Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO): How to Get Your Business Recommended by ChatGPT, Gemini and Google AI Mode

Updated 24 October 2026.

A founder asks ChatGPT, "Who can build an MVP and run the launch marketing for a startup in Bangalore?" A parent in Shivamogga asks Gemini, "Which online coding course is good for a BCA student?" A traveller asks Google's AI Mode, "Homestays near Jog Falls with good food and parking?"

Each answer names a few businesses. Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO), also called answer engine optimisation or LLM SEO, is the work of being one of them.

Why GEO matters in 2026

• AI answers are everywhere: Google AI Overviews and AI Mode (now in Kannada and other Indian languages), ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Copilot and Meta AI
• AI ads have arrived: ChatGPT ads launched in India in August 2026, which shows how valuable these conversations have become
• Google is adding more links to AI answers and testing an official websites section (October 2026 update)
• AI visitors are measurable now: Search Console reports AI impressions, and Gemini has started tagging some links (tracking guide)

How AI assistants choose what to say

Simplified, most assistants answer using a mix of:

1. What they learned in training (older, general knowledge)
2. What they retrieve live: search results, web pages, listings and reviews they can access when answering

To be recommended, your business needs to be findable (crawlable pages and listings), understandable (clear facts about who you are and what you do), and trustworthy (reviews, consistency, mentions on other reputable sites).

12 practical GEO steps

Foundations: be understandable

1. State your entity clearly. On your homepage and About page: business name, what you do, who you serve, where, since when, and who runs it. Use the same wording everywhere.
2. Add structured data. Organization or LocalBusiness/ProfessionalService schema with name, logo, contact, address or service area and social profiles; FAQ and Article schema where relevant.
3. Keep details consistent across your website, Google Business Profile, LinkedIn, Instagram, Justdial, IndiaMART and industry directories.

Content: be quotable

4. One page per service and per important question. "Website design cost in Shivamogga", "MVP development cost in India", "MERN vs DevOps". Specific pages get cited; vague ones don't.
5. Answer first. Open each page with a direct, factual two-sentence answer, then explain.
6. Use tables, steps and numbers. Prices or price ranges, timelines, comparisons, eligibility. AI answers love structured facts.
7. Add key takeaways. A short list of standalone statements at the top of guides. Our own blog does this on every post.
8. Show experience. Real examples, local detail, named authors and dates. Generic, AI-written text without anything new is unlikely to be cited.

Access: be readable

9. Allow reputable AI crawlers in robots.txt (for example GPTBot and OAI-SearchBot for OpenAI, PerplexityBot, and Google-Extended for Gemini model use) unless you have a reason not to. Make sure important content is in the HTML, not only loaded by JavaScript.
10. Publish an llms.txt file: a plain Markdown summary of your business and key pages for AI systems. It's an emerging convention, not an official standard, but it's cheap to add. Our site generates llms.txt and llms-full.txt automatically from the same data as our pages.

Trust: be recommendable

11. Earn reviews and mentions. Google reviews that mention services, listings on reputable directories, local news, partner pages, podcasts and community posts. AI assistants weigh what others say about you. See how to get Google reviews.
12. Keep everything current. Outdated prices, closed branches or old phone numbers lead to wrong AI answers. Review key facts quarterly.

Measuring GEO

• Ask the assistants monthly: 10 questions customers would ask; note whether you're mentioned and whether facts are right
• Search Console: generative AI report where available (guide)
• GA4: an "AI assistants" channel for ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Copilot referrals (guide)
• Enquiries: ask new customers "how did you find us?" and add "ChatGPT/AI" as an option on your form

GEO myths

• "GEO replaces SEO." No. Most AI answers rely on the same signals that make pages rank: relevance, quality, trust. GEO is SEO with more emphasis on clarity and entity information.
• "You can buy your way into ChatGPT's answers." Ads are separate and labelled. Organic recommendations have to be earned.
• "Publishing hundreds of AI-written pages will work." It's more likely to trigger spam systems. See the September 2026 spam update.
• "llms.txt guarantees citations." It helps AI read you; it doesn't make you recommendable.

GEO for local businesses vs startups

• Local businesses (clinics, cafés, coaching, homestays): focus on Google Business Profile, reviews and service pages. See AI Overviews and AI Mode for local businesses.
• Startups and SaaS: focus on comparison pages, clear pricing, documentation, case studies, and being mentioned in communities, reviews and press.

Where we fit

We build websites that are ready for AI search from the start: clear entity pages, structured data, answer-first content, AI crawler access, an auto-generated llms.txt, and tracking for AI referrals. See SEO services, website development and local SEO in Shivamogga.

Want AI assistants to recommend your business? Get a free launch plan.

Sources

• Google: AI Mode and AI Overviews updates (Oct 2026)
• llmstxt.org: the llms.txt proposal
• Search Engine Journal: Gemini adds UTM parameters