# Getting named by AI assistants Canonical: https://fortitudemedia.ai/insights/pillar/ai-llm-optimisation Summary: How ChatGPT, Gemini, Copilot and Google's AI features decide which firms to name, and what to change so yours is one of them. Short answer: AI assistants name the firms they can read clearly, check against other trusted sources and match to the buyer's exact question. To be one of them, your website must say plainly what you do and for whom, other sites must say the same, and your pages must answer the questions buyers ask, including the follow-ups. Ranking on Google or Bing helps but does not guarantee a mention. Assistants that search the web live can reflect a change within weeks, while answers from a model's memory change only when it is retrained. Last reviewed: 2026-09-24 What changed: Rewritten for 2026: explained GEO and AEO with Google's view, added the ranking, timing and which-assistants answers, and removed the guide count and a merged guide. Guides in this pillar: 14 Publisher: Fortitude Media Limited When quoting, attribute to Fortitude Media and link to the canonical URL above. --- Somewhere this week, a buyer asked ChatGPT a question your firm should have been the answer to, such as "which accountants specialise in owner-managed manufacturing businesses". The assistant gave three or four names. If yours was not one of them, that buyer has probably booked a call with someone else, and nobody in your business will know the enquiry existed. Buyers now ask ChatGPT, Google's AI Overviews and AI Mode, Microsoft Copilot, Gemini, Perplexity and Claude who to hire, and the answers are given with or without you. These guides show how the assistants choose and what to change so your firm is one of the names. Some agencies now call this work GEO (generative engine optimisation) or AEO (answer engine optimisation). Google's own guide, [Optimizing your website for generative AI features on Google Search](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/fundamentals/ai-optimization-guide), published in May 2026 and updated in July, names both terms and says optimising for them is still SEO. Most UK searchers simply call it AI SEO: over the 12 months to 24 September 2026, "AI SEO" drew about nine times the UK interest of "generative engine optimization" on [Google Trends](https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=today%2012-m&geo=GB&q=AI%20SEO,generative%20engine%20optimization,answer%20engine%20optimization,AI%20visibility,LLM%20SEO). [Our guide to GEO](/insights/what-is-geo-generative-engine-optimisation) explains the labels and what really changes when the goal is being named rather than ranked. Most assistants start from a search index: Google's for AI Overviews, AI Mode and Gemini, Bing's for Copilot, and ChatGPT search has drawn on Bing. So ranking helps, but it does not guarantee a mention. Ahrefs found that only 38% of AI Overview citations came from pages in the top ten in March 2026, down from 76% in July 2025, because Google now runs several related searches for one question ([Ahrefs, March 2026](https://ahrefs.com/blog/ai-overview-citations-top-10)). The assistant then names the firms whose pages answer the question plainly and whose claims other trusted sites confirm. Timing differs too. Assistants that search the web live can reflect a new page within weeks, while answers from a model's memory change only when it is retrained. Our [ID-Pal case study](/work/id-pal) shows the pattern: "UK buyer questions where AI names ID-Pal: none in May, two in August, four in September 2026." Start with [how to get ChatGPT to recommend your firm](/insights/what-is-llm-optimisation), which sets out the three things assistants need from you. If you suspect assistants cannot read your site at all, [how AI crawlers read your website](/insights/ai-crawlers-vs-google-spiders) shows how to check. If an assistant describes you wrongly, [why ChatGPT describes your firm wrongly](/insights/ai-conflicting-information-online) shows how to correct the facts at source. The other guides in this topic help with narrower decisions: whether you still need SEO, whether schema markup is worth adding, how to organise content so assistants read it as expertise, how often to publish, whether domain authority scores mean anything, which sources assistants cite for B2B questions, what E-E-A-T means in practice, what Google's AI Overviews do to your clicks, and why a site with hundreds of pages can still be ignored. Guides on Bing, Microsoft Copilot, llms.txt and crawler settings are being added over the coming weeks. If you want to know where you stand first, [book a free Growth Review](/growth-review): before the 30-minute call we check your site, two competitors and what Google and ChatGPT say about all three, and afterwards you get three fixes in writing. ## Common questions ### Why does ChatGPT recommend my competitors and not us? Usually because it can find clearer, more consistent evidence about them. Their website says plainly what they do and for whom, other trusted sites say the same, and their pages answer the questions buyers actually ask. Size matters less than most founders expect. A small firm with specific pages and a handful of good independent mentions can be named ahead of a much larger rival with a vague website. ### What are GEO and AEO, and is this just SEO? GEO (generative engine optimisation) and AEO (answer engine optimisation) are labels some agencies now use for work aimed at getting a firm named in AI answers. Google's own guide to its generative AI features, updated in July 2026, names both and says optimising for them is still SEO. Most UK searchers call it AI SEO: Google Trends shows "AI SEO" drew about nine times the UK interest of "generative engine optimization" in the year to September 2026. What changes is the goal, which is being named in an answer rather than ranked on a list, and the extra weight of press coverage, reviews and answers to the follow-up questions. ### Which AI assistants matter most for a B2B firm? ChatGPT and Google's AI Overviews and AI Mode first, then Microsoft Copilot and Gemini, then Perplexity and Claude. OpenAI said in August 2026 that ChatGPT has more than a billion weekly users. Copilot matters more than its public web traffic suggests, because many buyers have it at work: Microsoft says Microsoft 365 Copilot passed 30 million paid seats in July 2026, and Forrester found business buyers four times as likely as consumers to use Copilot. Check them all with the same list of buyer questions. ### How long does it take to get named? Assistants that search the web live, such as ChatGPT search, Perplexity, Copilot and Google's AI features, can reflect a new page or a new article within weeks. Answers drawn from a model's own memory change only when the model is retrained, which takes months. Our ID-Pal case study is a dated example: "UK buyer questions where AI names ID-Pal: none in May, two in August, four in September 2026." Plan for steady work over a year and measure it every month. ### Can we pay to appear in ChatGPT's answers, or buy a guaranteed place? Not in the answer itself. According to OpenAI, ChatGPT has shown labelled ads to UK users on its Free and Go plans since 11 August 2026, and the ads do not change the answer, so being named in the answer is still earned. Nobody can guarantee what an AI assistant will say. A provider can guarantee its effort, its reporting and outcomes it controls, so be wary of anyone promising you a place in ChatGPT's answers. ### Where do we start? Find out where you stand. Write down 20 to 50 questions your buyers really ask, put each to ChatGPT, Google, Copilot and Gemini several times a month in a clean session, record who is named, and count a win only when it repeats. Then read your homepage and main service pages as a stranger would and check they say plainly what you do, for whom and where. Fix those pages first, because everything else builds on them. ## Guides in this pillar - [Does ChatGPT use Google or Bing, and does Bing matter for a B2B firm?](https://fortitudemedia.ai/insights/does-chatgpt-use-google-or-bing): OpenAI does not name a single search engine. It says ChatGPT search sometimes sends rewritten queries to third-party search providers, points users to Microsoft's privacy policy, and runs its own crawler, OAI-SearchBot. A small 2025 Seer Interactive test found 87% of ChatGPT search citations matched Bing's top results, against 56% for Google. Copilot grounds its web answers in Bing. So verify your site in Bing Webmaster Tools, submit a sitemap, turn on IndexNow and allow OAI-SearchBot. (published 2026-10-15, reviewed 2026-10-15) Markdown: https://fortitudemedia.ai/insights/md/does-chatgpt-use-google-or-bing - [What is GEO, and is it just SEO?](https://fortitudemedia.ai/insights/what-is-geo-generative-engine-optimisation): GEO (generative engine optimisation) means work aimed at getting your firm named and cited in answers from ChatGPT, Gemini, Copilot and Google's AI features; AEO (answer engine optimisation) means much the same. Google's July 2026 guide names both and calls them still SEO, with no special files or llms.txt needed. What changes is the goal of being named, the weight of press coverage and reviews, and measuring with repeated buyer questions. UK searchers mostly call it AI SEO. (published 2026-09-24, reviewed 2026-09-24) Markdown: https://fortitudemedia.ai/insights/md/what-is-geo-generative-engine-optimisation - [Do we need schema markup for AI assistants to understand our site?](https://fortitudemedia.ai/insights/structured-data-schema-markup-ai): Not strictly, but accurate markup helps. Schema markup is hidden code that states your firm's facts plainly: name, company number, services, people, and who wrote each article and when. Google says its AI features need no special markup and stopped showing FAQ rich results on 7 May 2026; Microsoft says schema helps its AI systems understand content; OpenAI and Anthropic have not said whether they read it. Add Organization, Person, Article and Service markup, keep it matching the page, and do not treat it as a ranking trick. (published 2026-04-22, reviewed 2026-09-24) Markdown: https://fortitudemedia.ai/insights/md/structured-data-schema-markup-ai - [Do we still need SEO now that buyers ask ChatGPT instead of Google?](https://fortitudemedia.ai/insights/seo-vs-llm-optimisation): Yes, but not the SEO you bought in 2019. Google says optimising for its AI features is still SEO, and ChatGPT search, Copilot and Google's AI answers all start from a search index, so ranking helps but does not guarantee a mention. Keep the technical basics and structured data, and get your site into Bing. Stop keyword-volume pages and bought links. Add what some agencies call GEO (generative engine optimisation): clear positioning, depth on buyer questions and mentions in publications buyers trust. (published 2026-04-22, reviewed 2026-09-24) Markdown: https://fortitudemedia.ai/insights/md/seo-vs-llm-optimisation - [How do we get ChatGPT to recommend our firm when buyers ask?](https://fortitudemedia.ai/insights/what-is-llm-optimisation): Give the assistants three things: credible mentions of your firm on other sites, a website that says plainly what you do and for whom, and visible evidence of expertise. Assistants find firms from training data, which changes over months, and live search, which can change within weeks: ChatGPT search and Copilot draw on Bing, Google's AI features on Google. Ranking helps but does not guarantee a mention. Track 20 to 50 buyer questions monthly and count a win only when it repeats. (published 2026-04-22, reviewed 2026-09-24) Markdown: https://fortitudemedia.ai/insights/md/what-is-llm-optimisation - [How often do we need to publish for AI assistants to notice us?](https://fortitudemedia.ai/insights/how-often-publish-content-ai): Publish at a rhythm you can keep for eighteen months, and make every piece substantive. For most founder-led B2B firms that is one thorough article a fortnight; monthly works where depth is the priority, and weekly only with several contributors. AI assistants judge the whole body of work and whether it is kept current, not the number of posts. Founder LinkedIn posts count too, but bursts of thin or AI-generated pages and date changes without real updates work against you. (published 2026-04-22, reviewed 2026-09-24) Markdown: https://fortitudemedia.ai/insights/md/how-often-publish-content-ai - [What is domain authority, and do AI assistants actually use it?](https://fortitudemedia.ai/insights/what-is-domain-authority-ai): Domain authority is a 1 to 100 score from SEO tools such as Moz, Ahrefs and Semrush that estimates how much other websites vouch for yours through links. It is not Google's number, and ChatGPT and other AI assistants never look it up. They respond to the evidence behind it: mentions and links on trusted, relevant sites, including mentions with no link. Earn coverage in publications your buyers read, and judge progress by whether assistants name you, not by the score. (published 2026-04-22, reviewed 2026-09-24) Markdown: https://fortitudemedia.ai/insights/md/what-is-domain-authority-ai - [How do AI crawlers read my website, and are we letting them in?](https://fortitudemedia.ai/insights/ai-crawlers-vs-google-spiders): AI crawlers such as GPTBot, OAI-SearchBot, ClaudeBot and PerplexityBot fetch your pages but, unlike Googlebot, do not run JavaScript, so your key text must be in the HTML your server sends. Each obeys robots.txt by name, though fetchers acting on a user's question, such as ChatGPT-User, may not. Check robots.txt, your Cloudflare or firewall settings and a text-only view of your key pages. Most B2B firms should let the search crawlers in. (published 2026-03-31, reviewed 2026-09-24) Markdown: https://fortitudemedia.ai/insights/md/ai-crawlers-vs-google-spiders - [How do I organise our content so AI assistants see us as the expert?](https://fortitudemedia.ai/insights/topic-clusters-ai-understands): Organise your content into topic clusters: one main guide on a subject you want to be known for, plus four or five articles that each answer one follow-up question, all using the same framework and terms. Google's AI features split each question into several related searches, so a cluster that answers the follow-ups gives them more to cite. Make every page quotable on its own, remove contradictions between pages, and say what each link means. (published 2026-03-31, reviewed 2026-09-24) Markdown: https://fortitudemedia.ai/insights/md/topic-clusters-ai-understands - [What are Google AI Overviews and what do they mean for my firm?](https://fortitudemedia.ai/insights/google-ai-overviews-changing-search): A Google AI Overview is an answer Google writes at the top of the results from several websites, with the sources credited beside it; AI Mode is the conversational version. When one appears, people click ordinary results about half as often, but cited pages earn far more clicks than uncited ones. Google credits pages that are indexed, quotable and answer the follow-up questions, so open each section with a clear claim and track who is credited for your buyers' questions. (published 2026-03-31, reviewed 2026-09-24) Markdown: https://fortitudemedia.ai/insights/md/google-ai-overviews-changing-search - [What is E-E-A-T and why do AI assistants care about it so much?](https://fortitudemedia.ai/insights/eeat-why-ai-cares-more): E-E-A-T stands for experience, expertise, authoritativeness and trustworthiness, the qualities Google's systems try to reward; Google says trust matters most and that E-E-A-T is not itself a ranking factor. AI assistants that search the web start from a search index, then quote specific, sourced passages, so the same qualities decide who gets cited. Show named, checkable authors, specific examples from real work, sources for every figure and honest limits, especially on financial and legal topics. (published 2026-03-31, reviewed 2026-09-24) Markdown: https://fortitudemedia.ai/insights/md/eeat-why-ai-cares-more - [Which sources does ChatGPT cite when a B2B buyer asks who to hire?](https://fortitudemedia.ai/insights/ai-optimisation-b2b-vs-b2c): Mostly sources other than your own website. Large citation studies put Wikipedia, Reddit, LinkedIn, YouTube and Forbes at the top, with G2 and Gartner prominent on business questions, and Muck Rack found in May 2026 that 84% of links cited by AI tools were earned media. Your own site still supplies the facts an assistant repeats, including who you suit. Run your buyers' questions, log the sources cited, and earn a place in the three that recur most. (published 2026-03-31, reviewed 2026-09-24) Markdown: https://fortitudemedia.ai/insights/md/ai-optimisation-b2b-vs-b2c - [Why does ChatGPT describe my firm wrongly, and how do I fix it?](https://fortitudemedia.ai/insights/ai-conflicting-information-online): Usually because the facts about your firm disagree across the web: your website, LinkedIn, Companies House, directories, listings and old press each say something slightly different about what you do, for whom and since when. ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude compare those sources and, when they conflict, repeat the wrong or older version. Fix it with one master fact sheet, update every source in a set order over four weeks, then report remaining errors through each assistant's feedback button. Live search answers can change within weeks; answers from a model's memory take months. (published 2026-03-31, reviewed 2026-09-24) Markdown: https://fortitudemedia.ai/insights/md/ai-conflicting-information-online - [Why does ChatGPT ignore our website when we have hundreds of pages?](https://fortitudemedia.ai/insights/ai-penalises-thin-content): First rule out access: AI crawlers blocked in robots.txt or by your CDN, key text that only appears after JavaScript runs, pages missing from Bing, or no mentions on other sites. If assistants can read you, the usual cause is thin content: definitions, feature lists, padding and near-duplicate pages that give an assistant nothing worth quoting, even when they rank on Google. Check which pages AI already uses, score your twenty most important pages, then merge duplicates, deepen what matters and delete the rest. (published 2026-03-31, reviewed 2026-09-24) Markdown: https://fortitudemedia.ai/insights/md/ai-penalises-thin-content