AI SEO Explained: How to Get Cited by ChatGPT and AI Overviews

The short answer

AI SEO is the work of making your website readable, understandable and quotable by AI assistants — ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and Google AI Overviews — so they mention your brand when buyers ask for recommendations. You'll also see it called generative engine optimization (GEO) or answer engine optimization (AEO). It builds on classic SEO rather than replacing it.

What stays the same

• Pages still need to be crawlable, fast and well linked.
• Titles, descriptions and headings still need to match what people search.
• Authority still comes from other trusted sites mentioning and linking to you.

What changes

• Answers beat keywords. AI engines pull short, direct answers. Pages that open with a clear 40–60 word answer to the question get quoted more easily.
• Content must be in the HTML. Some AI crawlers don't run JavaScript. If your content only appears after scripts load, they may see an empty page.
• Structured data matters more. Schema markup tells engines who you are, what you offer and who you serve, without guessing.
• Mentions count, not just links. Being named on directories, reviews and industry sites helps engines trust you.

Where to start: a five-step checklist

1. Check what AI says about you today. Ask ChatGPT, Perplexity and Gemini the questions your buyers ask. Note who gets named.
2. Let AI crawlers in. Review robots.txt so GPTBot, PerplexityBot and Google-Extended aren't blocked by accident, and add an llms.txt file.
3. Make pages server-rendered. Your key pages should show their full text without JavaScript.
4. Rewrite top pages answer-first. Start with the direct answer, then the detail.
5. Earn third-party mentions. Directory profiles, reviews, guest articles and podcasts all help.

What no one can promise

No agency can guarantee what an AI engine will say. What you can do is remove the technical and content barriers that stop you being read and cited, then track mentions over time.

Where Ideabazi fits

We do this through our AI Search Optimization (GEO & AEO) service, starting with a free AI visibility snapshot. It's also part of our wider AI Agency work. For the background, read what is generative engine optimization?.