Guides
AI search optimization guides, from first check to fix
Six practical guides on how ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity, Grok and Google’s AI answers pick the brands they name, and what you can do about it. Each has steps and checklists you can use today, with or without Rankry.
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Where to start
6 guides- New to this? What is AI visibility
- Want the full method? AI search optimization
- Missing from ChatGPT? How to get recommended
- Explaining it to your team? GEO vs SEO
- Rivals get cited, you don’t? How AI chooses sources
- Ready to measure? Track brand mentions in AI
In short
AI search optimization is the work of getting AI assistants and AI search features to find, trust and recommend your brand. These guides from Rankry explain it in order: what AI visibility means, how AI engines choose their sources, how GEO differs from SEO, and how to measure and improve how often you are named.
Where to start
Where should I start with AI search optimization?
If the topic is new to you, read the guides in this order. Each builds on the one before, and none needs a tool to be useful.
- 01
Learn what is being measured
Read What is AI visibility. It defines the share of AI answers that name you and the metrics around it.
- 02
See how answers get built
Read How AI chooses sources. It explains when engines search, which pages they pull in, and what you can influence.
- 03
Get the whole method
Read AI search optimization for the full loop: find the questions that matter, measure where you stand, fix what keeps you out.
- 04
Apply it to the biggest assistant
Read How to get recommended by ChatGPT for concrete steps, including the crawler settings ChatGPT search depends on.
- 05
Set up measurement
Read How to track brand mentions in AI. Pick prompts, check them by hand or with a tool, and record results the same way each time.
- 06
Explain it to others
Use GEO vs SEO when a colleague asks whether this replaces SEO. Short answer: most of the work overlaps.
Find your guide
Which guide answers my question?
Match the question you have today to the guide that answers it.
| Your question | Read this guide | What you leave with |
|---|---|---|
| What does “AI visibility” actually mean? | What is AI visibility | A definition, the core metrics, and a way to check your own brand by hand |
| What are GEO, AEO and LLMO? | AI search optimization | The terms explained, and the find, measure, fix loop end to end |
| Why doesn’t ChatGPT mention us? | How to get recommended by ChatGPT | A step list, the right robots.txt settings, and a way to test progress |
| Do we still need SEO? | GEO vs SEO | A comparison table, where the two overlap, and how to run both |
| Why does AI cite our competitors’ pages? | How AI chooses sources | How retrieval works in each engine, and which sources you can earn |
| How do we monitor this every week? | How to track brand mentions in AI | A manual method, a tracking sheet layout, and when a tool pays off |
Key terms
What do the main AI search terms mean?
The same ideas go by several names. These are the terms the guides use.
AI visibility
How often AI answers name your brand for your buyers’ questions, usually the share of answers that mention you.
Mention
Your brand name appears in the answer text. A mention can come with or without a link to your site.
Citation
A page the AI lists as a source. You can be cited without being recommended, and the other way round.
Position
Where your brand appears among the options an answer lists. First beats fifth, but being named at all comes first.
Share of voice
Your share of all mentions of you and the competitors you track. It shows who AI favors.
GEO, AEO, LLMO
Generative engine, answer engine and LLM optimization: different labels for the same goal, being the answer AI gives.
Before you start
What should I have ready before optimizing for AI search?
You can start with a spreadsheet. These are the inputs every guide assumes.
- A list of 10 to 30 questions a buyer would ask an AI assistant about your category
- The names of three to five competitors you lose deals to
- Access to your robots.txt file and the ability to change it
- The review sites, forums and directories that cover your category
- Someone who can edit or publish pages on your site
- A place to record results the same way each week
How these guides are written
Why trust these guides?
These guides stick to what AI companies document and what you can check yourself. Where an engine’s behavior is not public, we say so. There are no invented statistics and no promises that a tactic guarantees a recommendation, because no one can guarantee that.
Rankry is an AI search optimization platform that tracks ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity, Grok, Meta Muse, Google AI Overviews, AI Mode and Copilot. That data shapes the advice, and every method also works by hand.
Guides
All guides
What is AI search optimization?
AI search optimization is the work of making AI assistants and AI search features find, trust and recommend your brand. It covers technical access, content that answers buyer questions, and mentions in reviews, forums and articles. It is also called GEO, AEO or LLMO.
Which AI engines should I care about?
Start with the ones your buyers use. For most businesses that means ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews and AI Mode, Gemini and Perplexity, with Claude and Grok worth watching. Each engine picks sources differently, so a brand can be named in one and missing in another.
Is AI search optimization different from SEO?
Partly. The groundwork is shared: crawlable pages, clear content, a good reputation. The differences are in what you measure (mentions inside answers, not rank on a results page) and how much third-party sources matter. The GEO vs SEO guide compares them in full.
Can I check my AI visibility for free?
Yes. Ask each AI assistant the questions your buyers would ask, in a private or logged-out session, and record whether your brand is named and in what position. The tracking guide has a step list. Repeat the same questions over several weeks, because a single answer is only a sample.
Where do I start if I only have an hour?
Ask ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity five questions a buyer would ask, note which brands get named, and check robots.txt for blocked AI search crawlers. That shows whether you have a gap and whether a technical block is part of it.
How long does it take to see results?
It depends on the engine and the change. Engines that search the web can use a new or updated page once it has been crawled and indexed, while what a model learned in training only changes with new model versions. Plan in weeks to months, and measure the same prompts throughout.
Do I need a tool to do this?
No. Every guide works by hand. A tool helps once you track more than a handful of questions across several engines, because manual records get hard to compare. Rankry re-runs your prompts at your chosen interval: daily, every 3 days or every 7 days, keeps every answer and shows the trend.
What does Rankry do?
Rankry is an AI search optimization platform. It tracks how ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity, Grok, Meta Muse, Google AI Overviews, Google AI Mode and Copilot answer the questions your buyers ask, shows which competitors and sources they favor, and turns the gaps into an Action plan with tasks and draft content. ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity are on every plan; the Google surfaces are included on Pro and available as paid add-ons on Base; Claude, Grok, Meta Muse and Copilot are paid add-ons.
See where AI names you today
Rankry writes prompts from your site, asks the AI engines your plan includes, and shows who they recommend.
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