Customers can discover your business through AI assistants too. These tools summarise information, compare businesses, and make recommendations, so it matters that your site clearly explains what you do.
SEO – Search Engine Optimisation, helps people find you in Google and other search engines. GEO – Generative Engine Optimisation, is a newer idea: helping AI-generated answers describe your business accurately and cite your site as a source. These answers might come from an AI assistant or a search feature such as Google's AI Overviews.
How is an AI-generated answer different?
Traditional search mainly returns links to pages. An AI-generated answer may summarise information from several sources. Both rely on content being accessible and clear. If your services, pricing, or service areas only appear in images, hard-to-find documents, or vague marketing copy, it's harder to pull out accurate information about them.
What actually helps
A clear, tidy page
Headings, short paragraphs and lists make your page easy for people, and for Google and AI, to read and understand.
Your business details in one place
Who you are, what you offer and how to reach you, kept up to date on your site so search tools pick up the right information about you.
Facts written as text, not only in images
Write out your prices, the areas you cover and what you’re good at as normal text on the page too.
A short summary for AI tools
Some sites also add a simple summary of the business for AI assistants. It’s optional and there’s no guarantee an assistant will use it, but it does no harm.
I do the same on my own website: every page is set up so Google and AI assistants can read it easily, and I keep a short summary of my business for AI tools too. The good news: what helps Google also helps AI, clear, accurate information about your business.