How to get cited by ChatGPT, Perplexity & Gemini

Every week another client asks us the same question: “We’re seeing fewer clicks from Google. Is it because of ChatGPT?” The honest answer is: probably yes, partly. And it’s going to keep happening. So instead of fighting it, the smart move is to make sure your business is the one ChatGPT, Perplexity and Gemini actually recommend.

This is a short, practical guide. No jargon, no scare tactics. By the end you’ll know what AI search visibility is, why it matters, and the five things any business — yours included — can start doing this month.

What is AI search visibility, exactly?

When someone asks ChatGPT “what’s the best digital marketing agency in Mallorca?” or asks Perplexity “compare three solar installers in Spain”, the AI generates an answer that mentions specific businesses by name. Sometimes it links to them. Sometimes it summarises their offering. Sometimes it just recommends them.

AI search visibility (also called Generative Engine Optimisation, or GEO) is the practice of making sure your business is in that answer.

It’s a new layer on top of classical SEO — the technical fundamentals are the same — but it adds work around structured data, content quality, and the trust signals AI models actually weigh when deciding who to mention.

Why does it matter now?

Three things changed in the last 18 months:

People use AI to research before they buy. Gartner estimates 61% of buyer journeys in 2026 will pass through at least one AI answer surface.
AI tools are getting source-honest. ChatGPT, Perplexity and Gemini now show their sources. So citations have direct, measurable value: they drive clicks, and they shape opinion.
Google itself is becoming an AI surface. AI Overviews now appear above the traditional results for most informational queries, and Gemini answers questions inside Gmail and Workspace without anyone visiting a search engine at all.

If you sell something people research before they buy — B2B software, professional services, considered consumer purchases — AI search is already shaping who they consider. The brands that show up in those answers will own the next decade of organic acquisition.

Five things to start doing this month

1. Audit where you stand today

Spend an hour running 20 questions about your category through ChatGPT, Perplexity and Gemini. Use questions a real buyer would ask: “best X in Y for Z budget”, “compare A and B”, “what should I look for when buying X”. Write down which competitors get mentioned, in what order, with what sentiment. That’s your baseline.

If you’re not getting mentioned at all, don’t panic. Most businesses aren’t. That’s the gap we’re going to close.

2. Make your About page boringly factual

AI models cite businesses whose identity they can verify. Your About page should clearly state: what you do, where you’re located, who founded the company, when, who runs it now, and who your typical customers are. Plain English, verifiable facts, no marketing fluff. Add a clear FAQ section answering the obvious questions about your business.

3. Add the right structured data

Schema.org markup is how you tell AI crawlers what each page is. At minimum: an Organization schema sitewide, a Service or Product schema on those pages, and an FAQPage schema on your FAQ. If your business is location-dependent (a hotel, a clinic, a real estate agency), add LocalBusiness with full address and geo coordinates.

None of this is new. SEO professionals have done it for a decade. But many sites still don’t, and the ones that do show up disproportionately in AI answers.

4. Get cited in places AI trusts

Large language models trust sources their training data trusts. That usually means: Wikipedia (if you’re large enough to merit a page), trade publications, established review sites in your category (G2, Capterra, Trustpilot, Tripadvisor depending on your industry), and high-authority news mentions. PR built around verifiable claims and expert commentary tends to win those mentions.

Beware: AI models penalise sources that read as promotional. The phrase “sponsored content” in your bylines does more harm than good.

5. Measure monthly

Re-run those same 20 prompts every month. Track which mentions appear, in what context, with what sentiment. There are now several tools for this (AthenaHQ, Profound, Otterly) — or you can do it manually for a few hours a month. Either way: if you don’t measure it, you can’t improve it.

The honest version

AI search visibility isn’t a hack. It’s earned. Most businesses will see their first reliable citations in 8–12 weeks of disciplined work. Anyone promising you faster than that is selling you a story — or doing something that’ll get you delisted later.

What pmax can do, if you want help

We run AI visibility programmes for businesses across Europe — the full audit, the technical foundations, the content and PR support, and the monthly measurement. If you’d like a free one-page audit of where your business stands in ChatGPT, Perplexity and Gemini today, tell us a bit about you and we’ll send it back within a week.

How to get your business mentioned by ChatGPT, Perplexity and Gemini