The short versionAI tools are now another place customers look. The basics that help you there are the same ones that help on Google: clear pages, consistent details and genuine reviews. The new part is checking what the tools actually say about you.
Not so long ago, a customer who needed a plumber, a florist or a floor fitter would type it into Google. Now some of them ask a chatbot instead. "Who is a reliable electrician in Leeds?" goes into ChatGPT, Perplexity or Google's AI Overviews, and a short answer comes back with a few names in it.
If your business is one of those names, that is a customer you did not have to chase. If it is not, they may never know you exist. Here is what is going on, in plain English.
What are AEO and GEO?
You may see two new bits of jargon. AEO stands for answer engine optimisation. GEO stands for generative engine optimisation. They mean much the same thing: making it easier for AI tools to find your business, understand it and trust it enough to mention it.
It is not a separate world from SEO. Most of it is good local SEO, plus a few extra jobs and one new habit, which is checking what the tools actually say.
How do AI tools decide who to mention?
Honestly, nobody outside those companies knows the full recipe, and it changes. What we can say is that these tools pull from the same places a customer might look: your website, your Google Business Profile, your reviews, business directories, and other websites that mention you.
They also seem to favour information that is clear, consistent and backed up in more than one place. A business that describes itself the same way everywhere is easier to recommend than one with three different phone numbers and a half-finished profile.
Five things you can do this month
1. Say clearly what you do and where
Put it in plain words on your website. "Floor fitting in Leeds and Wakefield" tells both a customer and an AI tool far more than "quality craftsmanship for every project". A separate page for each main service helps too.
2. Keep your business details the same everywhere
Your name, address and phone number, often shortened to NAP, should match on your website, your Google Business Profile and every directory that lists you. Listings in directories are called citations. Small differences make it harder for anything to trust the details.
3. Add schema markup
Schema is a small piece of code behind your pages that labels the facts: this is the business name, these are the services, these are the opening hours. Think of it as a name tag that machines can read. Customers never see it, but search engines and AI tools can.
4. Gather genuine reviews and reply to them
Real reviews that mention what you did and where are a strong signal of trust. Ask happy customers, make it easy, and reply to what people say. Never pay for reviews or offer a reward for them.
5. Answer the questions customers really ask
Write down what people ask you before they book, then answer those questions properly on your website. Specific, helpful answers give AI tools something useful to quote, and they help your customers whether or not a chatbot is involved.
Check what AI says about you today
You can do this yourself in about ten minutes, for free.
- Write down three to five questions a customer might ask, such as "who is a good [your trade] in [your town]?"
- Ask each one in ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google, using the AI answer if it shows one.
- Note whether you are mentioned, whether your website is linked, and which other businesses appear instead.
Answers can change from one day to the next, so it is worth asking twice and repeating the check each month. Keep your notes. Over a few months they show whether anything is moving, which is more useful than any single result.
What nobody can promise
Nobody controls what an AI tool says, so nobody can guarantee you a mention, and you should be wary of anyone who does. What you can do is fix the things you control, check the results honestly and keep going.
The good news is that most of the work also helps you on Google. Clear pages, consistent details and real reviews are worth having either way.
Want a hand?
My AI Visibility plan covers the work above: schema, citations and consistent details, review generation, specific content and a monthly test of what AI tools say about your business, written up in plain English. You can see what is included on the SEO page, or get in touch and I will tell you honestly whether it is worth it for your business yet. If your Google Business Profile needs attention first, start with my seven-point checklist.
Want me to take a look?
Tell me about your business and I will tell you plainly what I would do, and what you can skip. It is free.
Get in touch