Showing up in ChatGPT and Perplexity answers

More and more people ask their questions straight to an AI: “which web designer in Wallonia for a WordPress site?”, “how much does a business website cost?”. When the assistant answers, it cites a few sources. Being one of them is what’s called GEO (Generative Engine Optimization).

The good news: GEO doesn’t replace traditional SEO, it extends it. A website Google already understands well starts with a head start. Here is what I put in place on the websites I build.

1. Be findable by the search engines AI tools rely on

Assistants that browse the web rely on search indexes. ChatGPT uses Bing in particular, Perplexity combines several sources, and Google’s AI Overviews are based on Google’s own index.

• Register your website in Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools, with your sitemap.
• Don’t block useful crawlers in your robots.txt file. Some themes or plugins block them without you knowing.
• Check that your key pages are indexed: a page missing from the indexes has no chance of being cited.

2. Answer specific questions, one per page

An AI looks for a passage that clearly answers the question asked. Pages that “cover everything” are rarely cited.

• One page per service, saying what you do, for whom, where and how.
• An FAQ where each question has its own answer: short and direct first, detailed after.
• Headings that repeat the question the way people ask it: “How much does a custom website cost?” rather than “Our prices”.

3. Say clearly who you are

An AI won’t recommend a business it can’t place. Your website must answer, without ambiguity: who, what, where, since when.

• An About page with your name, your background and the area you cover.
• The same information everywhere: website, Google Business Profile, LinkedIn, directories. Contact details that contradict each other blur the signal.
• Structured data (schema.org) describing your business, its founder and its services in a format machines read directly.

4. Get mentioned beyond your own website

AI tools cross-check sources. A business mentioned by other websites (customers, partners, local press, professional directories) earns more trust than one that only talks about itself.

Ask your customers and partners for a link to your website, and keep your external profiles up to date.

5. Measure, without panicking

There is no “Search Console” for AI yet. The simplest approach: regularly ask ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google the questions your customers ask, note whether you appear, and look at which pages are cited instead of yours. They show you what your site is missing.

In short

GEO isn’t just another technical trick: it’s a clear, structured, consistent website that answers your customers’ real questions. That’s exactly what works for Google too, and for your visitors.

Want to know if your website is ready for AI answers? Write to me and I’ll tell you what’s missing.