AI SEO · Get Recommended by AI

What AI Search Is (And Isn't).

AI search engines synthesize answers from training data + real-time retrieval, then cite sources. They're not search engines that rank pages — they're answer engines that select citations. The output is a generated paragraph with cited sources. Your business either gets cited or doesn't.

The four engines that matter for local: Google AI Overviews (the AI block above the map pack), ChatGPT (OpenAI's search with web grounding), Perplexity (purpose-built answer engine, high local-query share), and Claude (Anthropic's search-grounded model, growing local share). Each has its own training, citation policies, and ranking logic. A business cited consistently across all four owns the AI-search surface; most businesses aren't cited at all.

GEO and AEO — What They Actually Mean.

Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) is the practice of engineering visibility in generative AI engines (ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, AI Overviews). It overlaps with traditional SEO but emphasizes citation-worthiness, entity completeness, and factual specificity.

Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) is the broader practice of optimizing for any answer-engine surface (featured snippets, voice search, AI summaries). AEO predates GEO and includes structured-data signals, FAQ formatting, and snippet-friendly content structure.

In practice they overlap. The work that wins generative engines also wins answer engines, with a few exceptions around real-time freshness signals.

What AI Engines Reward.

Four signal categories, weighted differently across engines: entity completeness (knowledge-graph presence, Wikidata entries, sameAs cross-references), citation economy (mentions in trusted training-corpus sources — industry publications, news, expert citations), factual specificity (concrete claims, defined services, citable statistics), and content structure (clear headers, defined answers, parseable lists, FAQ schema).

Two signals that DON'T matter (yet): backlinks in the traditional SEO sense, and keyword density. AI engines parse meaning, not link graphs.

The Citation Economy.

AI engines train on, and retrieve from, a corpus of trusted sources. Being mentioned in that corpus — industry publications, news outlets, expert quote sites, niche directories — is the new "backlink" of AI search. Brand mentions matter; the link itself matters less than the citation context.

For local businesses, the highest-leverage citation work is: industry publication contributions, expert-quote placements via HARO-type platforms, podcast appearances, niche-vertical directory inclusions, and local-press mentions. The work that earns these mentions also earns traditional SEO authority — but the AI-search impact is bigger and faster.

Why Most Agencies Ignore This.

Most local SEO agencies are running 2019 playbooks. They optimize for blue-link organic + map-pack visibility and call it done. AI search requires new tactics, new tooling, new tracking — and most agencies don't want to retool. The opportunity for businesses that get ahead of this is enormous, and the window is narrowing fast.

Measuring AI Search Visibility.

You can't optimize what you don't measure. The new AI-search tracking discipline: run target queries across the four engines monthly, document whether your business is cited, document which competitors are cited, document citation context. The patterns clarify within 90 days of consistent tracking. We do this for every Local Authority + Total Takeover engagement.

Deeper dives on specific topics.

Detailed knowledge pages on the AI-search topics operators ask about most. Each one operator-grade depth.

Using AI to run local marketing.

Getting found by AI is one half. Using AI to produce content, capture leads, and move faster is the other — the companion cluster to AI search visibility.

Visibility, engine by engine.

Each AI engine has its own quirks. Deep dives on the ones that matter for local.