AI search optimisation (GEO, AEO, AIO, LLMO)
Win AI search.
Buyers increasingly ask ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google's AI Mode for recommendations, and many act on the answer without visiting a single website. It's the new frontier of customer acquisition.Through AI Marketing School, I helped pioneer the techniques for earning citations in those answers, now known as GEO, AIO and LLMO, which have since been adopted by Apple, Waymo and Forrester, among others. I'll help your business receive citations that drive engagement and sales.
Win customers at the point of decision
When a buyer asks ChatGPT, Perplexity or Google which supplier to choose, the answer names a handful of businesses, and those businesses win the enquiry before a competitor's website has even loaded.
I'll ensure your business features on that shortlist, so customers contact you already persuaded by an independent recommendation and ready to buy.
Generate qualified leads from AI answers
Every citation links to your site and serves as an independent recommendation, so the visitors who click through are further along in their decision than ordinary search traffic.
Unlike paid ads, those citations cost nothing per click and can keep winning you customers long after the work is complete.
Claim a channel your competitors have barely touched
Many businesses still optimise solely for Google rankings, so the brands that act first can secure AI citations with little competition.
Early citations compound, because AI engines favour sources they've already learned to trust, so the lead you establish now becomes progressively harder for competitors to overcome.
Control how AI describes your business
AI engines already describe your business to potential customers, sometimes with outdated prices, missing products or a competitor's name in your place.
I find and correct those gaps by publishing clear, citable facts and earning mentions on the sites each engine trusts, so every answer presents your business accurately and favourably.
Work with an AI search pioneer
I helped pioneer this discipline through a newsletter I wrote from 2023 to 2025, read by teams at Apple, Microsoft, Fidelity, Lyft and Forrester.
Its in-depth investigation of Perplexity reverse-engineered the ranking system itself, from the domains it trusts by default to the early-engagement window that determines whether a new page keeps its citations.
More than 700 stories covering AI taught me how the models themselves work, so your business benefits from techniques I've tested and refined since the earliest days of AI search.
Become the source AI quotes
- Your business recommended by ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, Gemini and Google
- Qualified visitors and enquiries arriving straight from AI answers
- The credibility of an independent recommendation at the moment of choice
- A lead over competitors still optimising solely for Google
- Content that ranks on Google and earns AI citations at the same time
- Monthly reports showing where you're cited and how that's growing
Measure the return on your investment
Each month I ask every engine the same questions and record where you're named, which passages are quoted and how competitors' positions have changed, with your Google rankings tracked alongside.
You'll know precisely which questions you're winning, how many visitors and enquiries AI generates for you, and how I intend to win the rest.
He not only demonstrated a deep understanding of AI, machine learning, and technology but also tailored his writing to align seamlessly with our brand.
Jonathan M., Upwork review
Working with Sam was a pleasure. He communicated clearly, was fast but with an eye for details. We will work with him again.
Edward L., Upwork review
Work with me
I'll make your business the answer AI recommends, and report the results every month.
Send me a short brief and I'll come back with a quote.
Services
How I'll win AI search for your business
Visibility audit
I ask ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, Gemini and Google's AI Overviews your customers' most valuable questions, and record which businesses each one names and whether yours is among them.
Citable content
I write and rewrite pages so each section answers its question in the opening lines, in a form an engine can quote verbatim.
Structure and markup
I add question-led headings and FAQ and Article schema, and allow GPTBot, OAI-SearchBot and PerplexityBot in your robots.txt, since security plugins often block them by accident.
Launch distribution
I plan where each new page is shared in its first hours, when early engagement influences whether Perplexity keeps citing it.
Presence on trusted sites
I work to earn your business a place in the trade press, review sites, forums and reference pages each engine trusts in your sector.
Monthly tracking
Every month, I rerun the audit across every engine and report your progress question by question.
Growth tactics
Accelerate results with ethical growth hacking
Hidden text, prompt injections and fake reviews can secure a brand citations in AI answers for a few weeks, until the platforms detect them and penalise the entire domain.
Strategic text sequences (STS) are the clearest example. Harvard researchers showed that an optimised string of text on a product page could make an AI recommend that product above its rivals, using sequences designed to deceive the model rather than inform the reader.
I understand how these techniques work, and i use ethical growth hacking instead, based on my research into how each engine ranks new content, so the gains endure as the engines evolve.
- Launch plans timed to Perplexity's early-engagement window, when first reactions influence a new page's future citations
- Exact-match titles for valuable questions no competitor has answered well
- Niche questions targeted first, since precise answers earn citations far sooner than crowded topics do
- Transparent, expert contributions to the forums and communities AI engines quote
- Original data and research that journalists, analysts and AI engines cite
- Scripted YouTube explainers, a format AI Overviews and Perplexity cite regularly
- Clear, accurate claims phrased the way AI engines retrieve and quote them, the ethical counterpart to strategic text sequences
None of it replaces excellent writing, and every tactic works harder on a page worth reading.
Find out who AI cites instead of you
Send me your site and the five questions your customers ask most. I'll test them in the main AI tools and report back with a clear assessment of your visibility.
Request an audit →FAQ
Questions about AI search
What is the difference between GEO, AEO, AIO and LLMO?
They're overlapping names for the same work, making a business visible and citable in AI-generated answers. GEO (generative engine optimisation) has become the most common term, AEO (answer engine optimisation) has largely merged into it, AIO (AI optimisation) and LLMO (LLM optimisation) describe the same goal, and many marketers simply call it AI SEO.
Can you make ChatGPT recommend my business?
I can make it far more likely. ChatGPT relies heavily on search results and on sources it trusts, so I combine strong Google rankings with clear, citable pages and mentions on respected sites. No one controls what an AI model says, so I measure your citations every month rather than promise them.
How do I appear in Google's AI Overviews?
AI Overviews quote passages from pages that already rank well and answer the question in their opening lines, so I pair conventional SEO with direct, citable answers under question-led headings.
Is an llms.txt file worthwhile?
No AI platform has said it uses llms.txt, so I don't make it a priority.
How is this different from SEO?
SEO aims to rank a page highly in the results, whereas this work aims to have part of that page quoted in the answer itself, and most of it benefits both.
Which AI platforms do you work with?
I test ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, Gemini and Google's AI Overviews and AI Mode separately, because each selects its sources differently.
Which tactics do you avoid?
I avoid hidden text, prompt injections, adversarial strategic text sequences, fake reviews and undisclosed paid mentions, because each risks penalties that damage the whole domain and the trust your brand has earned.
How do you measure progress?
Each month I ask each platform the same questions and record where you and your competitors are cited, and which passages they quote.
Does this work for specialist subjects?
Specialist subjects are often easier, because fewer pages answer their questions well, although your own experts should review each page before it is published.