How to Get Your Business Cited by ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews

A growing share of buyers start their research by asking an AI assistant: "What's the best CRM for a roofing company?" or "Who can set up GoHighLevel automations near me?" The answers often cite a handful of sources. If your business is not one of them, you are invisible in that conversation. Generative engine optimisation (GEO) is the practice of making your business easy for AI search tools to understand, trust and cite. It builds on good SEO rather than replacing it.

How AI search chooses sources

Tools like ChatGPT search, Google's AI Overviews and Perplexity generally retrieve web pages related to a question, then write an answer from them and cite some of those pages. Pages are more likely to be retrieved and cited when they:

• Rank or are indexed well in the underlying search systems

• Answer the question clearly and directly

• Come from a source with clear expertise and a consistent identity

• Are corroborated by other sites, reviews and directories

No one outside these companies knows the exact ranking factors, so focus on the fundamentals that help across all of them.

1. Write answer-first content

• Start each page and section with a direct, one or two sentence answer.

• Use question-style headings that match how people ask, such as "How long does A2P 10DLC approval take?"

• Include specific facts: numbers, dates, steps and comparisons.

• Add an FAQ section with concise answers to related questions.

• Keep content current, with visible update dates.

2. Make your business an unambiguous entity

AI systems need to know exactly who you are. This matters when your brand name resembles other companies, as with "Calari" and similarly named software brands.

• Use the same business name, address and phone number everywhere.

• Add Organization and LocalBusiness schema with your logo, address, phone and social profiles.

• Complete your Google Business Profile, including services and categories.

• Create an About page describing what you do, who you serve and your team's experience.

3. Earn mentions on other sites

AI answers often favour businesses mentioned across several trusted sources.

• Get listed in relevant directories and partner marketplaces for the platforms you work with.

• Collect reviews on Google and industry review sites.

• Publish case studies with real numbers and ask clients to share them.

• Contribute expert quotes or guest articles to industry publications.

4. Show real expertise

• Add author bios with experience and credentials.

• Share original insights from your own work, such as anonymised results and lessons learned.

• Cite authoritative sources and link to official documentation.

Want to know if AI tools mention your business? Book a free audit call and we will run an AI visibility check.

5. Keep your site crawlable

• Make sure important pages are indexed in Google and Bing; submit sitemaps to both.

• Review your robots.txt so you are not accidentally blocking the search crawlers AI tools rely on.

• Use fast, server-rendered pages where possible, with key content in HTML rather than hidden behind scripts.

6. Measure AI referrals

• Search Console: watch for reporting on performance in Google's generative AI features.

• Analytics: track referral traffic from AI tools such as chatgpt.com and perplexity.ai.

• Call tracking: GoHighLevel number pools now label visits from ChatGPT and similar tools as their own source. See GoHighLevel call tracking.

• Manual checks: ask AI tools the questions your customers ask each month and record whether you are cited.

Frequently asked questions

Is GEO different from SEO? It builds on SEO. Strong rankings, clear content and authority remain the foundation, with extra emphasis on direct answers and entity clarity.

Can I pay to appear in AI answers? Organic AI citations cannot be bought; they come from content quality, authority and corroboration.

Do FAQ sections help with AI search? Clear question-and-answer content is easy for AI tools to extract and cite, so it often helps.

How long does it take to see results? Like SEO, expect months rather than weeks, though fixing entity confusion can help sooner.

Be the answer AI recommends

Calari Solutions improves AI search visibility with answer-first content, schema, entity cleanup and AI referral tracking. Schedule a free audit call to see where your business stands.