You get found in ChatGPT and AI search by making your business easy for an AI to read, trust and quote: clear, factual pages that answer real questions in plain language, consistent details everywhere online, genuine reviews, and a site structured so a machine can lift a sentence and cite it as the answer. This is answer engine optimisation (AEO), the next stage on from SEO.
At Juno, this is part of the Attract stage of the engine we build, extended to cover AI answers as well as Google's ten blue links. AI marketing is what makes a business quotable to ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google's AI Overviews at the same time as it climbs the traditional rankings, built bespoke and live in 14 days.
What is answer engine optimisation (AEO)?
Answer engine optimisation is the practice of structuring your content so AI systems, ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google's AI Overviews, Gemini, Copilot, can read it, trust it, and quote it directly inside an answer. Where SEO earns you a ranking, AEO earns you a mention. Some people call the same idea GEO, generative engine optimisation. The goal is identical either way.
How is AI search different from normal Google search?
For twenty years, getting found meant ranking in a list of blue links that a person then clicked through. AI tools skip that step. They answer the question directly, often naming a small handful of businesses and stopping there. The person asking may never see a traditional results page at all.
| Traditional SEO | AI search (AEO/GEO) | |
|---|---|---|
| The goal | Rank near the top of a list | Get named inside the answer itself |
| What it rewards | Keywords, backlinks, page speed | Clarity, structure, trust signals |
| Where you win | Position one to three | A direct mention, with or without a link |
How does AI decide which businesses to mention?
AI answer engines pull from the web, and they favour sources that are clear, trustworthy and well structured. In practice that means:
- Content that directly answers the question asked, in plain language, near the top of the page.
- Clear, factual information about what you do, where, and who you help.
- A strong reputation, built from reviews, mentions and being referenced on other sites.
- Well-structured pages, with real headings and short paragraphs, that are easy for a machine to read and quote.
What does this mean for my website?
Most of what helps you in AI search also helps you in normal search, so a bespoke website built around clear answers wins in both at once.
- Write pages that answer real questions head on, FAQs included, in the first sentence rather than the fifth paragraph.
- State the facts plainly: your services, your areas, your specialisms, with no vague marketing language sitting in the way.
- Keep your information consistent everywhere, your website, your Google Business Profile, your directory listings, so the AI has no reason to doubt it.
- Earn reviews and mentions, because reputation feeds the answer as much as the words on your own page do.
This overlaps heavily with local SEO, so doing it properly pays off twice, once in Google's normal results and once in the AI answer above them.
Does normal SEO still matter if AI search is growing?
Yes. AI answer engines are still reading the web, so a fast, well-structured, well-reviewed site remains the foundation either way. Nothing here replaces SEO. It sits on top of it.
Should I act on this now, or wait?
AI search is still early, which is exactly why it's an opportunity. The businesses that make themselves clear, quotable and trusted now will be the ones AI keeps recommending as this becomes the default way people search. The ones who wait will spend years trying to catch up on a lead their competitors already have.
Getting found is no longer only about ranking. It's about being the clear, trusted answer when a person, or an AI, asks who to use.
Want your business set up to be found in Google, ChatGPT and every AI answer in between? AI marketing does exactly that. Book a free call and we'll map out what to fix first, then build it bespoke and have it live in 14 days.
Curious how visible you already are? Get your free AI visibility score and see whether Google and ChatGPT can actually find and quote your business.
Frequently asked questions
How do I get my business to show up in ChatGPT?
Make your business clear, factual and well structured online. Answer real questions on your site, keep your details consistent everywhere, and earn reviews and mentions, because AI favours trustworthy, quotable sources over vague marketing copy.
What is answer engine optimisation (AEO)?
It's the next stage on from SEO: structuring your content so AI tools like ChatGPT and Google's AI Overviews recommend your business directly inside an answer, not just rank you in a list of links.
What's the difference between AEO and GEO?
Nothing meaningful. Answer engine optimisation (AEO) and generative engine optimisation (GEO) describe the same practice, optimising content so generative AI tools cite and recommend it.
Is AI search replacing Google?
It's changing it, not replacing it. More people get a direct AI answer instead of scrolling results, but traditional search still matters, and being part of AI answers is fast becoming just as important.
Does normal SEO help with AI search?
Yes. Most of what helps you in AI search, clear content, plain facts, FAQs, reviews and a well-structured site, also helps your normal rankings, so the work pays off twice.
How much does AI search optimisation cost with Juno?
There are no fixed packages. It's built into the Attract stage of the engine, priced as a one-off setup plus a monthly fee, exact number after a free call.