GEO guide
Generative engine optimization (GEO) for local businesses
Generative engine optimization (GEO) is the work of making your business easy for AI assistants like ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude and Perplexity to find, understand, trust and recommend when they write an answer. For a local business, it comes down to four things: AI search crawlers can read your site, your business facts are identical everywhere, each service and location has a clear page, and trusted third-party sites confirm you exist.
Know your starting point before you change anything
How is GEO different from SEO?
SEO aims to rank a page in a list of search results. GEO aims to be named inside an answer the AI writes itself. Much of the groundwork is shared: Google states that the same Search eligibility and SEO practices apply to its AI features and that no special AI markup is required.
The difference is what you can observe. With SEO you can see your position. With GEO you only learn whether you were named by asking the assistants — repeatedly, because their answers vary.
What do the AI vendors actually document?
| Assistant | What its vendor documents | What it means for you |
|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT | ChatGPT can search the web and use location for local answers. OAI-SearchBot is its search crawler; GPTBot is separate and used for training. | Allow OAI-SearchBot in robots.txt. Blocking GPTBot does not remove you from ChatGPT search. |
| Perplexity | PerplexityBot surfaces sites in Perplexity search results; Perplexity-User handles user-requested fetches. | Allow PerplexityBot so your pages can be cited. |
| Claude | Claude’s web search uses current web sources with citations. ClaudeBot, Claude-User and Claude-SearchBot serve different purposes. | Allow Claude-SearchBot; training preferences are a separate choice. |
| Gemini and Google AI features | Standard Search eligibility applies; no special AI markup is required. Google’s local results weigh relevance, distance and prominence. | Keep your Google Business Profile complete and consistent with your website. |
Nobody outside these companies knows the exact weighting of any signal. Treat any tool or agency claiming a precise “AI ranking factor” with caution.
The local GEO checklist
- Allow AI search crawlers (OAI-SearchBot, PerplexityBot, Claude-SearchBot) in robots.txt.
- Use one name, address and phone number everywhere: website, Google Business Profile, Facebook and directories.
- Add LocalBusiness structured data to your homepage with your hours, address, phone and service area.
- Give every main service its own page that names the service, your city and who it is for.
- Answer the questions customers ask, in plain text near the top of the relevant page.
- Get listed accurately on the directories and review sites AI cites for your category in your city.
- Collect recent reviews on those sites.
- Measure: ask the assistants your customers’ questions several times, record who they name, fix the biggest gap, and re-check.
What about llms.txt?
llms.txt is a proposed file that summarizes a site for language models. None of the four vendors above documents using it to choose businesses for local answers, so AIRank does not score it. It does no harm, but it should not come before the checklist above.
Frequently asked questions
Is GEO the same as AI SEO or AEO?
They are overlapping names for the same goal: being included in AI-written answers. GEO (generative engine optimization), AI SEO and AEO (answer engine optimization) are used interchangeably by most people.
How long does GEO take to work?
Assistants that search the web can reflect changes once your updated pages are crawled, which can take days to weeks. Changes on third-party sites and reviews take longer. Re-check with the same questions after a few weeks.
Do I need special schema for AI?
No. Google says no special AI markup is required. Standard LocalBusiness structured data describes your business facts clearly, but it does not guarantee a mention.
Can I do GEO myself?
Yes. Every step in the checklist can be done by a business owner or their web person. AIRank’s role is to measure where you stand and tell you which step matters most for your business.
See what AI says about your business
$39 CAD per business, per report, plus applicable tax. Enter your business details, complete payment, then receive your report after it’s prepared.
See where AI ranks my businessLast updated . We use each assistant’s business-facing connection (API). Answers can differ from its app. A report records the answers collected on the assessment date; future answers may change.