Guide
How to appear in AI assistants' answers.
How assistants such as ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Claude choose which brands to name, how that differs from search, and the work that changes the answer.
Updated , 4 min read
On this page5 sections
The short answer
How an assistant picks a brand
An assistant answers from what its model learned in training and, when it searches the web, from the pages it fetches while answering. Ask it which tools to consider and it will usually name two or three, often with one it recommends. Ask again and the answer may differ, so a single run tells you little.
The brands it names tend to be the ones described clearly and consistently by sources it trusts: comparison pages, review sites, articles and the brand's own site. When you are missing from an answer, the sources it cites usually show why.
GEO and SEO compared
| Aspect | Search (SEO) | AI answers (GEO) |
|---|---|---|
| What you aim for | A high place in a list of results | A place in the answer itself |
| What the buyer sees | Ten links to choose from | Two or three brands, often with a pick |
| What decides it | Your pages and the links to them | Your pages and what other sources say about you |
| How you measure it | Rank and clicks | Whether each answer names or recommends you, over many runs |
More in GEO vs SEO.
Step by step
1. Choose the questions that matter
List the questions a buyer asks when choosing a product like yours: "best X for Y", "X vs Z", "alternatives to Z". Those are the answers worth winning, not every mention of your name. In GEO Style: Prompt discovery.
2. See who each answer picks
Ask each question on the assistants your buyers use, several times, and note whether the answer recommends you, names you further down, or picks a competitor. One run proves little; answers change. In GEO Style: Decisions.
3. Read the sources behind the answer
Assistants that search the web cite the pages they used. Those pages, such as comparisons, review sites and articles, are where a competitor is being described and you are not. In GEO Style: Sources.
4. Make your own site easy to read and quote
Let AI crawlers in, state plainly what you do and for whom, and answer the buying questions on your own pages. Keep facts such as prices and features the same everywhere they appear. In GEO Style: AI readiness.
5. Earn a place on the pages assistants cite
Get listed or reviewed on the sources the answers lean on, and correct wrong claims about you at the source. This is usually what moves an answer. In GEO Style: Actions.
6. Measure whether it worked
After the change, compare the answers with similar questions you did not work on over the same weeks, so a shift across the whole market is not taken for your result. In GEO Style: Impact.
Questions
What is generative engine optimization (GEO)?
GEO is the work of changing how AI assistants such as ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Claude answer questions about your market, so that they name and recommend your brand. It covers your own site and, above all, the other sources the assistants learn from and cite.
How is GEO different from SEO?
SEO aims for a high place in a list of search results that the buyer then reads. GEO aims to be in the answer itself, where an assistant often names two or three brands and the buyer may never see a list. Good SEO pages help, but the answer also depends on what other sites say about you.
How do AI assistants decide which brands to recommend?
From what the model learned in training and, for assistants that search the web, from the pages they fetch while answering. Brands described clearly and consistently by several sources the assistant trusts, such as comparisons, reviews and articles, are named more often.
Why doesn't my brand appear in AI answers?
Usually because the sources the assistant relies on describe competitors and not you, because your site does not say plainly what you do and for whom, or because AI crawlers cannot read it. Reading the sources cited in the answers you lose shows which it is.
How long does it take for an answer to change?
It varies by assistant. Assistants that search the web can change as soon as the pages they cite change; what a model learned in training changes only with a new model. That is why results should be measured over weeks and against questions you did not work on.
Can I see this for my own brand?
Yes. GEO Style asks your buying questions on the assistants you choose every day, shows which ones you win or lose and why, ranks the work most likely to change the answer, and measures whether it did.