What is GEO, and why your business should care about AI search
More people now ask ChatGPT, Gemini and other AI assistants for recommendations instead of scrolling through Google. Here’s what that means for your business, and the simple steps that help you show up in the answers.
GEO (generative engine optimisation) means making your business easy for AI assistants to find, understand and describe accurately. It builds on good SEO: clear information on your website, consistent details everywhere, and genuine reviews. Nobody can guarantee what an AI says, but you can make it much easier for it to get you right.
Customers used to type “gardener near me” into Google and scroll down a list. Increasingly, they ask an AI assistant instead: “Who’s a reliable gardener in south London?” The assistant gives one short answer, often naming just a few businesses.
If yours isn’t one of them, you may never know you were missed. The good news: most of what helps is simple, and much of it you can do yourself.
What GEO actually means
SEO (search engine optimisation) helps your website appear in Google’s list of results. GEO helps AI assistants such as ChatGPT, Gemini and Copilot understand your business well enough to describe and recommend it.
To do that, AI assistants draw on what they can find about you: your website, your Google Business Profile, directories, reviews and other sites that mention you. GEO is about making that information clear, accurate and easy to read.
Why it matters for small businesses
A Google results page has room for lots of businesses. An AI answer usually names only a handful. That makes clear, trustworthy information more important than ever.
It also levels the playing field. You don’t need a big marketing budget to be described well. A small business with a clear website and consistent details can be easier for an AI to understand than a large company with a confusing one.
Make your website easy for AI to read
Say plainly, in words on the page, what you do, where you work and who you help. Don’t hide key information inside images, sliders or pop-ups: AI tools read text, and some can’t see content that only appears after the page loads.
Add a short FAQ section that answers the questions customers really ask, such as prices, areas covered and how to book. These questions and answers are exactly what AI assistants look for.
Keep your details the same everywhere
Your business name, address, phone number, opening hours and services should match on your website, Google Business Profile, directories and social media pages.
If one listing says you close at 5pm and another says 6pm, or your old address is still out there, AI assistants may get confused, or simply leave you out. A quick tidy-up of your listings is one of the easiest wins.
Earn genuine reviews and mentions
AI assistants pay attention to what others say about you. Ask happy customers to leave a review on Google, and make sure you’re listed with trade associations, local directories and community sites that fit your business.
Never buy or write fake reviews. Fake reviews are banned under UK consumer law (the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024), and they damage trust when people spot them.
Check what AI says about you
Ask a few AI assistants about your business and your service, just as a customer would. Make a note of what they get right, what they get wrong and who they recommend instead.
Answers change from day to day and from tool to tool, so treat this as a regular health check rather than a score. If an assistant has your details wrong, it’s usually a sign that something online needs updating.
Nobody controls what AI assistants say, and their answers change over time. Anyone promising you a guaranteed spot in ChatGPT is overselling. Good GEO makes the right information easy to find, so when you are mentioned, it’s accurate. More in “Is your website losing you customers? A simple 10-point check”.
