How to get your business quoted in ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews: AEO in plain English

When a potential customer asks ChatGPT or Google a question, you may want your business to be among the sources it uses. The useful work starts with a simple question: can the system find and understand the page that contains your answer?

People use SEO for making pages easier to find in search engines. AEO means answer engine optimisation: writing information so a direct answer is easy to understand and reuse. GEO is often used to mean generative engine optimisation: making useful information easier for generative AI tools to discover and reference. These labels overlap. They are not separate switches that guarantee a place in an AI answer.

Start with a page a search engine can access

Google’s guidance says a page must be indexed and eligible to appear with a Search snippet to be eligible as a supporting link in AI Overviews or AI Mode. It says there are no additional technical requirements for those AI features. Google recommends the same foundations used in Search: allow crawling, link important pages within your site, make key information available as text and ensure structured data matches what visitors can see.Google’s AI-features guidance

For ChatGPT Search, check that your website is not blocking OpenAI’s OAI-SearchBot in robots.txt or at the hosting or CDN level. OpenAI says OAI-SearchBot is used to surface sites in ChatGPT Search; sites that opt out will not appear in ChatGPT Search answers, though they may still appear as navigational links. OpenAI lists GPTBot separately for possible model-training use, so the two controls do different jobs.OpenAI’s crawler documentation

Allowing a crawler means a system can access a page. It does not mean the page will be cited.

Make the answer clear, then earn the reader’s trust

A page should answer the question near the top, then explain the details, limits and next steps. Use the actual terms customers use, and name the place you serve when location matters. For example, a Johannesburg service page should say which suburbs it covers rather than relying on a generic “we serve everywhere” line.

Give each important service its own useful page when it genuinely has different information. Explain what is included, who the service suits, how the process works and what affects the price. Support factual claims with relevant evidence. If you have qualifications, policies or published pricing, say so accurately. Do not invent figures, case studies or guarantees to make a page sound authoritative.

Google’s people-first content guidance recommends useful, original and reliable pages made to help people. Structured data can help Google interpret content, but it should describe information visible on the page; adding markup alone does not make a page a likely citation.Google’s content guidance Google’s structured-data guidance

Keep your business facts consistent

Your website, Google Business Profile and public profiles should agree about the business name, services, location, opening hours and contact details. When details differ, a customer has to guess which version is current. Keeping information consistent is also a practical way to make your business easier to understand across search systems.

Then measure what you can. Google includes traffic from AI features in the Search Console Performance report under the “Web” search type, rather than offering a separate AI-features report for every citation. Check actual visits and enquiries, not only whether a screenshot of an answer mentions your brand.Google’s AI-features guidance

No one can promise an AI citation

Google says its AI Overviews appear only when its systems decide they add value, and the links shown can vary. OpenAI says its search results can vary too. Indexing, useful content and crawl access improve eligibility, not certainty. A sensible goal is to make the business clear and credible wherever a customer finds it, rather than writing for a citation at the expense of the page.

A sensible next step

Choose one question customers ask before they contact you. Check whether your website answers it in plain language, names the relevant service area and gives a reader a reason to trust the details. If you would like help spotting gaps, share your business name and website for a free 15-point Search Visibility Scorecard, delivered within 48 hours.

FAQs

Is AEO different from SEO?
AEO is a useful label for making direct answers easy to find and understand. It still relies on many of the same foundations as SEO, including crawl access, helpful content and clear site structure.

Does FAQ schema guarantee that ChatGPT will cite my site?
No. Structured data should accurately describe visible content. Google does not describe special schema as a requirement for AI Overviews, and no markup guarantees a ChatGPT citation.

Should I block GPTBot if I want ChatGPT Search to find my website?
OpenAI documents GPTBot and OAI-SearchBot as separate crawlers. GPTBot relates to possible model-training use; OAI-SearchBot is used for ChatGPT Search. Check the current OpenAI crawler documentation before changing crawler access.

Sources: Google AI features and your website, OpenAI bots, Google people-first content guidance, Google structured data guidance.