How to get your business recommended by ChatGPT, Gemini and Google AI Overviews
Your customers have started asking AI instead of scrolling through ten blue links. Here's a no-jargon checklist to make sure your name comes up in the answer.
Try this right now: open ChatGPT or Gemini and type "best [your business type] near [your area]". Whoever shows up in that answer just got a customer's attention without them ever opening Google. For a growing number of people, the AI's answer is the search result. If your business isn't in it, you don't exist for that customer.
The good news? This isn't magic. Getting mentioned by AI is mostly about being clear, consistent and trusted. People call it GEO (generative engine optimisation) or AEO (answer engine optimisation). I just call it "making it easy for the robot to recommend you".
How AI assistants decide who to recommend
Tools like ChatGPT search, Gemini, Perplexity and Google's AI Overviews pull information from the web, then write a summary answer. When they name a business, it's usually because:
- They found a page that directly answers the question ("digital marketing agency in Kolkata that does AI ads").
- The facts about the business are consistent across its website, Google listing and other sites.
- Other trusted sources mention it: reviews, directories, news, partner websites.
So the job is simple to describe: answer questions clearly, keep your facts consistent, and get talked about.
The checklist
1. Make sure AI can actually read your website
Sounds obvious, but many sites block crawlers by accident, or hide everything inside heavy page builders. Check your robots.txt isn't blocking search and AI crawlers, your pages load fast, and the important text is real text, not words baked into images.
2. Get your Google Business Profile 100% right
For local searches, this is gold. Correct category, address, phone, hours, photos, services and a proper description. Post updates. Answer questions. Reply to every review.
3. Same name, address and phone everywhere
If your website says one address, Justdial says another and Facebook has an old phone number, the AI gets confused. When it's unsure, it would rather recommend someone else. Clean this up everywhere.
4. Write pages that answer real questions
Think about what customers actually ask: "How much does a website cost in Kolkata?", "Who makes AI UGC ads?", "Which course teaches digital marketing with AI?" Give each big question a clear page or section, and answer it in the first two sentences, plainly. AI loves a sentence it can quote.
5. Add FAQs and structured data
Structured data (schema) is a bit of hidden code that tells search engines exactly what your page is: a business, a service, an article, a FAQ. It doesn't guarantee anything, but it removes guesswork. We've added it across every page of this website.
6. Publish a simple "facts" page
One section that states who you are, where you are, what you do, who founded it and how to contact you, in plain sentences. Some sites also publish an llms.txt file, a short summary written for AI tools. It's a newer, informal idea, not an official standard, but it costs nothing to add.
7. Get reviews that say something
"Great service!" helps a little. "They built our restaurant website in a week and our online orders went up" helps a lot more. Ask happy clients for specific reviews on Google.
8. Be mentioned on other sites
Local news features, industry directories, partner websites, podcast appearances, guest articles. Every credible mention is another vote that you're real and good at what you do.
A quick test you can do today
Open ChatGPT, Gemini and Google, and ask the questions your customers would ask, with your area in it. Note who shows up, and what the AI says about them. Then look at their websites and listings. You'll usually spot exactly what they're doing that you aren't.
Frequently asked questions
Is GEO different from SEO?
It builds on SEO. The basics still matter. GEO adds a focus on clear, quotable facts, structured data and third-party mentions, so AI tools can confidently recommend you.
Can I pay to appear in ChatGPT or AI Overviews answers?
Not in the organic answers. You earn those mentions by being clear, consistent and trusted across the web.
How long does it take to start showing up?
It varies. Website and listing fixes can help within weeks once pages are recrawled. Reviews and mentions are an ongoing, months-long effort.
Not sure where your business stands? Grab our free website and AI-readiness audit, or see how we handle SEO and AI search.