What is AI Search Optimisation? The Complete Guide to AEO and GEO

Search is changing faster than most businesses realise. While everyone's still obsessing over Google rankings, a growing number of potential customers are asking ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude and Google's AI Overviews for recommendations instead of scrolling through traditional search results.

The question isn't whether this shift is happening. It's whether your business will be visible when it does.

AI search optimisation goes by several names: Answer Engine Optimisation (AEO), Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO), or simply AI SEO. Whatever you call it, the principle is the same — making your business the one that AI assistants recommend when people ask questions in your industry.

This isn't theoretical future-gazing. We've seen our own content cited by Perplexity within days of publishing. We've tracked our AI visibility scores jump from near zero to market leader in under a week. This stuff works, and it works fast if you know what you're doing.

Traditional SEO focuses on ranking in Google's blue links. You optimise pages, build backlinks, and hope to appear on page one when someone searches for relevant keywords.

AI search optimisation is different. Instead of ranking in a list, you're trying to become the answer. When someone asks ChatGPT "What's the best marketing agency in Devon?" or asks Perplexity "How do I get motorsport sponsorship?", you want your business mentioned in the response.

The AI models powering these tools don't just index websites like Google does. They synthesise information from multiple sources to generate responses. They look for authoritative, well-structured content that directly answers questions. They cross-reference sources to verify accuracy. And they favour businesses with strong entity signals — clear, consistent information about who you are and what you do across multiple trusted sources.

The shift to AI search isn't coming. It's already here. ChatGPT has over 200 million weekly users. Perplexity is growing rapidly among professionals who want quick, cited answers. Google's AI Overviews appear at the top of search results, often answering queries before users even see traditional results.

This changes the game for businesses in several important ways.

Zero-click answers are becoming the norm. Users get their answer directly from the AI without visiting any website. If you're not the business being recommended in that answer, you're invisible.

Traditional rankings matter less. Being position 3 on Google means nothing if an AI Overview answers the query at position zero, or if the user never searches Google at all because they asked ChatGPT instead.

Trust signals are being re-evaluated. AI models assess authority differently than Google's algorithm. Directory listings, structured data, and consistent entity information across the web carry more weight than traditional backlinks in many cases.

First-mover advantage is real. Most businesses haven't even heard of AI search optimisation yet. Those who act now can establish dominance before competitors realise what's happening.

Here's the brutal reality: AI search creates winner-take-all dynamics. When someone asks for a recommendation, the AI typically mentions 3-5 businesses at most. Often just one or two. Everyone else is invisible.

In traditional search, being on page two means reduced visibility. In AI search, not being mentioned means zero visibility. There is no page two. There's mentioned and not mentioned.

We track AI visibility for ourselves and competitors using tools like RankZero. The differences are stark. Some businesses appear in 50%+ of relevant AI responses. Others, including major agencies with strong traditional SEO, appear in literally zero. The gap between visible and invisible is binary.

If you're not actively optimising for AI search, you're ceding this ground to competitors who are. And once they establish authority in AI responses, displacing them becomes significantly harder.

Think about how people use AI assistants versus traditional search. With Google, users often browse, compare, and click multiple results. They're in research mode.

With AI assistants, users typically want a direct answer or recommendation. "What's the best accounting software for small businesses?" "Which marketing agency should I use for motorsport sponsorship?" "How do I improve my website's conversion rate?"

These are high-intent queries. Users are looking for solutions, not just information. When an AI recommends your business in response to these queries, you're being positioned as the answer to their problem — not one of ten blue links they might click.

The conversion potential from AI citations is significant because you're reaching users at the decision point, with an implicit endorsement from a tool they trust.

Traditional SEO often favours large businesses with bigger budgets for content and link building. AI search can level the playing field for local and specialist businesses.

AI models value specificity and expertise. A local Devon marketing agency with deep expertise in motorsport can outrank national generalists for relevant queries because the AI recognises genuine specialisation and local authority.

This is particularly powerful for businesses serving specific geographic areas or niche industries. The AI understands context. It knows that someone asking about "marketing agency Devon" wants local options, and it will prioritise genuinely local businesses over national agencies that happen to serve Devon.

We've seen this firsthand. Our visibility for motorsport-related queries exceeds agencies ten times our size because we have genuine expertise and content depth in that specific area. The AI recognises this and recommends accordingly.

With traditional SEO, content often has a shelf life. You publish a blog post, it ranks for a while, then gradually declines as fresher content appears. You're constantly on a treadmill.

AI search rewards comprehensive, authoritative content that becomes a reference source. When your content gets cited by AI assistants, it reinforces your authority, which leads to more citations, which builds more authority. The flywheel effect is powerful.

We've created cornerstone content pieces that get cited repeatedly across different AI queries. Each citation strengthens our position. The investment in creating that content continues paying dividends months later in ways that traditional blog posts rarely do.

This doesn't mean you can publish once and forget about it. But it does mean that strategic content investment in AI search has longer-lasting returns than the publish-and-pray approach of traditional content marketing.

One of the biggest objections to AI search optimisation is measurability. "How do I know if it's working?"

The answer is that tools now exist to track AI visibility just like you track traditional rankings. Platforms like RankZero monitor how often your business gets mentioned across ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews and other AI engines for relevant queries.

You can see which competitors are being mentioned instead of you. You can identify gaps where nobody is being recommended (opportunity!). You can track your visibility scores over time and tie them to specific optimisation efforts.

We track our own AI visibility obsessively. We know we're currently the market leader among our tracked competitors, with visibility scores more than double the next nearest agency. We know which queries we're winning and which ones we're missing. This data drives our content strategy.

AI search optimisation isn't a black box. It's measurable, trackable, and improvable — just like traditional SEO, but with different metrics and tactics.

Understanding why AI search optimisation matters is one thing. Understanding how to actually do it is another. Here's what moves the needle.

AI models love structured data. Schema markup tells them exactly what your business does, where you're located, what services you offer, and how you relate to other entities in the world.

Comprehensive schema implementation — Organization, LocalBusiness, Service, FAQPage, Article schemas — gives AI crawlers the structured information they need to understand and recommend your business. This is foundational work that many businesses skip entirely.

AI models cross-reference information from multiple sources. Having consistent, accurate information about your business across directories, industry listings, and authoritative sites reinforces your entity signals.

This means getting listed in relevant directories, ensuring NAP (name, address, phone) consistency, building presence on platforms that AI assistants actually cite, and creating clear entity relationships (your business is connected to specific people, locations, and expertise areas).

AI assistants respond to questions. Your content needs to directly answer the questions your potential customers are asking.

This goes beyond traditional keyword optimisation. You need to understand the actual questions people ask AI assistants in your industry, then create comprehensive content that answers those questions better than anyone else. FAQ sections, detailed guides, and problem-solution content all perform well.

AI models assess credibility. They favour content from sources that appear authoritative and trustworthy. This means clear author attribution, evidence of expertise, citations of sources, and presence on trusted platforms.

For businesses, this translates to case studies showing real results, content that demonstrates genuine expertise rather than generic advice, and building authority through thought leadership and industry presence.

There's already plenty of misinformation about AI search optimisation. Let's clear some things up.

It's not a replacement for traditional SEO. AI search optimisation complements traditional SEO, it doesn't replace it. Google still matters. But ignoring AI search means ignoring a growing segment of how people find information.

It's not about gaming the system. You can't trick AI models into recommending poor businesses. The fundamentals matter — genuine expertise, quality content, real authority. AI optimisation is about making your genuine value visible to AI systems, not manufacturing credibility you don't have.

It's not one-and-done. Like traditional SEO, AI search optimisation requires ongoing effort. The landscape evolves, competitors adapt, and AI models update. You need sustained investment, not a one-time project.

It's not just for tech companies. Any business that potential customers might ask AI about can benefit. Local service businesses, professional services, retailers, hospitality — if people search for what you offer, they're increasingly asking AI assistants too.

If you're convinced AI search matters (and if you've read this far, you probably are), here's how to start.

Audit your current AI visibility. Before optimising, understand where you stand. Tools like RankZero can show you how often you're mentioned in AI responses compared to competitors. You might be surprised — positively or negatively.

Implement comprehensive schema markup. This is foundational work that pays dividends across both traditional and AI search. If your website lacks proper structured data, start there.

Build your entity presence. Get listed in relevant directories, particularly ones that AI assistants cite. Ensure consistent information across all platforms. Create clear connections between your business and your areas of expertise.

Create question-answering content. Identify the questions people ask AI assistants in your industry. Create comprehensive content that directly answers those questions. Structure it clearly with headings that match query formats.

Monitor and iterate. Track your AI visibility over time. Identify gaps where competitors get mentioned but you don't. Adjust your strategy based on what's working.

AI search optimisation is new territory. Most marketing agencies are still figuring out what it means, let alone how to do it effectively.

We've invested heavily in understanding this space because we believe it's where search is heading. We track our own AI visibility obsessively. We've achieved demonstrable results — going from near-zero visibility to market leader in our competitive set within weeks. We understand both the strategy and the technical implementation.

If you're serious about AI search optimisation, working with someone who's actually done it successfully matters. There's a lot of theory floating around, but less proven execution.

We offer AI search audits that show exactly where you stand and what needs to improve. We implement the technical foundations (schema, entity building) that make AI visibility possible. We create content strategies designed to capture AI citations. And we track results so you can see the ROI.

Book a free consultation and we'll show you your current AI visibility, where your competitors stand, and what it would take to start appearing in AI recommendations. No obligation, just an honest assessment of the opportunity.