AI search visibility (GEO), explained plainly

What GEO means

Search engines list pages. AI assistants write an answer and sometimes name businesses or link sources. GEO makes sure that when one of these tools looks for an answer about your trade in your area, it can reach your site, and that it finds facts it can quote: the same name, phone, services and area everywhere.

How AI assistants decide what to cite

What the companies themselves say:

1. Google's AI features rely on Google's core Search ranking systems "to retrieve relevant, up-to-date web pages from our Search index." A page "must be indexed and eligible to be shown in Google Search with a snippet." Google also says no special AI files or markup are needed, and that a Business Profile can help you be visible in AI responses.
2. ChatGPT search uses OpenAI's search crawler. OpenAI says: "Sites that are opted out of OAI-SearchBot will not be shown in ChatGPT search answers."
3. Perplexity's crawler "is designed to surface and link websites in search results on Perplexity."

Past that, nobody outside these companies knows the exact formula, and answers can change from one ask to the next. What clearly helps: crawlers can get in, your facts are clear and match everywhere, and your pages answer real customer questions.

What we do

1. Schema (structured data). Code that tells machines your business name, phone, service area and services. It matches what the page says, word for word.
2. Entity and NAP consistency.
   • The same name, phone, area and services on your site, your Business Profile and the directories that matter.
   • Mixed signals get cleaned up first.
3. Answer content.
   • Service pages and an FAQ that answer what buyers really ask, in plain words: what you do and don't do, where you work, how a job goes and what affects the price.
   • The answer goes first, then the detail.
4. llms.txt.
   • A short summary file at the root of your site, in a proposed format meant to help AI tools understand a site.
   • It's a proposal, not a standard, and Google says you don't need it for Google's AI features.
   • It takes minutes, so we add it.
5. AI crawler access.
   • We set your robots.txt so AI search crawlers can read the site.
   • Training crawlers are a separate choice, and it's yours.
   • We also check that your host or firewall isn't quietly blocking them.
6. Monthly AI-answer checks.
   • We take 10 to 20 real buyer questions, like "who repairs storm-damaged roofs near [your town]?", and ask each tool several times in fresh sessions.
   • We log whether you're named, what it says about you and which sources it links.
   • You get the log with dated screenshots, and we fix the pages or listings behind any wrong answer.
   • We report what the tools say. We never promise placement.

What the free audit checks for AI search

The AI search section of our free audit is worth 25 of the 100 points:

1. AI search crawlers allowed in robots.txt (8)
2. Structured data AI tools can read (6)
3. FAQ or answer-style content (6)
4. An llms.txt file (5)

Training-only crawlers are reported separately and don't cost points. See it in the sample audit.

What we won't promise

We won't promise that any AI tool will name you, rank you or recommend you. Nobody controls those answers. We'll tell you what they say each month and what we changed.

More: How to show up in AI search (guide) · Local SEO · Websites · How we quote