Services
Get named when customers ask ChatGPT who to choose
GEO, generative engine optimization, means getting your business named when someone asks ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Claude or Copilot who to hire or where to go. AI tools repeat what many trustworthy sources say about you. We work to make sure those sources exist, agree with each other and mention you, honestly.
What is GEO?
GEO is the work of getting your business recommended by AI assistants. When someone asks “Who’s a good divorce lawyer in Columbus?” or “Who fixes hail-damaged roofs in Plano?”, the assistant names a few businesses. GEO is about being one of them. In plain English: your business gets chosen.
How do AI tools decide which businesses to name?
They lean on what the web says about you, not just on your own website. That includes your Google Business Profile, directories, review sites, local news, “best of” lists, Reddit threads and YouTube. When those sources agree on who you are and what you do, AI tools can describe you with confidence. When your hours or phone number differ from site to site, they have less reason to trust any of them.
Ahrefs studied 75,000 brands and found that mentions of a brand on other websites tracked visibility in Google’s AI Overviews more closely than backlinks did. That’s a correlation, not a recipe. It still points one way: be talked about, accurately, in the places your customers and the AI tools look.
How AI answers work
- A customer asks“Who handles DUI cases in Mesa?”
- AI engines look for an answer
- ChatGPT
- Perplexity
- Gemini
- Google AI Overviews
- They read sources
- Your website
- Reviews
- Business listings
- Directories
- The answer names a fewA few businesses get named, and the customer picks from them
Why does GEO matter for a local business?
An AI answer usually names only a few options. Someone scrolling Google can keep looking. Someone reading an AI answer often sees no one else. If your competitor is on that short list and you aren’t, you don’t get the call.
What do you do for GEO?
- Entity check (Juno): we compare your name, address, phone, hours and services across your website, Google, Bing, Apple Maps, Yelp, Facebook and the directories in your field, and fix the mismatches.
- What AI says about you: we ask the AI tools about your business by name, note any wrong facts and trace where they came from.
- The right directories for your industry: for law firms, your state bar directory, Avvo, Justia, FindLaw and Martindale-Hubbell. For contractors, Angi, Thumbtack, the BBB and the dealer or certified-contractor locators of the brands you work with. For dental practices, Healthgrades and the provider directories of the insurance plans you take. For real estate agents, Zillow, Realtor.com and your brokerage’s roster page. Every listing carries the same name, address and phone.
- A mention plan built on evidence: Otto logs which pages AI tools cite when your customers ask their questions. We start with pages where competitors appear and you don’t, then local lists, news and associations. Each target gets an honest reason you belong there.
- Citable facts on your site (Penn): years in business, areas served, fee or price ranges, licenses, certifications and the brands you install or use. Specific facts are easier for AI tools to repeat.
- Structured data and profile links (Sage): code that ties your website to your real profiles, so AI tools connect them to the same business.
What won’t you do for GEO?
- Write fake reviews or post as customers.
- Create fake “best of” lists, or put you first on your own list.
- Post on Reddit or forums under fake names.
- Buy placements without a visible “sponsored” label.
- Spam directories with duplicate listings.
What do you need from me?
- Your facts, confirmed in writing: name, address, phone, hours, services and any prices you’re happy to show.
- A list of the profiles and listings you already have, so we fix them rather than duplicate them.
- Real material we can pitch: a story, local data, an expert view, an event.
- Approval for each listing or outreach email before it goes out.
How do you measure GEO?
With a hand-run check each month. Otto asks a short list of your most important customer questions in ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and Google AI Overviews, and logs:
- Who got named, and whether you were one of them.
- Which sources were cited, where the AI tool shows them.
AI answers vary from run to run, so one result proves little. We report the patterns over several months, not single results.
Frequently asked questions
Can you guarantee ChatGPT will recommend my business?
No. Nobody controls what AI tools say, and answers change from one run to the next. We can make the facts about you clear, consistent and widely mentioned, and show you each month what the AI tools actually say.
Can you pay ChatGPT to recommend your business?
No. OpenAI says ads don’t influence ChatGPT’s answers: they run on systems separate from the chat model, and advertisers can’t shape, rank or alter its responses. What some businesses can buy is an ad. Since February 2026, OpenAI has been testing ads for users on its Free and Go plans, shown below a response and labeled as ads. Its ad policy decides who may run them: local services are among the categories accepted during the test, while legal, health and financial advertisers face extra rules. An ad isn’t a recommendation, and it doesn’t put you inside the answer. Being named in the answer is the work GEO does. We checked OpenAI’s help center and ad policy on 17 October 2026; both change, so we check again before advising you.
Why does ChatGPT recommend my competitor and not me?
Usually because more sources mention them, and those sources agree. Sometimes the AI can’t confirm your details because your listings disagree. The free snapshot shows who gets named for a handful of your customers’ questions and gives three reasons you can fix.
Is GEO different from SEO?
They overlap a lot. SEO focuses on your own site and Google’s rankings. GEO puts more weight on what other sites say about you. The foundation is the same: a site that can be read, facts that match everywhere, and real reasons for people to mention you.
Can you post about us on Reddit?
No. Hidden promotion breaks community rules and the trust you’re trying to earn. If you want to answer questions on Reddit under your own name, we can point you to the threads and draft helpful replies for you to post. Law firms get general information only, with a “not legal advice” line, reviewed by a lawyer.
How long before AI tools start naming us?
We can’t promise a date. Each AI tool refreshes what it knows at its own pace, and some lean on Google or Bing results that move over weeks or months. We check every month, so you can see whether it’s moving.
Free AI Visibility Snapshot
We ask ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and Google AI Overviews the questions your customers ask, and show you who gets recommended and why.