58% of consumers have already replaced traditional search engines with AI when deciding what to buy and who to use (Capgemini). Your prospective clients are more than likely one of them- asking ChatGPT who they should choose instead of scrolling through a list of links on Google.
The industry calls getting into those answers GEO, AEO, AI SEO or AI search visibility- These are all the same thing. Ignore the jargon.
Try it yourself → open ChatGPT and ask "who's the best [what you do] in [where you're based]?"
If your name comes up- that's a major advantage… If it doesn't, that's fixable, and fixing it is simple once you've seen how AI answers are built…
What happens when someone asks AI for a recommendation
Say a business owner types this into ChatGPT "Who's the best financial advisor for business owners in London?"
The AI runs a selection of searches on your behalf- the ones that answer your specific questions- then reviews what comes up: content, rankings, directories, press, reviews, "best of" lists. It then decides which is best to select, cite and name in the answer.
5x key points that factor into that decision:
Corroboration. The AI favours names it can verify in more than one place. If 3x independent sources name the same company, it is more likely to get named- backlinks and third-party mentions confirm what your own pages say and add weight to claims.
Authority. Anonymous content gets skipped; pages that carry proof get cited. Google calls this E-E-A-T (experience, expertise, authority, trust). Named authors with real credentials, an about page with real people, qualifications and dates on the page.
Consistency. The AI builds a picture of you from every page it reads. If your name, description & services match everywhere, you're easy to recommend. If they clash, it moves on.
Memory. ChatGPT also carries a memory from training, so businesses mentioned consistently for years get recognised even before it searches.
Sources. The engines read differently- Perplexity and Google's AI answers draw almost entirely from what ranks on Google, ChatGPT searches through Bing, and all of them pull heavily from Reddit threads and LinkedIn posts.
The person never sees a list of links. They see "consider [firm]", plus a few sources underneath.
What that means for your business
SEO still matters. The AI builds its answers from what already ranks in search- Google for some engines, Bing for ChatGPT- so everything you've done to rank is now the raw material for AI answers too. None of that work is wasted.
AI can only recommend what it can read. Your reputation- great clients, referrals, word of mouth- lives in private conversations. The AI has no idea any of it exists, so it skips you because there isn't any evidence of your expertise.
Why AI Search is so effective: prospects come in pre-qualified
A visitor from Google clicked a link. A visitor from an AI answer had a conversation first- they asked about fees, fit, alternatives and their specific circumstances, and the AI recommended you by name.
That is a referral, not blind traffic. By the time they land on your site they're most of the way to a 'yes'.
A normal website converts 1-2% of visitors. Businesses tracking AI-referred visitors report 4-5 times that.
And barely anyone is doing this yet. In finance, the average Firm gets cited in less than 2.1% of AI answers (Boring Marketing).
When we tested 50 high intent buying questions about UK financial advice across Chat GPT, Perplexity & Google AI answers 93 of the UK's top 150 financial advice firms were totally invisible in AI search. Those that are getting this right hold a lot more power than the rest, regardless of their credentials.
How to get named
Answer real questions on your site → plainly, near the top of the page. AI quotes clean, self-contained answers. Buried points never get read.
Be specific and name your sources → "many firms see results" gets skipped. A named figure from a named source gets quoted.
Make it readable by machines → headings that match the questions buyers actually ask, an FAQ section, and schema and breadcrumbs (behind-the-scenes labels that tell machines what each part of your site is- ask Claude or Codex to add them for you).
Get mentioned in places you don't own → backlinks and third-party mentions are important- press, directories, roundups, reviews, Reddit and independent lists all corroborate what your own pages say. Ahrefs studied 75,000 brands and found mentions track AI visibility three times more closely than backlinks.
Keep your details consistent everywhere → same name, same description, same services across your site, LinkedIn, your Google Business Profile and every listing, so the AI builds one coherent picture of you. For local searches the AI leans heavily on your Google Business Profile and its reviews- keep both current.
Check monthly → ask ChatGPT and Perplexity the questions your buyers would ask, and log whether you appear.
What not to do
There are agencies selling shortcuts- paying list owners for placements, networks of AI-generated pages. Some of it works, until a model update changes how answers get built and the traffic disappears overnight. That has already happened to businesses that bet everything on it.
What makes the biggest difference is focusing on providing value to a customer or client, answer their key concerns and the questions they want answered- and you're halfway there.
Earn the mentions instead of using paid placements, and treat AI search as one channel of several, never the only one.
How to start:
Build your question list. Ask "who's the best [what you do] in [your city]?" in Perplexity (free at perplexity.ai)- under each answer it lists the related questions real people ask. Follow the trail and write them all down.
Check where you stand. Run the list through ChatGPT and Perplexity and note where your name comes up and where it doesn't. The gaps are your to-do list.
Fix the biggest gap first. Write one page that plainly answers the questions your clients care about, then go and review the pages that were cited instead of yours- what did they do differently? How can you provide more value?
You can check out the more in depth version on Studiobaggio.ai guide to Generative Engine Optimisation for Professional Services.