A growing share of buyers start research by asking an AI assistant, “What are the best options for…?” or “Which agency should I use for…?” The answer they get is a short list. If your brand isn’t on it, or is described inaccurately, you’ve lost the first conversation before your website ever loads.
Optimising for these answers is sometimes called generative engine optimisation (GEO) or answer engine optimisation (AEO). The labels are new; the underlying principles are mostly good marketing fundamentals applied with discipline.
Step 1: Benchmark what AI says today
Before changing anything, find out where you stand. Create a list of 15 to 30 prompts real buyers might use, for example:
- “Best [category] for [industry or use case]”
- “[Your brand] vs [competitor]”
- “Is [your brand] good for [specific need]?”
- “What does [your brand] do?”
Run them across the assistants your buyers are likely to use, and record:
- Whether your brand is mentioned
- How it’s described: accurate, outdated or wrong
- Which competitors appear
- Which sources are cited, where shown
Repeat on a regular schedule. Answers vary between sessions, so look for patterns over time rather than reacting to a single response.
Step 2: Make your entity unambiguous
AI systems need to understand clearly who you are, what you do and for whom. Help them by:
- Stating your category, services, audience and location plainly on your homepage and about page, without vague slogans
- Using consistent naming everywhere: website, social profiles, directories and press
- Adding structured data (Organization, Service, FAQ, Article) to key pages
- Keeping business listings and profiles accurate and complete
If three sources describe you three different ways, expect the assistant’s answer to be fuzzy.
Step 3: Publish content that’s easy to cite
Content that tends to be referenced is specific, well-structured and genuinely useful:
- Direct answers to common buyer questions, near the top of the page
- Original insight: your own frameworks, benchmarks or methodology
- Clear structure: descriptive headings, short paragraphs, lists and tables
- Evidence and authorship: who wrote it and why they’re qualified
Thin, generic content written to rank is unlikely to stand out as a source.
Step 4: Earn mentions in places AI trusts
Assistants draw on the wider web, not just your site. Being discussed accurately in reputable industry publications, review platforms, community discussions and comparison articles increases the chance you’re included and described correctly. This is classic digital PR and reputation work, and it compounds.
Step 5: Keep technical access open
Make sure the crawlers you want to be visible to can access your public content. Review your robots.txt and firewall or bot-management rules so you’re not unintentionally blocking them, and keep important information in crawlable HTML rather than only in images or scripts.
Step 6: Measure business impact
AI referral traffic is still small for many sites, and some influence never shows up as a click. Track what you can:
- Referral sessions from AI assistants in your analytics
- Mentions and accuracy in your prompt benchmark over time
- Branded search trends and direct traffic
- “How did you hear about us?” answers on forms and sales calls
A realistic expectation
No one can guarantee placement in AI answers. The systems change often and their outputs vary. But the work that improves AI visibility (clear positioning, useful content, consistent information and a solid reputation) also strengthens traditional SEO and conversion rates. It’s a low-regret investment.
RankYield’s free Yield Audit includes a snapshot of how major AI assistants currently describe your brand, alongside your paid and organic search findings.