Is your business showing up when people ask AI?

When someone asks ChatGPT or Google "where can I buy hydraulic hose near Atlanta" or "who's a good plumber near me," they don't get a list of links. They get an answer. Your business is either part of that answer or it isn't.

Ranking on Google still matters. It just isn't the whole picture anymore.

How is it different from SEO?

SEO gets your website onto the Google results page. GEO gets your business mentioned in the answer AI gives before anyone clicks anything.

They work together. GEO builds on SEO. If your SEO is weak, GEO won't fix it. If your SEO is solid, GEO takes it further.

Where this shows up

Google AI Overviews: the summary at the top of Google results
ChatGPT
Perplexity
Google Gemini
Microsoft Copilot

What gets a business recommended by AI

AI doesn't recommend generic. If your about page sounds like every other company in your industry, AI skips it. Same for a product page that's just a spec list, or a blog post anyone could have written.

What gets picked up is content that's specific and useful.

An about page that actually says something

Who you are, what problem you solve, and why you know what you're talking about. Not just a tagline and the year you opened.

Product and service pages that answer real questions

Customers have questions before they ever know a product name: What do I need? What happens if I pick the wrong one? What should I know before I buy? Answer those on the page alongside the specs.

Helpful content with a point of view

Answer questions the way someone who's done the work would. Generic content gets ignored. Content from real experience gets used.

The behind-the-scenes work

Good content is what AI reads. These pieces make sure AI can find it and understand it.

Structured data (schema): code that labels your pages so AI knows what it's looking at: your business, your products, your FAQs.
Consistent business info: your name, services, and location should match everywhere: your site, Google Business Profile, directories, social. Mixed signals confuse AI.
Making sure AI can reach your site: some site settings accidentally block AI tools. A quick check fixes that, along with making sure pages load fast.
llms.txt: a newer file that points AI to your most important pages. Not every business needs one, but it helps if you offer a lot of services.
Tracking mentions: watching where and how AI mentions your business, and whether it gets the details right.

What I can and can't promise

GEO is still new. Anyone promising you'll show up in ChatGPT by a certain date is overselling it. There isn't a reliable way to track that yet.

What can be tracked is the SEO foundation underneath it and the quality of your content. That's where I've gotten results: growing keyword rankings from 7,500 to 10,000 at Tipco Technologies, and taking Atlanta Rubber & Hydraulics' eCommerce from $0 to $500K in sales.

Working in industrial supply and B2B means knowing what those customers actually ask. That's what turns a product page into one AI wants to use.