the first sentence. “Sports physiotherapy in Arona” beats “Your wellbeing, our passion”.
- One page per service. What it includes, who it is for, a price or rough range and the area you cover. Each page answers a question your customers are already asking.
- Real FAQs. The ones people ask you on WhatsApp or in your shop, with short, direct answers.
- Consistent details everywhere. The same name, address, phone number and hours on your website, Google Business Profile and any directories you appear in.
- Structured data. A small piece of code (schema.org) that tells machines, without ambiguity, what your business is, where it is and what it offers.
- Reviews and mentions. Ask happy customers for reviews and look for coverage in local media or industry blogs. They are proof that you exist beyond your own website.
- Do not block the readers you need. Check that your website does not prevent search engine and AI crawlers from accessing it. It happens more than you would think, sometimes because of a setting nobody remembers changing.
What nobody can guarantee you
No agency controls what an AI answers. If someone promises you a guaranteed spot in ChatGPT, be wary. What can be done is to give the AI every reason to choose you, and to measure whether it is working.
How to tell if it is working
- Ask yourself. Put the questions your customers would ask to ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity, and note each month whether you appear and how you are described.
- Check your visits. In Google Analytics you can see whether visitors arrive from these tools.
- Listen to your customers. “I found you by asking ChatGPT” is the best indicator there is.
In short
GEO is the natural evolution of SEO: the same foundations, a new reader. If your website explains what you do well, your information is consistent everywhere and other people talk about you, you are in a good position for AI assistants to take you into account.
If you want us to work on this for your business, AI optimisation is included in the Premium Plan and can be added as an extra to the other plans.