Services · AI Search Optimization

Be the answer, not just the link.

AI Search Optimization (sometimes called GEO or AEO) is how you get recommended by ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google's AI Overviews, and the growing list of AI-powered search tools rewriting how buyers find businesses.

Get a free audit What's included

What is ai search optimization?

AI Search Optimization is the practice of structuring a website and its content so that large language models and AI-powered search engines quote, cite, and recommend it when users ask related questions. It overlaps with traditional SEO but prioritizes different signals: clean structured data, quotable definitions, FAQ schema, clear authority markers, and a robots-friendly site architecture that AI crawlers can actually read.

Side-by-side comparison of a ChatGPT answer quoting a local business versus a traditional Google Map Pack result for the same query
Same buyer question, two surfaces. AI Search Optimization puts you in the answer on the left; Local SEO puts you in the pack on the right. The businesses that win the next decade will live on both.

The work

What's included

AEO content audit

We identify which of your current pages could be quoted or cited by AI search — and what's missing. Most sites have invisible content to these systems.

AEO audit dashboard showing a site quotability score and per-page grades for how well each page is set up to be cited by AI search Full size

Structured data expansion

Full JSON-LD coverage — Service, FAQPage, LocalBusiness, Article, BreadcrumbList — the schema types LLMs and AI engines consume directly.

JSON-LD schema snippet paired with a schema-type coverage grid across Service, FAQPage, LocalBusiness, Article, and BreadcrumbList Full size

AEO-ready content rewrites

Short, definitive, quotable answers to the questions your buyers actually ask — formatted so that an LLM can lift the paragraph and cite you as the source.

Before-and-after content comparison showing a marketing paragraph rewritten into a quotable definition, with citation tracking across three AI engines Full size

llms.txt implementation

The emerging standard for telling AI crawlers about your site. We publish a curated llms.txt so the models know what matters.

Dark code editor showing a curated /llms.txt file alongside live crawler activity pills for GPTBot, ClaudeBot, PerplexityBot, and Google-Extended Full size

AI crawler access

Configuration of robots.txt, server logs, and any CDN-level rules to make sure GPTBot, ClaudeBot, PerplexityBot, Google-Extended and their peers can actually reach your content.

Server log view of AI bot hits next to a five-bot allow grid covering GPTBot, ClaudeBot, PerplexityBot, Google-Extended, and Bing AI Full size

Citation tracking

Monthly checks on whether and how you're appearing in AI search tools for your target prompts.

Monthly citation tracker showing ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews citation counts alongside an example prompt and generated answer Full size

How it runs

Our process

  1. Step 01

    Audit

    We test how you currently appear in ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google's AI Overviews for queries real buyers use. Most businesses have blind spots here.

  2. Step 02

    Structure

    We add the schema, the llms.txt, the crawler permissions, and the internal structure AI needs to parse the site correctly.

  3. Step 03

    Content

    We rewrite or create the quotable, definition-first sections these systems prefer to cite. Shorter paragraphs. More structure. Clear answers.

  4. Step 04

    Track and iterate

    AI search shifts month to month. We keep monitoring and adjusting as the landscape changes.

Good fit if...

  • ✓Businesses whose buyers ask questions before they buy (consulting, services, B2B, professional services)
  • ✓Companies already doing some traditional SEO who want to extend into AI search
  • ✓Category leaders who want to cement their authority signal with AI systems
  • ✓Local businesses who want to appear when people ask AI "best X near me"

Probably not a fit if...

  • ×Brands that refuse to allow AI crawlers for legal or IP reasons
  • ×Businesses with essentially no web content to begin with (fix SEO basics first)

Results

What you can expect.

AI Search Optimization is newer than Local SEO, and the feedback loop is longer — LLM training cycles and retrieval indexes update on their own schedule. Most clients start seeing citations within 8–12 weeks. Clients in less-saturated niches often see them faster. The AI visibility gap closes slowly, then all at once.

Why local matters

The angle we work from.

AI search is still a first-mover opportunity — especially for small businesses. The national brands have caught on, but the small-business field is wide open. Most of your competitors, wherever they're based, haven't heard of GEO or AEO, let alone implemented schema, llms.txt, and quotable content correctly. That leaves an unusually clear lane to become the cited source when a customer asks ChatGPT, Perplexity, or Google's AI who they should hire in your area or industry. The sites we build are set up specifically to take that lane.

Frequently asked questions

What's the difference between SEO and AI Search Optimization? +
Traditional SEO targets search engines that show a list of links — Google, Bing. AI Search Optimization targets systems that generate answers directly — ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google's AI Overviews, Claude. The goal shifts from 'rank high on a page of results' to 'be the source the AI quotes in its answer.' Different signals, different content shapes, same underlying goal: get found.
Is this the same as GEO or AEO? +
Yes. GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) and AEO (Answer Engine Optimization) are two of the common names for this discipline. The industry hasn't fully settled on one term. We use 'AI Search Optimization' on the site because it's the clearest for business owners.
Can you guarantee I'll show up in ChatGPT? +
No — and as with traditional SEO, anyone promising you a guaranteed citation is misleading you. What we can guarantee is that we'll implement every known best practice (structured data, llms.txt, AEO-ready content, crawler access) so that your site is among the best candidates for citation. We also track the results honestly.
Do I need Local SEO first? +
Usually yes — if you're a local business. Local SEO builds the foundation of authority signals (reviews, citations, GBP) that AI systems also consume. AI Search Optimization layers on top. If you're skipping Local SEO to jump straight to AEO, you're probably leaving easier wins on the table.
Will AI search replace Google? +
Not soon, but it doesn't have to. Even if AI search takes 20% of buyer queries, that's 20% of your potential customers seeing answers generated by systems you're either part of or absent from. We treat AI search as the new fast-growing channel, not a replacement for the old one.
How often does AI search change? +
Fast. Model versions update, retrieval indexes refresh, and new AI search products launch regularly. Our monthly reporting and content updates track the changes so you're not chasing the last cycle's best practices.
What is llms.txt? +
llms.txt is a proposed standard for giving AI models a curated map of your website — the files they should prioritize when building answers about your business. It sits at /llms.txt on your root domain. We publish and maintain it for every client site.
Is this safe from AI training concerns? +
Every client site we build includes a documented robots.txt posture — you decide which AI crawlers are allowed. AI Search Optimization only targets the ones you do allow. If you want to block some and appear in others, we configure that cleanly.

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In short

Ten years ago, getting found meant ranking in Google. Today, more and more buyers ask ChatGPT, Perplexity, or Google’s AI Overviews directly — and they trust the answers those systems generate. If you’re not shaped to be cited, you’re invisible to that traffic.

AI Search Optimization is the layer we add on top of traditional SEO to make your site quotable, citable, and recommended. It’s new. It’s moving fast. And for most local and regional businesses, it’s wide open.

Start with a free audit

No pressure. No strings. Just a plan.

Tell us what you're trying to grow and what you've already tried. We review your site, your Google Business Profile, and your AI search visibility, then send back a prioritized punch list of what to fix and what to keep.

Get a free audit Email the studio

Audits are returned in writing within five business days.