Short answer: To be recommended by AI assistants, make your business easy to understand and trust: consistent business details across the web, clear service pages with answer-first content and FAQs, structured data, genuine reviews, mentions on reputable sites, and allowing AI crawlers to read your site.
Search has a new front door
More people now ask AI assistants questions like "Who's the best web designer in Edinburgh?" or "Which accountant in Glasgow handles small businesses?", and Google shows AI Overviews above many results. If AI systems don't know or trust your business, you're invisible in those answers. Optimising for them is called generative engine optimisation (GEO).
How AI assistants decide who to mention
AI assistants build answers from content they can access and trust. Businesses that get mentioned tend to have: clear, factual pages; consistent details across the web; independent mentions and reviews; and content that directly answers common questions.
The GEO checklist
1. Make your entity crystal clear
Use exactly the same business name, description, location and contact details everywhere: website, Google Business Profile, LinkedIn, directories. Add Organization and LocalBusiness structured data to your site, and a proper About page with real people and credentials.
2. Write answer-first content
Start each key page with a one-or-two-sentence answer to the question it targets, then expand. Use clear headings, lists and FAQs. AI systems favour content that can be quoted accurately.
3. One page per service (and per location)
A dedicated, detailed page for each service and each area you serve makes it far easier for AI to match you to specific questions.
4. Earn mentions and reviews
Reviews on Google and industry sites, local press, podcasts, partner websites and directories all help AI systems see you as a credible option.
5. Let AI crawlers in
Check your robots.txt isn't blocking AI crawlers such as GPTBot, ClaudeBot, PerplexityBot or Google-Extended if you want to appear in their answers. Consider publishing an llms.txt file that summarises your business and key pages.
6. Keep facts fresh
Update prices, services and dates. Outdated information reduces trust.
7. Track your AI visibility
Regularly ask the major assistants the questions your customers ask and record who gets mentioned. That's your GEO scoreboard.
GEO and SEO work together
Strong SEO foundations (fast pages, good content, links) still matter; GEO builds on them. Our AI search optimisation service combines both, and we test visibility across assistants every month.
Frequently asked questions
What is generative engine optimisation (GEO)?
GEO is the practice of improving how AI assistants and AI search features understand, cite and recommend your business.
Can I pay to be recommended by ChatGPT?
No. Organic AI recommendations can't be bought; they're earned through clear information, trust signals and helpful content.
What is llms.txt?
llms.txt is a proposed standard: a simple text file at the root of your website that summarises your business and links to key pages for AI systems.
Craig McIntosh is the founder of Digital Agency Scotland, with 30 years in technology, a BEng in Computing and an MSc in Marketing from Edinburgh Napier University. He's an n8n Ambassador and built the agency's private AI stack, the DAS Core.
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