How do you get your business found by ChatGPT and AI search?
For years, businesses have asked us:
“How do I get my business to the top of Google?”
Now there’s another question:
“How do I get my business to show up in ChatGPT?”
It’s a good question.
More people are using AI tools to research products, compare businesses, ask for recommendations and make decisions.
That doesn’t mean SEO is dead.
Far from it.
It means the way people search is evolving and businesses need to evolve with it.
What is AI SEO?
You’ll hear a few different terms being used to describe optimising content for AI search.
Three of the most common are:
- SEO – Search Engine Optimisation
- AEO – Answer Engine Optimisation
- GEO – Generative Engine Optimisation
There is plenty of overlap between them.
SEO is traditionally about improving a website’s visibility within search engines such as Google.
AEO focuses more on providing clear answers to the questions people are asking.
GEO generally refers to improving how well your business, brand and content can be discovered, understood and potentially referenced by generative AI systems.
The terminology will probably continue to evolve.
The underlying objective is much simpler:
Make it easy for people and search technology to understand who you are, what you know and how you can help.
Is traditional SEO dying?
We don’t believe so.
In fact, good SEO may be more important than ever.
Google itself says traditional SEO best practices remain relevant to its generative AI search experiences.
There isn’t a magic piece of “AI SEO code” that suddenly makes your business appear in an AI answer.
Good websites still need to be technically sound, crawlable, useful, relevant and filled with quality information.
Think of GEO and AEO as an extension of a strong SEO strategy rather than a replacement for it.
People talk to AI differently
This is where things become interesting.
Think about how you’ve traditionally used Google.
You might search:
“accountant Rangiora”
“builder Christchurch”
“marketing agency NZ”
“website design Christchurch”
They’re relatively short searches.
Now compare that with the way someone might talk to an AI:
“Who are some good marketing agencies in Christchurch that have experience working with construction companies?”
Or:
“How much should a professional website cost for an accounting firm with 10 staff in New Zealand?”
Or:
“I’m starting a business in North Canterbury with a $20,000 marketing budget. Should I spend it on a website, SEO, Google Ads or social media?”
Those are very different searches.
AI lets customers provide much more context
One reason AI search is interesting for marketers is that people can explain their actual situation.
They can ask follow-up questions.
They can provide budgets.
They can compare providers.
They can ask for pros and cons.
They can describe what they’ve already tried.
They may also ask questions they feel are too specific, complicated or even uncomfortable to put into a traditional search engine.
That creates an opportunity for businesses willing to publish genuinely useful information.
Stop thinking only about keywords
Keywords still matter.
But we increasingly need to think about questions, problems and conversations too.
If you’re an accountant, what are clients actually asking you?
If you’re a builder, what do customers want to know before signing a contract?
If you’re a manufacturer, what technical questions come up repeatedly?
If you’re selling professional services, what are people worried about before contacting you?
Pricing is a great example.
Businesses have traditionally been hesitant to talk about pricing online.
But customers are asking AI questions like:
“How much should this cost?”
“Is this quote reasonable?”
“What should I budget?”
“What is the cheapest option?”
“What does a good provider normally charge?”
You don’t necessarily have to publish a fixed price list.
But useful content that genuinely answers the question can help establish your business as a knowledgeable source.
What content works for AI search?
There is no guaranteed formula that makes an AI platform recommend your business.
And anyone promising one should probably be treated with some caution.
But there are sensible things businesses can do.
Create content based on real customer questions.
Provide useful detail rather than generic marketing statements.
Share genuine experience and expertise.
Explain complicated subjects clearly.
Keep your website and business information current.
Build strong service and location pages.
Publish useful blogs, guides and FAQs.
Make your website technically sound and easy to navigate.
Use clear page structures and headings.
Support written information with useful images and video where appropriate.
Build the overall authority and reputation of your business online.
Most importantly, create something worth finding.
Quality matters more than producing hundreds of AI blogs
Ironically, the arrival of AI doesn’t mean businesses should use AI to fill their websites with hundreds of generic articles.
Google’s own guidance warns against generating large volumes of content that add little value.
If everybody can generate a generic “10 Tips for Better Marketing” article in 30 seconds, publishing another version of the same information doesn’t necessarily give a search engine or AI system a compelling reason to reference yours.
Experience matters.
Original information matters.
Useful opinions matter.
Local knowledge matters.
Real examples matter.
That is where businesses can differentiate themselves.
How is MoMac approaching GEO and AEO?
We’re treating AI search as an evolving part of the wider search landscape.
We’re actively testing how businesses appear across different search and AI platforms and adapting our thinking as those platforms change.
Part of that involves looking beyond traditional keywords and developing content around the deeper questions potential customers might actually ask.
We’re also continuing to focus heavily on the fundamentals.
Good website structure.
Strong technical SEO.
Useful service pages.
Quality content.
Clear information.
Relevant authority.
Because good GEO and AEO don’t start by abandoning SEO.
They start by getting the fundamentals right and building from there.
Can MoMac guarantee my business will appear in ChatGPT?
No.
And we don’t think a responsible agency should guarantee that.
AI responses can vary based on the platform, model, query, available sources and other factors.
The goal is to improve the digital signals, content and authority surrounding your business so you’re putting yourself in a stronger position to be discovered across both traditional and emerging search experiences.
SEO isn’t disappearing. Search is getting bigger.
Google isn’t going away tomorrow.
Neither is your website.
But the journey people take before reaching your business is changing.
Search might begin on Google.
It might start in ChatGPT.
It might involve Gemini, Copilot, an AI Overview, social media and several follow-up questions before someone ever visits your website.
Businesses don’t need to chase every acronym or trend.
They do need to understand how their customers are finding information.
And increasingly, that means thinking beyond the traditional Google search box.
Want to improve your visibility across traditional and AI search?
Talk to MoMac about your SEO strategy and how we can help strengthen your business’s visibility across SEO, GEO and AEO.
