Is Your Business Showing Up When People Ask AI?

When someone asks ChatGPT or Google "where can I buy air hoses 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.

Businesses and products show up in Google's AI Overviews (the summary at the top of Google results), ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Claude, and Microsoft Copilot. The goal is to be important enough to be cited by them.

How Is AI Search Different From SEO?

SEO is about showing up on Google. AI search is about showing up when someone asks ChatGPT or Google's AI for a recommendation and gets an answer instead of a list. (You might hear it called GEO, short for generative engine optimization.)

You need both. If your SEO is weak, AI search won't fix it. If your SEO is solid, AI search takes it further.

How I Work

AI doesn't cite pages that just say they solve a problem. It cites pages that prove it.

That proof doesn't come from a keyword tool. It comes from the people closest to the customer. I talk with your sales team about the questions they hear every week. I talk with customers about what almost stopped them from buying. I pull testimonials and real numbers: time saved, costs cut, problems fixed.

Then that goes on the page in a way that sounds like your business, not every other one in your industry. Real stories, real numbers, and enough feeling behind it that a customer recognizes their own problem.

That's what makes content worth citing. The technical side makes sure AI can find it.

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 Weak AI Visibility Is Costing You

A Competitor Gets The Recommendation

A customer asks AI who to call and gets someone else's name.

Tap to see the fix

The Fix

Clear service pages, reviews, and citations give AI a reason to name you.

AI Gets Your Details Wrong

Old hours, services you don't offer, the wrong location. Customers believe it.

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The Fix

Your site, Google Business Profile, and listings get updated and kept accurate, so AI pulls the right information.

Product Pages AI Skips

Specs with no context give AI nothing to pull from.

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The Fix

Product schema and plain-language descriptions explain what it is and who it's for, so AI can read and cite the page.

Mixed Signals Online

Different names or services on different sites. AI doesn't know which to trust.

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The Fix

Your name, services, and details get matched everywhere you're listed, so AI sees one consistent business.

Blocking AI Without Knowing It

One site setting can keep AI tools out entirely.

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The Fix

A technical check of your site settings makes sure the AI tools you want can actually reach your pages.

Questions Nobody On Your Site Answers

Buyers ask AI the same questions every day. If your site doesn't answer them, AI quotes someone who does.

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The Fix

FAQ and comparison content answers what buyers actually ask, so your site becomes the source AI pulls from.

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.

Right Fit / Not Right Fit

Works well for:

  • Businesses with a website and some SEO already in place
  • B2B, industrial, and local service businesses where customers research before they call or buy
  • Products or services that need explaining, not just listing

Not the right fit for:

  • Anyone looking for guaranteed placement in ChatGPT
  • Sites without basic SEO yet: start with Local and B2B SEO first or together

Does Any Of This Sound Familiar?

  • You asked ChatGPT about your industry and your business didn't come up
  • AI describes your business wrong
  • A competitor shows up in AI answers and you don't
  • Your product pages are mostly specs
  • You're not sure AI tools can even reach your site

Contact Cathy Gray

I work best where marketing, eCommerce, and operations overlap.
Whether you're hiring or need help with your business, I'd like to hear about it.

Let's Talk

You can also find me on LinkedIn.