What Is AI Search Optimization (GEO and AEO)? A Plain-English Guide
Why this matters now
For twenty years, getting found online meant ranking on a page of ten links. That page still exists, but more searches now end with a written answer instead. Google shows AI Overviews above its results for many questions. ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity and Gemini answer questions directly and cite a handful of sources. Microsoft builds Copilot answers into Bing and Windows.
The practical change for a business owner is simple: an answer names far fewer businesses than a results page lists. If someone asks "who is the best roofer in Lancaster," the answer might recommend two or three companies. Being sixth on Google used to earn some clicks. Being left out of the answer earns none.
How AI assistants decide what to say
Each assistant works a little differently, but the broad pattern is the same:
- Retrieve. For questions about current, local or specific things, the assistant runs searches. ChatGPT search uses its own crawler (OAI-SearchBot) plus partner search data, Claude searches the web with its own crawler (Claude-SearchBot) and a search partner, Perplexity runs its own index, and Google AI Overviews draw on Google's index.
- Read. It reads the top pages it finds. Pages that load as plain HTML, answer the question early and state facts clearly are easier to use.
- Compare. It cross-checks claims across sources. A business that appears consistently on its own site, its Google Business Profile, review sites and local articles looks more trustworthy than one that appears in a single place.
- Write. It writes an answer and, usually, cites the sources it leaned on.
For general questions the assistant may also answer from what it learned during training. You cannot change that quickly, but the same habits that help retrieval (clear facts, consistent information, mentions on reputable sites) are what shape a model's knowledge over time.
AI search optimization vs SEO
| Classic SEO | AI search optimization | |
|---|---|---|
| Goal | Rank a page high in results | Be named and cited in the answer |
| Unit of success | Position and clicks | Mentions, citations and the clicks they send |
| Content style | Keyword-targeted pages | Direct answers with quotable specifics |
| Trust signals | Backlinks, relevance, experience | All of those, plus consistency across many sources |
| Measurement | Search Console, rank trackers | Search Console plus asking the assistants directly, repeatedly |
The overlap is large. Google has said that the same fundamentals that help pages in Search help them appear in AI features, and that no special markup is required. That is good news: AI search optimization is not a separate trick, it is SEO done with more discipline about answers and evidence.
The five things that move AI visibility
1. Pages that answer real questions
Write one page per service, location and common question, and answer it in the first two sentences. Include the specifics people ask about: price ranges, timelines, service areas, what is included and who it is for. Vague marketing copy gives an assistant nothing to quote.
2. Access for crawlers
Check your robots.txt. Some sites block AI crawlers without realizing it, sometimes through a security plugin or a hosting default. If you want to appear in AI search, allow the search crawlers such as OAI-SearchBot (ChatGPT), Claude-SearchBot (Claude) and PerplexityBot (Perplexity), along with Googlebot and Bingbot. Make sure your key content renders without JavaScript.
3. Structured data
Schema.org markup (Organization, LocalBusiness, Service, FAQPage, Review, Article) labels the facts on your pages so machines do not have to guess. It is not a ranking switch, but it removes ambiguity about who you are and what you offer.
4. Consistent entity facts
Your business name, address, phone, services and hours should match everywhere: your site, Google Business Profile, Apple Business Connect, Bing Places, Yelp, industry directories and social profiles. Conflicting details make assistants hedge or leave you out.
5. Third-party proof
Assistants trust what others say about you. Reviews, local news coverage, trade association listings, supplier "find a dealer" pages and "best of" roundups in your market all count. Look at which sites the assistants cite for your category and work on earning a place on them.
How to measure it
There is no Search Console for ChatGPT yet, so measurement is manual or automated by tools. The reliable method is to pick a fixed set of questions your buyers ask, run them through each assistant on a schedule and record whether you are named, whether you are linked and who is named instead. Answers vary from run to run, so trends over weeks matter more than any single result.
Alongside that, keep watching Google Search Console. AI Overviews traffic is counted in Search Console's web search totals, and rising impressions on question-style queries are a good leading signal.
Where to start this week
- Write down ten questions a customer would ask before hiring you.
- Ask them in ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Gemini and Google. Note who gets named.
- Check your robots.txt allows the major search and AI crawlers.
- Pick your most important service page and rewrite its first paragraph as a direct answer with specifics.
- Make your Google Business Profile complete and consistent with your site.
If you would rather have someone do this for you, our free AI visibility snapshot covers steps one and two, and Axis Weekly turns the rest into a Monday checklist.