AI SEO & Answer Engine Optimisation

Search is splitting in two

For twenty years, SEO meant ranking on page one of Google. SparkToro and Similarweb research from 2026 found that 68% of US Google searches now end without a click to any website. A growing share of that behaviour has moved to ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews, Claude, Gemini and Microsoft Copilot.

Some call this answer engine optimisation (AEO), others generative engine optimisation (GEO) or LLM optimisation. If an AI assistant can't confidently describe what you do, you're invisible in that conversation, however well you rank in classic search.

What LLM SEO involves

LLM SEO makes your content legible to a model that will never render your page. That means clean semantic HTML, headings that answer a question, facts stated in full sentences, and structured data that agrees with the visible copy.

Models retrieve passages, not pages, so a claim locked inside an image or carousel does not exist for them. Most of these changes also make the page better for a human in a hurry.

AEO and GEO: the difference

AEO is about being the source an assistant cites when someone asks a direct question. GEO shapes how a model describes your category, your competitors and you when nobody has asked about you by name. AEO rewards precise, well-structured answers; GEO rewards corroboration across sources a model already trusts.

We run both in one engagement, because doing either alone leaves the other exposed.

Pricing, access and ownership

• →No lock-in: a 3-month minimum so the work has time to land, then month to month.
• →Direct access to the person doing the work, not an account manager.
• →Client ownership — custom schema, structured data, and on-page assets belong to you upon deployment and remain yours if the engagement concludes.

When each stage lands

Google's own former Search spokesperson, Maile Ohye, put it plainly: "In most cases, SEOs need four months to a year to help your business first implement improvements and then see potential benefit." Our schedule sits inside that window, and we won't quote you anything faster. Engagements run on a 3-month minimum, then continue month to month.

1. Weeks 1–2 — AI visibility audit. Deliverable: a benchmark of how ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, Gemini and Google AI Overviews describe your business, scored against named competitors, with a prioritised fix list. Outcome: you know where you stand before a euro goes into execution.
2. Weeks 2–4 — Structure & schema. Deliverable: entity and organisation schema deployed, site structure rebuilt for machine extraction, indexing verified in Search Console. Outcome: crawlers can state unambiguous facts about who you are and what you sell.
3. Weeks 4–8 — Content engineered for extraction. Deliverable: priority pages rewritten in direct, liftable language, with question-shaped headings and source-backed claims. Outcome: first technical and indexing movement typically shows here, with impressions and crawl stability before rankings.
4. Months 3–6 — Mentions & authority. Deliverable: coordinated digital PR, third-party citations and monthly AI mention tracking across all five assistants. Outcome: the window where measurable traction normally appears: non-brand clicks, ranking clusters and the first AI citations.
5. Months 6–12 — Compounding. Deliverable: continued content and citation building against what the tracking proves is working. Outcome: gains stack rather than reset. Ahrefs' study of new pages found only 5.7% reach page one inside a year, which is why this phase exists.

What's included

• →AI visibility audit across five major assistants, benchmarked against named competitors
• →Entity, organisation and product schema deployed and validated
• →Priority pages rewritten for clean machine extraction
• →Coordinated third-party mentions and citation building
• →3 DFY Custom Claude Skills in month one — included
• →Monthly AI mention tracking, reporting and a review call
• →Search Console and indexing verification throughout

What we will not promise

We won't guarantee a ChatGPT citation, a ranking position, or a date. A ranking or citation guarantee is not something anyone can honestly give, because the engines decide. What is contractually committed is the work above — audit, schema, content, citations and tracking — delivered according to phased onboarding milestones, with monthly evidence of what moved.

Common Questions

What is AI SEO / answer engine optimisation?

AI SEO, or answer engine optimisation, is the practice of making your business easy for AI assistants like ChatGPT and Perplexity to find, understand and cite. It is distinct from, but complementary to, traditional Google SEO. It is also called AEO, GEO or LLM optimisation.

How is this different from traditional SEO?

Traditional SEO optimises for ranking algorithms and click-through; AI SEO optimises for extraction and trust. The test is whether a language model can confidently lift a fact about your business into its answer, and has reason to trust it.

How long until I see results?

Expect four months to a year, per Google's own guidance from former Search spokesperson Maile Ohye. Weeks 1–2 bring the audit and schema work. Weeks 4–8, technical and indexing signals move. Months 3–6 is where measurable traction usually appears, and months 6–12 is where it compounds. Ahrefs found only 5.7% of new pages reach page one inside a year. A faster promise is not one anyone can honestly make, because the engines decide.

Do you guarantee a mention in ChatGPT or Perplexity?

No. Nobody controls what an AI assistant cites. What is committed is the audit, schema, content and citation work that makes citation possible, tracked monthly so you can see exactly what changed.

What's included in the AI visibility audit?

It benchmarks how ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, Gemini and Google AI Overviews currently describe your business. It also compares you against named competitors, so the plan is built on priorities rather than guesswork.

How do you track AI citations when Google Analytics doesn't show LLM referrals?

Tracking is built into the engagement, because standard analytics barely registers assistant traffic. Each month we check AI mentions across ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, Gemini and Google AI Overviews, alongside Search Console impressions and referral patterns. Movement is measured at the answer engines, not inferred from a gap in GA4.

Can you correct inaccurate information an AI assistant gives about my business?

Often, yes, over time. Wrong answers usually trace back to weak or conflicting entity signals. The fix is the work this service already does: unambiguous schema, consistent facts across your site, and credible third-party citations that outweigh the stale source. It's a correction process, not an overnight edit.

Does AI SEO replace our classic Google rankings work?

No, it extends it. The clean structure, schema and authority signals that help a language model cite you also strengthen classic rankings. The work compounds across both surfaces rather than competing for budget.

Does this work for eCommerce product pages, or just B2B content?

Both. The same schema and extraction principles apply to a B2B research question and to a "what's the best product for X" shopping query.

What happens to the work if we pause or stop?

It keeps working. The schema, rewritten pages, skills, citations and tracking setup are yours upon deployment. Authority built into your domain doesn't reset when an engagement ends. That's why the engagement runs on a 3-month minimum, then month to month, rather than a longer contract.

Related

• →Want to see how AI assistants describe three named competitors first? See the Competitor Snapshot.
• →Serving a local area? See Local AI Search & Google Business Profile.
• →Need third-party mentions to build authority? See Press Releases & Digital PR.
• →Not sure where you stand? Get your Free AI Audit.