Loading...
AI search is becoming part of everyday life for many users. ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, Gemini and other assistants answer questions that used to require a Google search - including purchase decisions. That raises a new question for businesses: what do these systems say about us, and whom do they name instead?
More and more users ask AI assistants such as ChatGPT, Perplexity or Gemini instead of clicking through search results. In February 2024, Gartner predicted that traditional search engine volume could drop by 25 percent by 2026 as users move to AI assistants. Whether the forecast plays out exactly is open - but the direction is clear. Relying on Google SEO alone leaves a growing channel unobserved. The answer: build GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) alongside SEO.
Try it now
Check your GEO Score in 60 seconds - free, no account needed. 42 factors analyzed.
AI systems need machine-readable information. Schema.org markup, correct metadata and clearly structured content make it easier for them to classify your business and offering correctly. Without this data, a system has to interpret your website - with the risk of gaps or errors. Beconova creates this structured data automatically; whether a system mentions you remains the provider's decision.
Everyone tracks SEO rankings. Few track AI citations - yet. In 2026, monitoring AI mentions will become as standard as Google Analytics. The questions behind it: Which products does ChatGPT recommend? Are competitors preferred? Where is data missing? Beconova tracks citations across plan-enabled AI providers.
Three developments shape the picture. First, classic search engines themselves show AI summaries above the results, such as Google's AI Overviews. Many questions are answered before a user clicks a result. Second, AI assistants have their own web search: ChatGPT, Perplexity and others fetch current pages when needed and link sources. Third, the type of query is shifting - instead of short keywords, users ask full questions with context, for example "Which accounting software suits a trades business with three employees?". Content that answers exactly such questions concretely is better suited than generic advertising copy.
A pragmatic order: 1. Technical access - are AI crawlers blocked by robots.txt, firewall or CDN? 2. Indexing - are your most important pages indexed by Google and Bing at all? The reports in Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools show it. 3. Clarity - does every important page state in the first paragraph what you offer and for whom? 4. Structured data - are organization, services or products and frequent questions marked up with Schema.org? 5. Consistency - does company data match across website, profiles and directories? 6. Measurement - check with a fixed question set whether and how AI systems mention you.
GEO improves the conditions for AI systems to find your business, understand it correctly and use it as a source. It cannot force a mention: which providers appear in an answer is decided by the systems based on many factors, including relevance, trust and available sources, which you can only partly influence. Be skeptical of offers promising guaranteed placements in ChatGPT. Serious work on AI visibility consists of a technical foundation, good content, presence in relevant third-party sources and regular measurement - and, much like SEO, it takes time.
AI visibility is no longer an experiment. Businesses that structure, check and measure their data now create better conditions for AI systems to understand and mention them correctly.
Check GEO Score for freeMarvin Malessa
Founder, Beconova
Founded Beconova in Germany in 2025 to help shops and service businesses become visible in AI search engines. Writes about GEO, AI visibility, and the future of search.
Get started with Beconova now and optimize your presence in AI search engines.
Get Started