AI Search Engine Optimisation
Getting ChatGPT, Perplexity and Gemini to recommend your brand is not a coincidence. It is strategy.
Even More Difficult
Your competitors already appear in ChatGPT. Do you?
Let me tell you about something we discovered recently when analysing the visibility of over 30 digital marketing agencies in Spain across the main AI search engines. The result? More than half already appear as cited sources when a user asks ChatGPT, Perplexity or Gemini for agency recommendations in their sector.
And here is the important part: they do not appear because they are the best. They appear because they have worked for it.
The way people search for information has clearly changed. They no longer simply type three words into Google and compare ten blue links. Now they ask an AI directly: “Which agency do you recommend for ranking my website?”, “What is the best analytics tool that respects privacy?”, “Which web design company in Madrid has good references?”.
If your brand does not appear in those answers, you do not exist for a growing share of your potential customers.
AI Search Engine Optimisation
What exactly is GEO and why should you care?
Forget the textbook definitions. Let me give you an example you will understand instantly.
Remember when SEO was like convincing a very demanding librarian that your book deserved a place on the new releases shelf? Well, AI search engine optimisation is about getting that librarian, when someone asks “which book do you recommend on digital marketing?”, to reply with the title of yours. Without you being there. Without you being able to pay for that slot. Solely because your content, your reputation and your structure back it up.
That, essentially, is what GEO (Generative Engine Optimization), LLMO (Large Language Model Optimization) and AIO (AI Optimization) are about. Three acronyms that, in practice, pursue the same goal: getting artificial intelligence engines (ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Google’s AI Overviews and those yet to come) to cite, recommend and link to your brand when a user makes a query related to your sector.
The difference from traditional SEO? Here it is not about ranking a URL in a list. It is about positioning knowledge, authority and trust in the mind of a machine that reads, interprets and decides on behalf of the user.
And that changes the rules of the game.
Even More Difficult
The problem most businesses still do not see
I have seen businesses with impeccable technical SEO (good loading speed, up-to-date content, an enviable internal link structure) that are completely invisible to artificial intelligence. How is that possible?
Because Google and LLMs are not looking for the same thing.
Google classifies pages. AI engines look for entities: who you are, what you do, why you are trustworthy and who else talks about you. If your website has generic content with no clear authorship, no structured data identifying your brand as an entity, no mentions in quality external sources… AI simply ignores you.
Here is a figure I have checked personally over recent months: of the AI visibility audits we have carried out for our clients, 78% of the brands analysed did not get a single mention in ChatGPT, Perplexity or Gemini. Zero. As if they did not exist.
That is why AI search engine optimisation is no longer a “nice to have”. It is a business problem that gets worse with every month that passes without action.
AI Search Engine Optimisation
Does AI recommend you? Check before you answer
Before talking about strategy, I suggest a diagnosis. Just like your GP: first the examination, then the diagnosis.
We have built a checker that puts the five questions your customers ask in your sector (“best dental clinic in Madrid”, “trusted 24-hour locksmith”, “accountancy firm for SMEs with good reviews”) to ChatGPT and Gemini, and sends you a report with the result of each one: whether your business appears and, above all, which competitors appear in its place.
The report you will receive includes:
- The exact five questions we have asked for your sector and city.
- Whether or not you appear in each one, on each of the three AI platforms.
- Who AI recommends today and which source each name comes from.
Of course, a sample is not an audit: AI changes its answers over time and from one user to another, and we say so in the report. But it is the quickest way to find out whether you have a problem and how big it is.
No card, no commitment. If what the report shows concerns you, we can talk it through on a 10-minute video call.
Even More Difficult
How do we approach AI search engine optimisation at AMDT?
I would recommend understanding something fundamental: there is no magic recipe for “appearing in ChatGPT”. What does exist is a professional method based on data, structure and authoritative content. And that is exactly what we do.
AMDT (Aún Más Difícil Todavía) is a digital marketing agency and SEO consultancy based in Madrid, founded in 2012. The organic search experience behind it, however, adds up to more than 27 years. We do not mention this out of vanity, but because topical authority is precisely one of the signals AI models use to decide whom to cite.
We approach AI search engine optimisation as a natural extension of strategic SEO. We do not sell it as smoke and mirrors or as a mysterious service with a grand-sounding name. We integrate it into our methodology because, quite simply, it is the logical evolution of what we have been doing at evenmoredifficult.com.
AI visibility audit
We analyse whether your brand appears (and how it appears) in the main AI engines: ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Google’s AI Overviews and Claude. We identify what AI says about you and about your competitors, and where the real opportunities lie.
Entity and authority strategy
We build your brand’s digital identity as a recognisable entity: structured data with the Organization schema (Schema.org, JSON-LD), NAP consistency, an E-E-A-T authorship profile, mentions in quality sources and content that demonstrates real expertise, not generic waffle. We also configure your llms.txt file (the equivalent of robots.txt for artificial intelligence crawlers) to tell the models which content on your website is relevant and how they should interpret it.
Content optimisation for citability
We create and optimise content designed to be cited by AI: direct answers to frequently asked questions in your sector, proprietary data, statistics, comparison tables and guides with clear authorship. Everything an LLM needs to consider you a reliable source. The key is building real topical authority in your niche: publishing one article on a topic is not enough; you need to show that you command that territory with depth, data and verifiable experience.
Monitoring and continuous adjustment
We measure your visibility in AI engines regularly, track mentions of your brand and your competitors, and iterate the strategy according to the results. Because AI models are updated, and your strategy must be too.
And if it is your own team that works on AI visibility, we can simply measure it from the outside with our In-house SEO service.
AI Search Engine Optimisation
Why AMDT for your GEO strategy?
I could tell you we are the best and that we have an exclusive methodology nobody else has. But anyone can say that. I would suggest looking at concrete facts instead:
Agency in Madrid, active since 2012
We did not discover SEO yesterday, and that matters when it comes to understanding how algorithms evolve, whether they belong to Google or to an LLM. The clients who trust us, such as Autocines, Cofares and UCI, know that we work with a long-term view.
We measure with two eyes, not one
We work with Matomo Analytics and Google Analytics 4, each playing a different role. Matomo gives us full control over the data and regulatory compliance; GA4 provides native integration with the Google Ads ecosystem and the behavioural signals that feed AI Overviews. By combining both, we offer you more complete and reliable analytics.
Ethical SEO as a principle
We work exclusively with White Hat techniques. In an environment where some promise to “hack ChatGPT”, we offer you sustainable results and an intact reputation.
A client recently asked us: “Is it really worth investing in something so new?” I answered with another question: “How much would it have cost you to rank on Google if you had started in 2005 instead of 2015?” With GEO, we are at that moment. Those who start now will have an advantage that in two years will be almost impossible to catch up with.
Even More Difficult
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between GEO and traditional SEO?
Traditional SEO ranks web pages in a search engine’s results. AI search engine optimisation (GEO) aims for your brand to be cited as a reliable source when a language model generates an answer. SEO works with keywords and links; GEO works with entities, verifiable authority and structured content. The two are complementary and, at AMDT, we work on them in an integrated way.
Can you guarantee appearing in ChatGPT or Perplexity?
No. And be wary of anyone who tells you otherwise. LLMs are opaque systems that select sources according to internal criteria that change with every model update. What we can do (and do) is maximise the chances: building the authority, structure and content that AI engines need to consider your brand a reference. It is strategic positioning work, not magic.
Do I need GEO if I already have good SEO rankings?
Yes. Good SEO is the foundation, but it is not enough. We have audited websites with excellent Google rankings that did not receive a single mention in AI engines. The reason is usually the same: generic content with no clear authorship, insufficient structured data and a lack of quality external mentions. GEO complements SEO; it does not replace it.
How long does it take to see results?
It depends on the starting point. If your brand already has online authority, media presence and quality content, the first results can be seen within 8 to 12 weeks. If we are starting from scratch, the process takes longer because the entity foundation has to be built first. In any case, it is a medium-term investment with a growing return.
What are LLMO and AIO? Are they the same as GEO?
They are variations of the same concept. LLMO (Large Language Model Optimization) focuses specifically on optimising for language models such as ChatGPT or Claude. AIO (AI Optimization) is a broader term that also covers Google’s AI Overviews. GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) covers optimisation for any generative search engine. In practice, the techniques overlap. At AMDT we work on all these dimensions under a single, unified strategy.
How much does the AI search engine optimisation service cost?
Each project is quoted individually according to the sector, the competition and the current state of the brand. We do not work with standardised packages because every business needs a different strategy. We invite you to tell us about your case in a no-obligation initial consultation so that we can offer you a proposal tailored to your real needs.
