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Guide · updated October 2026LLM SEO: how to get your business named by ChatGPT and AI Overviews
A plain-English guide to LLM SEO, also called LLM optimization, GEO or AEO. How AI assistants choose which businesses to mention, the seven steps that move it, what to skip, and how to measure it.
Free and written. Within 5 business days. No call needed.
What is LLM SEO?
LLM SEO is the work of getting your business mentioned and cited when people ask the large language models behind ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Perplexity and Google's AI Overviews for an answer or a recommendation. It's SEO with a wider view: AI reads pages that search engines can find and trust, and repeats what many trusted sources say. So LLM SEO means letting AI crawlers in, answering clearly, keeping your facts consistent, and earning mentions on the sites AI tools read.
How AI assistants choose which businesses to mention.
An AI assistant can answer from two places:
- What it learned in training. The model has read a large slice of the public web. If many sources connect your business with a topic, the model is more likely to make that connection on its own. For example: "Redline Toronto" and "law firm SEO". This changes slowly, as new models are trained.
- What it finds live. ChatGPT search, Perplexity, Gemini and Google's AI Overviews and AI Mode run web searches while they answer. They read the pages they find and cite some of them. This is where changes show up soonest: crawler and page fixes within weeks, consistent mentions over months.
Two details change how you should work:
- One question becomes many searches. A question like "who's a good SEO agency for a Toronto law firm?" is broken into several narrower searches: pricing, regulator rules, reviews, case studies. Pages that answer those narrower questions get pulled in, even if they don't rank for the big one.
- Answers vary. Ask the same question twice, or on a different assistant, and you'll often get different businesses and different sources. So one screenshot proves nothing, and measurement has to use repeated runs (see how to measure).
Is SEO dead now that people ask AI?
No, SEO is the foundation LLM SEO stands on: live answers in ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google draw on pages search engines can find, index and trust. Google says there are "no additional requirements to appear in AI Overviews or AI Mode", beyond being indexed and eligible for a snippet in normal Search (Google Search Central). What's changed: fewer searches end in a click, so being named in the answer matters more.
7 steps to get named by AI assistants.
1. Let the AI search crawlers in
If an assistant can't read your site, it can't cite it. Check your robots.txt and any firewall or CDN bot settings, since some block AI crawlers by default. These are the ones to allow for AI search:
| Crawler | What it does | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Googlebot | Google Search, including AI Overviews and AI Mode. Google says robots.txt rules for Googlebot are how site owners control this for Search. | |
| OAI-SearchBot | ChatGPT search. OpenAI says sites that block it "will not be shown in ChatGPT search answers". | OpenAI |
| PerplexityBot | Perplexity's search results. Perplexity recommends allowing it. | Perplexity |
Training crawlers, such as OpenAI's GPTBot and Google's Google-Extended, are separate controls. Blocking them is a business choice, and it doesn't remove you from search answers. Allowing them lets future models learn about you.
2. Make sure your words are in the HTML
Some AI crawlers don't run JavaScript. If your services, prices or answers only appear after scripts load, those crawlers may see an empty page.
To check, turn JavaScript off in your browser and reload. Whatever disappears is invisible to them. Google also asks that "important content is available in textual form".
3. Put the answer first
AI tools break pages into passages and quote the ones that answer cleanly. So start each section with a one- or two-sentence answer, then explain.
Make each section stand on its own. Use the real names of things: services, places, regulations, products. Write short, plain sentences.
4. Answer the follow-up questions
One question becomes many searches. So cover what customers ask next: what it costs, how long it takes, who it's for and not for, what's included, how you compare with the alternatives, and what rules apply.
Your sales calls and support inbox are the place to find them. A focused page that's the only good answer to a narrow question can be cited quickly.
5. Use one set of facts everywhere
Your name, address, phone, hours, services, prices and founding year should match across your website, Google Business Profile, directories and social profiles. Conflicting facts make AI tools hedge, or repeat the wrong one.
Fill gaps with specific, official answers on your own site. If you don't, AI tools fill them with whatever they find.
6. Get mentioned where AI tools look
AI assistants recommend businesses that trusted sources talk about. Look at which sites the assistants cite for your target questions. Then work on being on them: industry directories and review platforms, "best of" lists, local publications, partner sites, and YouTube.
In forums like Reddit, answer genuinely from a named account. Planted posts get removed and can backfire.
7. Keep your key pages current
Update pages on changing topics when the facts change: new prices, new rules, new examples. Make real updates, not just a new date. AI tools that search live tend to favour current information.
Want help with these steps? See how our AI SEO works, and what SEO costs in Toronto.
What to skip.
Google says "you don't need to create new machine readable files, AI text files, or markup to appear in these features." An llms.txt file is harmless, but it isn't a switch.
Structured data helps search engines read your pages, and it should match the visible text. But Google says there's no special schema you need to add for AI features.
Google's spam policies cover scaled content made to manipulate rankings, however it's produced. A few pages with real expertise beat a flood of generic ones.
Fake accounts, seeded forum posts and paid reviews break platform rules and, for regulated professions, advertising rules. They also tend to be found and removed.
No one controls what an AI assistant says, so no one can guarantee you a spot in ChatGPT. See how to choose an AI SEO agency.
How to measure LLM SEO.
Rank tracking doesn't work for AI answers, because there's no fixed position. Measure three things instead:
- Share of answers. Write 20–50 questions your customers really ask, without your name in them. Run each one several times on each assistant that matters to you (ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews and AI Mode, Gemini, Perplexity), with memory and history off. Record how often you're named and which sources are cited. Repeat monthly against the first run.
- AI referral visits. In Google Analytics 4, add a channel for AI assistants (chatgpt.com, perplexity.ai, gemini.google.com, copilot.microsoft.com and similar), so their visits and leads show up separately.
- What customers tell you. Many AI answers have no link, so people search your name or type your address later. Add "ChatGPT or another AI assistant" to your "How did you hear about us?" question. It's often the clearest signal you'll get.
See where you stand.
A free, written audit in five business days: where you rank, who takes your searches, whether AI assistants mention you, and what to fix first. Then, if you like what you see, a short call.
- 4.9×organic Google clicks for a law firm
- 8.9×organic Google clicks for a medical aesthetics clinic
Measured with the Redline Baseline Method: Search Console, July to September 2026 against the same months in 2025. Past results don't predict future results; yours depend on your market, competition and starting point. See the case studies.
LLM SEO questions, answered.
What's the difference between LLM SEO, GEO and AEO?
Mostly naming. GEO (generative engine optimization), AEO (answer engine optimization), LLM SEO and LLM optimization (LLMO) all describe getting a business named and cited in AI-generated answers. "AI SEO" is the umbrella term most businesses use.
Can SEO be done with AI?
Partly. AI tools are useful for research, outlines and first drafts. They can't fix your website, earn mentions from other sites, or supply your real expertise and results, which is what makes a page worth citing. Use AI to speed up work that a person still checks and owns.
Is SEO still worth it in 2026?
Yes, for businesses whose customers search before they buy. Search still sends the most visits, and AI assistants draw on the same work: a fast, indexable site, clear answer-first pages, consistent facts and earned mentions. What's changed is how you measure it. Count calls, leads and AI mentions, not only clicks.
How long does LLM SEO take?
Fixes to crawler access, page structure and business listings can show up within weeks on assistants that search live. Being recommended consistently takes months, because it depends on other sources mentioning you. Judge it against a dated baseline, not a single check.
Should we block ChatGPT from our website?
If you want to be recommended, don't block the search crawlers: OAI-SearchBot for ChatGPT, PerplexityBot and Googlebot. Blocking training crawlers like GPTBot is a separate choice. It doesn't remove you from search answers.
Do we need an agency for LLM SEO?
Not always. An in-house team can handle steps 1–5. Earning mentions and measuring properly across platforms take more time and tooling. Want a baseline first? Our free written audit checks whether ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google's AI answers mention your business, within five business days. No call needed. Comparing agencies? Use our AI SEO agency checklist.
See what's holding you back.
Tell us about your business. Your written audit arrives within five business days. No call needed.
Your audit covers:
- where you rank for your services in Google and the map pack across your service area
- which competitors take those searches
- whether ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google's AI answers mention your business
- technical problems holding the site back
- anything on your Google Business Profile likely to cause a suspension, such as keywords in the business name
Every finding is ranked by impact, with the evidence behind it. Yours to use, with us or without us. Then, if you like what you see, a short call.
In short: a free, written audit in five business days. No call needed. Yours to keep, whether or not you hire us.