GEO explained: how a business gets mentioned in ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews

What GEO means

GEO stands for generative engine optimisation. "Generative" means tools that write an answer, like ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Microsoft Copilot and Google's AI Overviews and AI Mode. When someone asks "which vet in Nicosia is open on Sunday?", these tools search the web, read some pages, and write a reply. Sometimes they name businesses and link to them. GEO is about being one of those names.

It is not a separate world from SEO. Most of these tools use a search index behind the scenes. If your pages are hard to crawl, slow, vague or missing basic facts, they are less likely to be picked up by a search engine or by an AI assistant.

What the platforms say

The best place to start is with what the companies themselves publish, not with guesses.

Google: no special tricks

Google's guide on AI features says there are no extra requirements to appear in AI Overviews or AI Mode, and no special optimisation is needed. To be shown as a supporting link, a page must be indexed and eligible to appear in Search with a snippet. Google adds that you do not need special schema markup or new "AI text files". It also explains that both features may use "query fan-out": they run several related searches on subtopics at once, which lets them show a wider range of links than a normal search.

ChatGPT: let OAI-SearchBot in

OpenAI uses different crawlers for different jobs. Its crawler documentation says OAI-SearchBot is used to surface websites in ChatGPT search. Sites that block it will not be shown in ChatGPT search answers, though they can still appear as plain navigation links. GPTBot is a different crawler, used for training OpenAI's models. You can block GPTBot and still allow OAI-SearchBot. OpenAI says changes to robots.txt can take about 24 hours to apply.

Perplexity: let PerplexityBot in

Perplexity's crawler page says PerplexityBot is used to surface and link websites in its results, and is not used to train AI models. To appear, it recommends allowing PerplexityBot in robots.txt.

Microsoft: make answers easy to lift

Microsoft gave the most practical advice. In an October 2025 post, a Bing product manager explained that AI assistants break pages into smaller pieces and build answers from them. So each section of your page needs to make sense on its own. The advice includes: match your title, main heading and description; use specific headings, not "Learn more"; use questions with direct answers; use lists and tables for steps and comparisons; and do not hide key answers in tabs, PDFs or images.

Practical steps for a small business

1. Check your robots.txt. Many sites block AI crawlers by accident, through a security plugin or a hosting setting. Make sure Googlebot, Bingbot, OAI-SearchBot and PerplexityBot can reach your public pages.
2. Get the basic facts on every key page. Who you are, what you do, where, opening hours, areas you serve, how to book. Write them in plain text. An AI cannot quote a fact it cannot read.
3. Write one clear page per service or product type. A page called "Services" with ten items in one paragraph is hard to quote. A page about "dog vaccinations in Kaimakli" with a short answer at the top is easy.
4. Answer real questions. Use the questions customers ask you on the phone. Put the question as a heading and answer it in one or two sentences, then add detail.
5. Use specific facts, not slogans. "Same-day delivery in Nicosia for orders before 2pm" is useful. "Best service in Cyprus" is not. Microsoft's guidance warns against vague claims like "cutting-edge" for exactly this reason.
6. Keep your listings consistent. Your name, address and phone should match on your site, your Google Business Profile, Bing Places, Facebook and local directories. AI tools pull from many sources, and mixed details create doubt.
7. Be mentioned by others. Reviews, local news, partner sites and industry directories all give AI tools more places to read about you. This is the slowest step, and one of the most valuable.
8. Use structured data where it fits. Schema markup, a hidden label that tells machines "this is a product" or "this is a local business", helps systems read a page. Google says it is not required for AI features, but it must match what is visible on the page.

What nobody can guarantee

Here is the honest part. AI answers change from one question to the next, from one person to the next, and from one week to the next. The same question can give different names each time. The guidance the companies publish covers access and good practice, not a list of rules that decide who gets named.

So be careful with anyone who promises "we will get you into ChatGPT" or offers a fixed number of AI mentions. What you can do is improve the odds: be easy to find, easy to read, and talked about in the right places.

It is also worth keeping traffic in proportion. SparkToro's 2026 study found that AI tools sent out less than 1% of traffic. For most local businesses, Google is still where most new customers come from. GEO is about not being invisible in a channel that is growing, not about replacing SEO.

What this means for businesses in Cyprus and Greece

Our markets have one advantage: there is less competition for clear, local answers. If you are a clinic in Strovolos or a shop in Thessaloniki, there may be only a handful of pages that answer a specific local question well. A clear page can stand out.

Language matters too. People here ask AI tools in Greek, in English, and sometimes in Greeklish. If your site is in English only, a Greek question has less to match. When I build sites for clinics in Nicosia, I write each key page in both Greek and English, with the same facts in each, so both versions can be found and quoted.

Finally, check the basics that are often wrong on small Cypriot and Greek sites: hosting firewalls that block unknown crawlers, opening hours that only appear in an image, and Google Business Profiles that list an old phone number.

Questions people ask

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Sources

1. AI Features and Your Website, Google Search Central, December 2025
2. Overview of OpenAI Crawlers, OpenAI
3. Perplexity Crawlers, Perplexity
4. Optimizing Your Content for Inclusion in AI Search Answers, Microsoft Advertising, October 2025
5. In 2026, Less than One Third of Google Searches Still Send a Click, SparkToro, June 2026