Generative engine optimization (GEO) and AEO
AI search optimization for ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Perplexity and Copilot
We measure where you appear in AI answers today, fix your site and content so AI can quote it, and build the third-party mentions AI relies on.
AI search optimization (also called GEO or AEO) helps your brand become the one AI assistants name when buyers ask for a recommendation in your category. Leadee measures where you appear today across ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Perplexity, Copilot and Google AI Overviews, fixes your site and content so AI can quote it, and builds the third-party mentions AI relies on.
Updated November 2026Who is it for?
Buyers who ask AI before they buy
Your customers ask an AI tool or Google for a shortlist. If competitors are named and you are not, you never get the call.
B2B firms with real expertise
The knowledge sits in proposals and in people's heads. We turn it into pages AI can read and quote.
Consumer and local brands
People ask AI tools for restaurants, clinics, schools and products as much as for B2B suppliers.
Four things AI needs before it recommends you
We start by measuring, then work on each of the four every month.
- Step 1
Audit
We run the questions your buyers ask across the main AI tools and record how often you are named, and who is named instead.
- Step 2
Access and answers
AI crawlers must be able to read your site. Then we build pages that answer buyer questions directly, with dates and sources.
- Step 3
Entity and mentions
The same facts about you everywhere: site, LinkedIn, directories and schema. Plus reviews, lists and articles on the sites AI quotes for your category.
- Every month
Measure again
The same questions are run again, so you see your share of answers and the cited sources move month on month.
GEO, AEO and SEO: what is the difference?
The three overlap. We run them as one programme, because the same pages and mentions feed all of them.
- SEO (search engine optimization)
- Getting your pages to rank in Google and Bing results. Measured in impressions, clicks and average position.
- AEO (answer engine optimization)
- Writing pages so a search engine or assistant can lift a direct answer: the question, a short answer first, then the detail. It covers featured snippets, AI Overviews and voice answers.
- GEO (generative engine optimization)
- Getting your brand named and cited inside the answers that ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Claude and Copilot write. Measured in mentions, citations and visits from AI assistants.
How does each AI assistant pick its sources?
Each assistant reads the web in its own way, so each one needs a slightly different check. The foundation is the same: pages it can crawl, a clear answer near the top, and third-party pages that name you.
ChatGPT
When ChatGPT searches the web, it lists the pages it used. Your pages need to be open to OpenAI's search crawler (OAI-SearchBot). Visits show in GA4 as chatgpt.com referrals.
Google AI Overviews and AI Mode
Built on Google's own index, so pages have to be indexed and ranking first. Search Console counts the impressions these AI features show.
Gemini
Uses Google Search to ground its answers, so the pages that rank in Google feed it too. Visits show in GA4 as gemini.google.com referrals.
Microsoft Copilot
Grounds its answers in Bing. Bing Webmaster Tools reports which queries cite your pages, counted together with Bing AI summaries and partner sites.
Perplexity
Runs its own web search and cites each source inline. Pages need to be open to PerplexityBot and answer the question in the first lines.
Claude
Searches the web when search is turned on, and names the pages it used. Claude is in the monthly prompt panel, and its visits show in GA4 as claude.ai referrals, as two of our cases record.
What do we do each month?
Prompt panel
A fixed set of buyer questions run across the AI tools, with your share of answers and the sources cited.
Answer pages and FAQs
New or rewritten pages that answer the questions buyers ask.
Schema and technical fixes
Organization, service, FAQ and article markup, plus crawl access and structure.
Directory and review profiles
Review sites, Google and industry directories kept complete and consistent.
Third-party mentions
Guest articles, lists and PR built on your own data.
Monthly report
What changed in the answers, what we shipped and what comes next.
Measurement run for you
AI answer tracking
The prompt panel is run by us every month across the main AI tools.
Site and schema checks
Crawl access, structure and markup reviewed on your own site.
Monthly report
Share of answers, cited sources and the work done, in one report.
Results from SEO and AI search work
Anonymous client results read from their own Bing, Search Console and Semrush accounts. Client names are withheld.
- 5,762
AI citations reported by Bing Webmaster Tools, 11 May to 8 Nov 2026, on BIM standards and execution-plan questions.
Read the case: BIM and engineering consultancy - 114,000
Google impressions in November 2025, from a site first indexed on 28 April 2025.
Read the case: WeTarseel - 2,163
AI citations reported by Bing Webmaster Tools, 11 May to 8 Nov 2026, plus 19K Google AI-feature impressions.
Read the case: Signage and cladding manufacturer
Search and AI figures are read from each client's own Search Console, Bing Webmaster Tools, GA4 and Semrush data for the stated period. Each case page shows how the numbers were counted.
How is AI search priced?
AI search work is quoted for your scope after the growth audit.
Start with a free growth audit
A 15-minute call. You leave with three next steps for outbound, AI search and your website, whether or not we work with you.
A quote for your scope
The audit shows where you stand in AI answers. The quote follows from the work that gap needs.
Run it with SEO
SEO and AI search share foundations, and we run both together.
AI search questions
What is generative engine optimization (GEO)?
Generative engine optimization means making your brand easy for AI assistants such as ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews to find, understand and cite. It uses the same foundations as SEO: clear answers, consistent facts about your company, structured data and mentions on sites the assistants trust.
Is AEO different from SEO?
Answer engine optimization (AEO) focuses on being the answer an assistant or a featured snippet quotes. It builds on SEO rather than replacing it: crawlable pages, direct answers near the top, FAQ schema and corroboration from other sources.
How do you measure AI search visibility?
We run a fixed set of buyer prompts on each assistant, by country and date, and record whether your brand is mentioned and which pages are cited. The same prompts are re-run monthly so changes are measured, not guessed.
What is the difference between SEO and AI search optimization?
SEO helps you rank in Google's results. AI search optimization helps you get named inside the answers AI tools write. They share foundations, and we run both together.
Does AI search optimization work for consumer brands?
Yes. People ask AI tools for restaurants, clinics, schools and products as much as for B2B suppliers.
Which AI tools do you track?
ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Perplexity, Copilot and Google AI Overviews.
Can you guarantee that ChatGPT will recommend us?
No. Nobody controls what an AI tool writes. We work on what it reads: your site, your facts and the third-party sources it quotes. Then we measure the change every month.
What is a prompt panel?
A fixed list of the questions your buyers ask, run across the AI tools on a schedule. It shows how often you are named and who is named instead.
Do we need to change our website for AI search?
Often yes, in small ways: clearer answer pages, FAQs, dates, sources and markup. Changes are made with your approval.
Do you do ChatGPT SEO, Claude SEO and Perplexity SEO separately?
No. One programme covers them: the same answer pages, facts and third-party mentions feed ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Perplexity, Copilot and Google AI Overviews. The prompt panel reports each tool separately.
How does a site get cited in Microsoft Copilot answers?
Copilot and Bing's AI answers draw on Bing search and link the pages they use. Bing Webmaster Tools' AI Performance report lists the grounding queries that cite a site. In our BIM consultancy case, the most cited grounding queries were definition questions about BIM documents; the case shows the numbers and the period.
Which AI assistants send visitors to a website?
ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Perplexity and Copilot all show up as traffic sources in GA4. In our WhatsApp API SaaS case, ChatGPT sent the most sessions from AI assistants; the case shows the counts, the period and how sessions were counted.
Want a steady flow of qualified meetings with the buyers you want?
Book a 15-minute growth audit. You leave with three next steps for outbound, AI search and your website, whether or not we work with you.