One analysis this year estimates that Google's AI summaries now show up in about one in four searches. On top of that, many people ask ChatGPT, Gemini or Perplexity directly. If your site does not appear in those answers, the customer sees your competitors instead.
This is starting to be called GEO (generative engine optimization). Much of it is classic SEO done well, with a few adjustments.
What helps
- Content that answers specific questions with specific facts: what you do, where, for whom, since when.
- Pages that can be read without JavaScript. Many AI crawlers do not run scripts.
- Structured data (schema.org) stating who you are, what service you offer and where.
- Mentions on other sites: directories, press, clients. Assistants trust what others say about you more than what you say yourself.
- Visible dates and current content. A services page from 2019 loses to an updated one.
What does not help
Keyword stuffing, generating hundreds of pages with AI or hiding text for bots. Models summarize, and empty text gives them nothing to cite.
How to measure it
There is no single ranking to check. What I do is put together a list of the questions your customer would ask ("who builds WordPress sites in Santiago?", "where can I buy natural wine in Valparaíso?") and test them now and then across several assistants. That shows whether you appear, who appears instead and which sources get cited.
This site is built that way: static HTML, structured data on every page and copy that says what I do plainly.
