How do I get my business to show up in AI search like ChatGPT?

No, they're related but aim at different targets. Traditional SEO works to rank your pages in Google's list of blue links. AI search optimisation — often split into answer engine optimisation (AEO) and generative engine optimisation (GEO) — works to get your business quoted inside the answers that tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google's AI Overviews generate. They share the same foundations, clear content and genuine authority, but SEO wins you a ranking while AEO and GEO win you a citation.

Usually a few weeks to a few months, rather than days. AI tools build their answers from sources they already know and trust, so results depend on how quickly you publish clear, answer-led content and earn mentions on other reputable sites. It's a steady process of becoming a more citable, more trusted source — not a setting you switch on. Expect early signs, like your business appearing in the odd AI answer, before you see consistent, repeated citations.

You can handle the basics yourself: writing clear question-and-answer pages, adding structured data, and keeping your business name, address and details consistent everywhere online. The harder, slower part is earning the third-party mentions and authority that AI tools weigh most heavily when deciding who to cite — and that usually takes ongoing outreach and content work. Many businesses start the on-page work themselves and bring in help for the authority-building side.

There's no built-in dashboard inside ChatGPT or other AI tools, so you track AI visibility by testing directly: write a fixed list of the questions your customers would ask, run them through ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and Google's AI Overviews, and record where your business is mentioned. Repeat the same checks monthly to see whether your citations are growing.