You get found on Google and on AI assistants like ChatGPT by giving clear, honest answers to real customer questions, keeping your details consistent everywhere, and maintaining your Google Business Profile. The fundamentals are almost the same for both, so you don't have to build anything twice.
What is classic SEO again?
SEO (search engine optimisation) makes sure Google understands your site and shows it near the top when someone searches for what you offer. It's worth it: around 91% of people use Google (Statista), and the first page of results gets roughly 95% of all clicks. If you're not on page one, you're barely found.
What has changed?
You used to type a question, get a list of blue links, and click through. Today Google (with "AI Overviews" right at the top) and assistants like ChatGPT or Perplexity often answer directly in a finished paragraph, without the user opening ten pages first.
For you, that means simply showing up somewhere is no longer enough. You want to be the source that supplies that answer and gets named in it.
What does GEO mean for a small business?
GEO stands for Generative Engine Optimization: making sure AI systems name your business in their answers. It sounds new, but it's less exotic than it seems.
Research from Princeton University (which coined the term "GEO") shows that content which gives clear answers, cites concrete stats with a source, and is cleanly structured gets referenced by AI systems far more often. Translated for your business: write so that a machine could read your answer out loud effortlessly.
The few things that actually move the needle locally
Don't spread yourself thin. For a local business, these points move the most:
- Answer real questions directly. When people ask "Are you open on Sundays?" or "How much is a men's haircut?", put the answer plainly on the page. That's exactly what AI looks for.
- Keep your contact details identical everywhere. Name, address, phone number the same on your website, Google profile and directories. Contradictions confuse both people and machines.
- Use clear structure. Headings, short paragraphs, lists. That helps Google, AI and your customers.
- Back things up with facts. Concrete opening hours, prices and services instead of vague claims. Specifics get cited more.
- Be technically clean and fast. A fast, mobile-friendly site gets read better by every system.
Why your Google Business Profile still matters most
For all the AI noise: for local searches ("hairdresser near me", "bakery Berlin Mitte") your free Google Business Profile remains the biggest lever. It feeds Google Maps, the local results, and often the AI answers too.
Maintain it carefully: up-to-date opening hours, photos, services, and reply to reviews. A well-kept profile plus a good website is the strongest duo a small business can have.
| Where? | What it does for you |
|---|---|
| Google Search | visibility to ~91% of searchers |
| Google Business Profile | map, local results, often the basis for AI answers |
| AI assistants (ChatGPT & co.) | getting named when customers ask directly |
Where to start
You don't need two separate strategies. Start with your Google Business Profile, and use your website to answer the questions your customers ask you most often. That works for Google and AI at once.
Want to know how visible your business is today on Google and in AI answers? Book a free 30-minute call. We'll look at it together and give you concrete, honest steps, with no obligation at all.