GEO: How to Get Recommended by ChatGPT, Claude, and Other AI Assistants

Search is changing fast. Users increasingly ask AI chat assistants—ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, and others—for answers instead of typing queries into traditional search engines. That shift creates a new optimization surface: getting your content cited, summarized, and recommended inside an AI conversation.

This guide explains practical steps for Generative Engine Optimization (GEO)—improving your visibility inside AI chat systems without resorting to gimmicks. The principles overlap with strong technical SEO—but there are important differences worth understanding.

How AI chat assistants choose sources

While each model differs, most assistants use a blend of:

• Indexes from the public web (search corpora and crawlers)
• Live web browsing (Perplexity, some ChatGPT modes)
• Citation ranking based on relevance, authority, recency, and clarity
• Structured data and well‑formatted content that’s easy to ingest

Your goal is to be: (1) discoverable, (2) trustworthy, and (3) easy to summarize.

1) Publish answerable, unambiguous content

AI assistants prefer pages that map cleanly to a query and can be quoted succinctly.

• Use clear H1/H2s that match search intent (e.g., “MVP Development Services Pricing”)
• Lead with concise definitions, summaries, or numbered steps
• Provide scannable sections, bullet points, and checklists the model can lift
• Include short TL;DR summaries that capture the core answer

Think “reference‑able paragraphs.” If a chatbot could copy 1–3 sentences and fully answer a question, you’re in a good spot.

2) Add structured data and machine‑readable context

Structured data helps systems understand entities, relationships, and context.

• Use JSON‑LD for Organization, Product/Service, Article, FAQ, Breadcrumb
• Add sameAs links to authoritative profiles (GitHub, LinkedIn, Crunchbase)
• Provide canonical URLs and avoid duplicate content
• Include author bylines and dates to establish provenance

This increases your chances of being considered a reliable source and cited correctly.

3) Optimize for recency and changelogs

Models value freshness, especially for tooling and frameworks.

• Maintain a public changelog or “What’s New” page
• Timestamp posts and update them periodically; annotate updates
• Create “2025 Guide to X” pages with ongoing revisions

Recency signals help assistants pick your content when queries ask for “latest,” “current,” or “in 2025.”

4) Write comparison and decision content

A large share of AI queries ask “which tool,” “best option,” or “how does A compare to B.”

• Publish neutral “X vs Y” pages with balanced pros/cons and use cases
• Include decision matrices, checklists, and pricing tables in plain HTML
• Summarize with recommendations for different buyer profiles

Assistants love structured, unbiased comparisons they can summarize without hallucination.

5) Improve technical clarity (not just speed)

Core Web Vitals still matter, but so does semantic clarity:

• Use descriptive titles, meta descriptions, and consistent heading hierarchy
• Prefer plain HTML over opaque client‑side render‑only experiences
• Ensure server‑rendered content is visible without client JS
• Use accessible markup, alt text, and labels—assistants favor well‑formed pages

If your content is hard to parse, it’s less likely to be cited.

6) Create canonical “explainer” pages for your domain

Own key topics with comprehensive, well‑organized hubs:

• “What is [Your Service]?”
• “How to build an MVP with Next.js (2025 Guide)”
• “Design Systems for Startups: A Complete Guide”

Include internal links to supporting articles. This creates a knowledge graph within your site and increases topical authority.

7) Provide primary data, not just summaries

AI models are more likely to cite unique research and original data.

• Publish benchmarks, case studies, teardown analyses, and pricing studies
• Include charts and tables with plain‑text summaries below images
• Share anonymized metrics or aggregated insights from your work

Originality reduces competition and makes your pages stand out to ranking systems.

8) Add FAQ sections with question‑answer format

Question/answer blocks are easy for assistants to ingest.

• End articles with 4–8 FAQs written as questions
• Answer in 2–4 concise sentences each
• Mark up with FAQPage schema (JSON‑LD)

These often become the exact paragraphs chat systems quote.

9) Build authority off‑site (citations matter)

Assistants weigh signals beyond your domain.

• Earn mentions from reputable sources (guest posts, podcasts, case studies)
• Get listed in relevant directories and comparison sites
• Keep consistent NAP (name, address, phone) for local presence where relevant

The more third‑party references to your brand and content, the more likely you’ll surface as a cited source.

10) Make your pages “chat‑ready”

Small tweaks help assistants extract and reuse content:

• Use short, declarative sentences and avoid nested clauses
• Prefer active voice and concrete nouns over vague abstractions
• Place key facts and numbers near the top of sections
• Avoid burying answers behind tabs or client‑side expanders

You’re writing for humans first—but making it trivial for machines to quote.

A simple GEO publishing checklist

• Clear H1/H2 matching the question or intent
• 1–3 sentence summary near the top (TL;DR)
• Marked‑up FAQ section with JSON‑LD
• Structured data for Article/Organization/Service
• Canonical URL, Open Graph/Twitter meta
• Server‑rendered content; minimal client‑only blocks
• Links to authoritative sources and related internal posts

What this means for your content strategy

You don’t need to chase AI models with gimmicks. Focus on:

• Clarity and structure that’s easy to cite
• Freshness and original insight
• Clean technical implementation and schema
• A topical cluster of well‑linked articles

As assistants get better at sourcing and attribution, these fundamentals position your content to be included—and credited—inside AI conversations.

If you’d like help with Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) without sacrificing brand voice, devscriptive can partner with your team to plan content, implement schema, and tighten technical SEO.