AI search: how to get ChatGPT, Gemini and Google to recommend your brand

More and more people don't "google" anymore: they ask an AI. "What's the best therapy clinic in Aguadilla?", "Which store in Puerto Rico sells certified watches?". Answers from ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity or Google's AI summaries mention some brands and not others. The discipline of making your brand one of the mentioned ones is known as GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) or AEO (Answer Engine Optimization).

For a small or mid‑size business this isn't a futuristic topic. Customers are already showing up saying "ChatGPT recommended you", and the vast majority of businesses on the island still haven't done anything about it. That's the window.

How it's similar to traditional SEO, and how it isn't

The good news: the foundation is the same. These tools draw heavily on the web, so a well‑built, fast website with useful content is still the starting point.

The difference is the answer format. Instead of a list of ten links, the user gets a paragraph with a few sources. To be in it, your content has to be easy to understand, cite and summarize.

	Traditional SEO	GEO / AI search
What the user sees	A list of links	A written answer with a few sources
What you're after	Ranking and clicks	Being mentioned and cited
Type of query	Short keywords	Long, conversational questions
What matters most	Relevance, links, technical expertise	Clarity, specificity and consistency across sources

Another practical difference: the questions people ask an AI are longer and more specific. Nobody types "jewelry Ponce" into ChatGPT; they type "I need a jeweler in Ponce that repairs automatic watches and is open on Saturdays". Your content has to answer at that level of detail.

1. Answer concrete questions directly

Think about the real questions your customers ask and answer them clearly on your website:

• Use the question as a subheading and answer it in the first two sentences.
• Then expand with details, examples and nuance.
• A well‑written FAQ section on every service page is gold.

Where to find the questions

You don't have to guess. The best questions are already in your business:

• Your WhatsApp, Messenger and Instagram messages from the last few months.
• What people ask on the phone before buying or booking.
• The doubts that come up in your reviews.
• The objections your sales team hears: price, timing, warranty, whether you take health insurance, whether you serve customers in English.

Make a list, group them by topic and turn them into content. A good answer is direct, honest and concrete: if the price depends on something, explain what it depends on and give a reference range.

2. Be specific: names, places and your own data

AI tools prefer concrete, verifiable information. "We see patients in Aguadilla, Isabela and Moca, in person and online" is more useful than "we serve the whole region". If you have your own data (delivery times, warranties, processes, certifications), publish it.

Some examples of what's worth putting in writing on your website:

• The towns and areas you serve, by name.
• Hours, payment methods, health plans or insurance you accept.
• Brands you sell or are certified with.
• What your process looks like, step by step, and how long it takes.
• Who your service is not for. That clarity helps the AI recommend you to the right customer.

3. Build authority beyond your website

AI tools cross‑check sources. Make sure your brand appears consistently in:

• Your Google Business Profile and relevant directories.
• Local media, associations and industry blogs.
• Reviews on different platforms.
• Social media with the same business description.

The more trustworthy sources say the same thing about you, the more likely the AI is to repeat it.

Not every tool uses the same index. Some lean more on Google, others on Bing or other sources. That's why it pays to keep Bing Places and Apple Business Connect up to date too, not just Google. And mentions in real conversations (forums, groups, island media) count: an interview in a regional outlet or a mention on your professional association's page is worth more than ten generic directories.

4. Show who's behind it

Sign articles with a name and expertise, have a complete "About" page and link your professional profiles. Demonstrable experience is a trust signal for both Google and AI models.

In practice, that means saying who you are, how many years you've been at it, which licenses or certifications you hold and what kinds of cases you've handled (without naming clients unless you have permission). A brand with a real name and face is easier to recommend than an anonymous one.

5. Make the technical side easy

• Use structured data (local business, articles, FAQs, products).
• Keep your site fast and accessible, with no important content hidden in images.
• Don't accidentally block legitimate crawlers in your robots.txt; review that setting deliberately.

AI crawlers: decide on purpose

Each AI company uses its own crawlers, and some separate the one that trains models from the one that fetches information to answer in real time. You can allow one and block another. My recommendation for most local businesses: allow the search crawlers, because they're the ones that can put you in an answer. If your hosting provider or firewall blocks bots by default, check that you're not shutting out exactly the ones you want.

You'll also see recommendations to create an llms.txt file. It's a proposal that still doesn't have clear adoption among the major platforms; it does no harm, but it's not a priority compared with everything above.

Common mistakes

• Publishing generic AI‑written content with no data of your own or real experience. That's exactly what AI tools have no need to cite.
• Having different information on your website, Google and social media (hours, services, phone).
• Hiding prices, service areas or processes behind "call us for more information".
• Obsessing over formatting tricks and forgetting the basics: reviews, a complete profile and useful content.

How to know if you're being mentioned

Run the test: ask several AI tools about your category and town, the way a customer would. Write down who shows up and which sources they cite. Repeat monthly. It's a manual measurement, but it tells you a lot about where you stand and which sources to work on.

To do it in an orderly way:

1. Write five to ten real questions, in Spanish and in English.
2. Ask them in the same tools every month, ideally while logged out so your history doesn't influence the result.
3. Note whether you appear, where in the answer, and which sources are cited.
4. Check your analytics for visits coming from AI tools; many can already be identified by their source.

If the same directory or outlet keeps getting cited, there's your next task: get into that source.

Bottom line

GEO doesn't replace SEO: it extends it. Clear content that answers real questions, consistent presence in trustworthy sources and a brand with a real name and face. Brands that start now will have the edge when AI search becomes the norm.

FAQ

Do I need to stop doing traditional SEO to focus on GEO?

No. Most AI tools rely on the web and on search engines, so good SEO is the foundation of GEO. What changes is the emphasis: more clarity, more specificity and more presence in other sources.

Can I pay for ChatGPT or Gemini to recommend my business?

Organic answers can't be bought. Some platforms are adding advertising, but it's presented separately from the answer. The way to show up in the recommendation itself is what I describe in this article.

How long does it take to see an effect?

There's no fixed timeline, because each tool refreshes its sources at its own pace. As a general rule, work in quarters and measure monthly; changes to your website and profiles usually show up sooner than the authority you build outside them.

Does this apply to a small hometown business?

Yes, and sometimes that's where it shows fastest. In local categories with little published information, a business that clearly explains what it does and where it does it has a good chance of being the one the AI mentions.

Share: LinkedIn · Facebook · X · WhatsApp

← Back to blog