Being visible on ChatGPT and AI tools: the GEO guide for small businesses
Your customers also ask their questions to ChatGPT, Perplexity or Google’s AI answers. How these tools choose their sources, and how to become one of them.
By Léo Chuzel · Published on · 3 min read
“What’s the best fish restaurant in Marseille?”, “How do I choose an employment lawyer?”: more and more people ask these questions to an AI assistant rather than a classic search engine. The assistant summarises an answer and cites a few sources. Being among those sources is the goal of GEO, short for Generative Engine Optimization.
How AI tools choose their sources
Assistants with a search function, such as ChatGPT, Perplexity or Google’s AI answers, consult the web in real time and then select the content that best answers the question. They favour sources that are accessible, clear, structured and deemed reliable. Good news: these are largely the same qualities Google looks for.
1. Make your website accessible to AI bots
Check that your robots.txt file doesn’t block the bots these services use for their searches, such as OAI-SearchBot for ChatGPT or PerplexityBot. Also make sure your content is present in the page’s HTML: websites that display their text only via JavaScript are harder for some bots to read.
2. Answer questions clearly
AI tools readily pick up passages that directly answer a question. Structure your pages with explicit headings, start each section with a clear answer, then elaborate. Well-written FAQs are particularly effective.
3. Be factual and precise
Indicative prices, timelines, service area, specialties, years of experience: concrete, verifiable information is more likely to be picked up than vague marketing phrases like “innovative solutions” or “premium quality”.
4. Use structured data
Structured data (schema.org) describes your business in a machine-readable way: name, address, services, opening hours, reviews, questions and answers. It helps engines, both classic and generative, understand who you are.
5. Exist beyond your own website
AI tools cross-check sources. A business mentioned in quality directories, the local press, comparisons, forums or customer reviews is seen as more reliable. Make sure your information (name, address, phone, activity) is consistent everywhere.
6. Polish your Google profile and reviews
For local questions, AI answers rely heavily on business profiles and reviews. An optimised Google Business Profile and numerous, recent reviews count as much for AI tools as for Google Maps.
What about the llms.txt file?
You may come across advice about the llms.txt file, meant to guide AI tools in reading your website. It’s a proposal, not a standard adopted by the major players, and its effect hasn’t been demonstrated to date. It doesn’t cost much to set up, but it isn’t a priority.
Measuring your visibility in AI tools
Regularly ask several assistants the questions your customers ask and note whether your business is cited. In your visitor statistics, also keep an eye on traffic coming from these services: it remains modest for most websites, but it’s growing. In competitive markets, specialised platforms like Semji automatically track your mention and citation rate in ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini or Google’s AI answers, and compare it with your competitors.
AI visibility is an integral part of our SEO services. For projects that need a dedicated GEO strategy, we work with the experts at Semji, our SEO partner, and can put you in direct contact. To structure your content, also read our SEO content strategy method.