AI Search Optimization (AEO)
Help ChatGPT, Gemini, Google AI and the other assistants find your business, understand it and mention it when customers ask.
- Google AI Overviews
- Google AI Mode
- ChatGPT
- Gemini
- Perplexity
- Microsoft Copilot
- Claude
- Grok
- Meta AI
People Are Asking AI Now
A homeowner with a leaking water heater used to type “plumber near me” into Google and scroll through ten blue links. More and more, that same person opens ChatGPT or reads the AI summary at the top of Google and asks, “Who’s a reliable plumber in my area that can come out today?”
If your business isn’t in that answer, the customer may never see you at all. AI Search Optimization, also called Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) or Generative Engine Optimization (GEO), is the work of making your business easy for these tools to find, trust and recommend.
The AI gives one answer. Maybe three names. Not a page of options.
The AI Engines We Optimize For
Each assistant gathers information a little differently, so we look at all of them.
Google AI Overviews
The AI summary shown above regular Google results. It draws on Google's search index, so strong traditional SEO still matters here.
Google AI Mode
Google's conversational search tab. It also works from Google's index and tends to pull in several sources to build a longer answer.
ChatGPT and ChatGPT Search
ChatGPT answers from what it learned in training, and ChatGPT search looks up current web pages. Bing-indexed results are among the sources it uses.
Gemini
Google's AI assistant. It can use Google Search to ground its answers, so your Google presence feeds into it.
Perplexity
Perplexity searches the live web for each question and shows its sources as links. Clear, well-cited pages tend to get picked up.
Microsoft Copilot
Built into Windows, Edge and Bing. It draws on Bing search results, which makes your Bing presence worth checking.
Claude
Anthropic's assistant. When web search is turned on, it looks up current pages and cites them.
Grok
The assistant from xAI, built into X. It can pull from the web and from posts on X.
Meta AI
Found inside Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. It can pull in web results when answering questions about local businesses.
How AEO Relates to SEO
AEO builds on SEO. It doesn’t replace it.
Most AI engines rely on search indexes and the same trusted sources that help you rank on Google. A site with weak SEO is hard for AI to find. A site with good SEO but vague, scattered information is hard for AI to summarize. We work on both.
What We Do
Entity and Schema Markup
We add structured data to your site that spells out who you are, what you do, where you serve and how to reach you. That gives machines a clean set of facts instead of making them guess.
Answer-Ready Content
We write pages that answer the questions your customers actually ask: FAQs, clear service details, service areas, hours, and plain comparisons of your options. Short, direct answers are easier for AI to quote.
Citations and Reviews
AI engines check what other sites say about you. We clean up and build your presence on Google Business Profile, directories, review sites and local listings, so your name, address, phone and services match everywhere.
Technical Access
If AI tools can't read your site, they can't cite it. We make sure your pages are crawlable, AI crawlers are allowed in your robots.txt, and your pages load fast.
Tracking AI Answers Over Time
We regularly ask the major AI engines the questions your customers ask and record what comes back. You'll see whether you're mentioned, how you're described and who shows up instead.
How It Works
1.Free AI Visibility Check
We'll ask ChatGPT, Gemini and Google AI about your business and show you what they say. Sometimes it's accurate. Sometimes it's outdated, thin or names a competitor.
2.A Custom Plan
Based on what we find, we build a plan for your business, your market and your goals. No cookie-cutter packages.
3.Monthly Reporting
Every month you get a report showing what AI engines say about you, what changed and what we worked on, alongside the leads and calls your marketing brings in.
Why Local Blitz
AEO is new. Search isn’t, and we’ve been doing search marketing for a long time. Here’s what our SEO work has delivered for clients:
195%
more organic callsfor a healthcare client
SEO result
69.68%
increase in lead flowfor an automotive client
SEO result
31.48%
growth in search visibilityfor a manufacturing client
SEO result
Those are SEO results, and they’re the foundation AI search draws on. We also have clients who have stayed with us for more than five years, and a 5.0-star rating from 74 reviews.
You’ll get a plan built for your business, and reporting that shows the leads and calls coming in, in plain terms.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is AEO?
AEO stands for Answer Engine Optimization. It's the work of helping AI tools like ChatGPT, Gemini and Google AI Overviews find accurate information about your business and include you in their answers. You may also hear it called GEO, or Generative Engine Optimization.
Is AEO different from SEO?
They overlap a lot. SEO helps you rank in search results, and AEO helps AI tools understand and mention you in their answers. Since most AI engines lean on search indexes and trusted websites, good SEO is the starting point for AEO.
Does my business need it?
If your customers ask AI tools for recommendations, then yes, it's worth knowing what those tools say about you. The free AI Visibility Check is a simple way to find out where you stand before you spend anything.
Which AI engines matter most?
It depends on your customers. Google AI Overviews reach anyone searching on Google, and ChatGPT has a very large user base. We check all the major engines and focus on the ones that matter for your market.
How long does it take?
Some fixes, like correcting your business details or allowing AI crawlers, can be done quickly. Building content, reviews and citations that AI engines trust takes months, much like SEO. We'll track progress monthly so you can see what's changing.
Can you guarantee ChatGPT will recommend us?
No, and no one honestly can. AI engines decide their own answers, and those answers change over time. What we can do is improve the information AI tools rely on and show you each month how they're describing your business.
See What AI Says About Your Business
Ask yourself: if a customer asked ChatGPT about your service today, would your name come up? Let’s find out together.
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