GEO: Lies and Truth—Should Small Businesses Invest in AI Search Visibility?
Small businesses are increasingly being offered services that promise greater visibility and more recommendations in ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, and other AI platforms. The difficult question is not whether AI-driven discovery matters. It is which GEO services are worth paying for—and which claims should be ignored. Generative Engine Optimization, or GEO, refers to efforts intended to increase how often a company, product, or website is mentioned, cited, or recommended in generative AI answers. Providers may recommend tactics such as: Writing in a style supposedly preferred by AI Adding large numbers of questions, answers, lists, and tables Expanding structured data Installing an llms.txt file Creating AI-specific Markdown or summary pages Spreading brand mentions across Reddit, Quora, and other platforms Measuring a brand’s share of AI answers Managing its position in ChatGPT recommendations But do these methods work? Businesses should measure how AI services describe and reco...