Why Your Business Isn't Showing Up in ChatGPT (And How to Fix It)

Most businesses optimised for Google are invisible to AI search engines. Here's why — and the exact framework I use to change that.

The core problem

AI search models like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews don't rank pages. They synthesise answers from sources they've already indexed and learned to trust. Your keyword rankings don't carry over.

The signals that make you appear in AI answers are:

Entity authority — do structured data sources agree that you exist and that you're the authority on your topic?
E-E-A-T signals — does your content demonstrate direct experience, expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness in ways an LLM can parse?
Citation worthiness — is your content written in a way that answers questions directly, so AI models prefer to quote you?

The five-step GEO framework

In every AI Visibility Sprint, I follow this sequence:

Step 1: Audit your current AI footprint

Use a tool like Perplexity or ChatGPT to search for your brand name, your core category, and the top 10 questions your customers ask. Note exactly how often you appear and what the AI says about you.

Step 2: Fix structured data gaps

Organisation schema, FAQ schema, and HowTo schema are the three highest-leverage structured data types for AI citation. If your site is missing them or has errors, fix these first.

Step 3: Build entity authority

AI models cross-reference Wikipedia, Wikidata, LinkedIn, Crunchbase, and authoritative industry sources. Ensure your entity appears consistently across all of them.

Step 4: Rewrite key pages for direct-answer format

AI prefers pages that answer one question clearly at the top, then provide supporting detail. The inverted-pyramid structure that works for journalism works here too.

Step 5: Set up citation monitoring

Use Perplexity's API or a tool like RiffAnalytics to track how often you're cited in AI answers week-over-week. This is how you know if the work is paying off.

How long does it take?

In my experience: 4-6 weeks to implement, 6-12 weeks to see meaningful citation improvement. AI models are re-indexed on different schedules, so patience is required — but the results compound.

If you want me to run this audit on your site, book a strategy call — I offer a free 30-minute session to assess your current AI search footprint.