AI search optimization · AEO & GEO
Get recommended when customers ask AI
More people ask ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity or Google's AI Overviews who to hire. We help Raleigh small businesses become the answer.
Get a free competitor analysisHow AI picks businessesAsk an AI assistant "who's the best HVAC company in Raleigh?" and it gives a short list of names. It doesn't show ten options and let you pick. If you're not on that list, you're not in the running.
AI search optimization is the work of making your business easy for those tools to find, understand, trust and recommend. You'll hear it called several things:
- AEO (answer engine optimization): structuring your content so search engines and AI assistants can lift a clear, correct answer from it.
- GEO (generative engine optimization): improving how often and how accurately AI-generated answers mention or cite your business.
- AI SEO / LLM optimization: umbrella terms for the same goal.
The labels matter less than the work, and the work is very close to good SEO done properly.
How AI tools decide which businesses to mention
AI assistants build answers from what they can find and verify. For local businesses, the signals that tend to matter most are:
What we do
- AI visibility checkWe ask the major AI tools the questions your customers ask and record who gets named, what's said about you, and which sources they cite.
- Fix your factsWe correct inconsistent business details across your website, Google Business Profile and key directories.
- Make content quotableWe rewrite key pages and add FAQ and cost content with short, direct answers near the top, backed by detail below.
- Add structured dataLocalBusiness, Service and FAQ schema so machines read your site correctly. Try our free schema generator.
- Earn the mentionsWe get your business onto the lists, directories and local sites AI tools draw from.
- Track it monthlyWe repeat the AI visibility check so you can see your mentions change over time.
Straight talk: nobody controls what an AI assistant says, and anyone promising guaranteed placement in ChatGPT is overselling. What we can do is make your business the clearest, best-supported option available, which is what these tools look for.
AI search questions
What is the difference between AEO and GEO?
AEO (answer engine optimization) focuses on making your content the direct answer to a question, in featured snippets, voice assistants and AI answers. GEO (generative engine optimization) focuses on how generative AI tools like ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews mention and cite your business. In practice the work overlaps heavily, so we handle them together.
Does AI search replace regular SEO?
No. Google still sends most search traffic, and AI tools lean on pages that already rank well. AI search optimization builds on SEO rather than replacing it.
Can you check whether ChatGPT mentions my business?
Yes. It's part of the free competitor analysis. We test the questions your customers ask and show you who gets recommended.
How fast does AI search optimization work?
Some AI tools browse the live web, so fixes to your site and listings can show up within weeks. Tools that rely on training data update more slowly. We track both and report what changes.
Is this only for tech companies?
No. Local service businesses benefit most, because AI assistants give short lists of names for local questions. Being one of three names matters more than being one of ten links.
See exactly why competitors outrank you
Get a free competitor analysis for your Raleigh business: who is winning in Google, Maps and AI answers, and the three changes that would close the gap fastest.
Get my free competitor analysisPrefer email? Write to Rob at rob [at] seortp.com