Search is no longer just “10 blue links.” Customers now ask Google AI Overviews / AI Mode, Microsoft Copilot (Bing), Perplexity, and ChatGPT for answers, and those systems often summarize from a handful of sources and cite links. If your brand isn’t in those sources, you’re invisible.

The good news: the same fundamentals that make you discoverable in classic search also help you surface in generative results, plus a few new, very practical steps.

The new discovery surfaces (what they are & how they pick sources)

• Google: AI Overviews & AI Mode
  Google shows AI summaries when it believes they add value. There’s no special schema or magic tag to appear; you must be eligible for normal Search (indexed, snippet-eligible) and follow standard SEO best practices. Control exposure with robots/meta preview controls (for snippets) and use Google‑Extended only for limiting training/grounding in other Google systems—not for Search itself. Traffic from AI features is included in the normal “Web” data in Search Console.

• Microsoft Copilot (Bing)
  Copilot displays AI answers grounded in Bing results and shows citations. Microsoft’s own agent tooling makes explicit use of a Bing grounding tool that returns summarized text with source citations. Expect similar behavior in consumer Copilot Search.

• Perplexity
  Perplexity is an “answer engine” that always cites sources. It uses two user agents: PerplexityBot (indexing for search results) and Perplexity‑User (fetching pages on behalf of users). Their docs state these are not used to train foundation models; Perplexity‑User may ignore robots.txt because it’s a user‑initiated fetch. If you want visibility in Perplexity answers, let PerplexityBot crawl.

• ChatGPT (OpenAI Web Search)
  OpenAI uses separate crawlers: OAI‑SearchBot (indexing for ChatGPT search), GPTBot (model training), and ChatGPT‑User (on‑behalf‑of user fetches). OpenAI’s web‑search tool returns a sources field alongside citations. If you want to appear in ChatGPT’s search results but not in training, allow OAI‑SearchBot and optionally disallow GPTBot.

• Local assistants & maps (Apple, Google, Bing)
  Your place data feeds Siri/Maps via Apple Business Connect, Google via Google Business Profile (GBP) and LocalBusiness structured data, and Microsoft via Bing Places. Make these accurate and consistent.

The GEO playbook: 4 pillars that get you cited

Think Entities, Evidence, Answers, Access.

1) Entities: make your organization unambiguous

• Implement Organization schema on your homepage (name, logo, URL, contact, business identifiers, social profiles via sameAs). Use LocalBusiness schema for each location. These help systems disambiguate your brand.

• If you operate in multiple languages/regions, add robust hreflang annotations and follow Google’s guidance for multi‑regional sites.

2) Evidence: demonstrate experience, expertise & trust (E‑E‑A‑T)

• Publish people‑first content with real experience (original data, case studies, named experts). That’s still Google’s official guidance—and it helps generative systems select your page as a credible source.

• Maintain reviews and third‑party validation (GBP, industry directories). Google explicitly treats GBP data and reviews as important local signals.

3) Answers: build pages that LLMs can quote & summarize

Create LLM‑ready pages that cleanly answer high‑intent questions:

• What / Who / Where / Pricing / Specs / Alternatives / Comparisons / How‑to‑choose pages with crisp intros, bulletproof definitions, and updated facts (with dates).

• FAQ blocks on page still help machines understand content, even if FAQ rich results are limited; there’s no special AI markup required for Google’s AI features. Keep markup aligned with visible text.

• Use Artikel, Product, or relevant schema where applicable; Google uses structured data to understand and enhance results.

4) Access: make it easy (and permitted) for AI crawlers to read you

• Keep your site crawlable & fast. Provide XML sitemaps (with accurate lastmod) and solid internal links.

• Configure robots to match your AI strategy (see templates below).

• For Google’s AI features in Search, exposure is governed by Googlebot and snippet controls (e.g., max-snippet, nosnippet), not by Google‑Extended. Use Google‑Extended only if you want to opt out of training/grounding in other systems, per Google’s documentation.

Robots.txt templates (copy‑paste, then adapt)

Goal A – Be discoverable in generative search, but opt out of model training where possible

Why this helps: OAI‑SearchBot, PerplexityBot and Googlebot are the crawlers that surface your links in generative results; GPTBot and Google‑Extended govern training/grounding outside of Search.

Goal B – Block all OpenAI & Perplexity access (not recommended if visibility is your priority)

(Expect to lose presence in ChatGPT/Perplexity answers if you do this.)

Local & GEO must‑do’s for your store

1. Claim & optimize your profiles:

   • Google Business Profile

   • Apple Business Connect

   • Bing Places

2. Publish LocalBusiness markup

3. Multilingual & multi‑regional

What content formats win citations?

• Original data & benchmarks (monthly or quarterly): LLMs love citing fresh, numeric facts.

• Clear, skimmable Q&A sections embedded in authoritative guides.

• Comparison matrices (your solution vs. alternatives) that are fair and source‑linked.

• Location pages with proof (photos, reviews, policies).

• Technical docs / “How it works” for B2B (versioned, dated, with code snippets & FAQs).

Distribution that LLMs actually see

Don’t just post on your blog—seed authoritative surfaces LLMs consult:

• Your .com (.ae/.nl/.com, etc.) with robust internal links & sitemaps.

• GBP / Apple Business Connect / Bing Places for local intent.

• Docs site / knowledge base (for B2B/SaaS).

• Press releases & thought‑leadership (credible outlets that get crawled).

• High‑quality directories/review sites in your category.

How to measure “Generative Share of Voice”

1. Google Search Console
   You can’t filter AI Overviews separately today, but AI features are included in normal “Web” performance data. Track queries and URLs where you’re likely to be cited (e.g., “best [category] in [city]”, “what is [term]”).

2. Perplexity & Copilot referral tracking
   Look for new referrers from perplexity.ai and Bing/Copilot properties; annotate in analytics. Perplexity and Microsoft experiences surface citations/links, which can drive measurable traffic.

3. Bot log monitoring
   Verify that Googlebot, OAI‑SearchBot, PerplexityBot are crawling priority pages. OpenAI and Perplexity publish user‑agent strings and IP lists to help you validate.

4. Citations tracking
   Periodically test head and long‑tail prompts and record which sources are cited. (Many teams maintain a lightweight spreadsheet of prompts → cited URLs → actions.)

Engineering checklist

• Sitemaps: Ensure complete coverage, accurate lastmod, auto‑update on publish. Remove dead URLs; submit in Search Console.

• Robots & preview controls: Confirm robots.txt aligns with your AI policy; use max-snippet/nosnippet/noindex where needed.

• Schema: Add/verify Organization, LocalBusiness, plus Artikel/Product where relevant; ensure schema matches visible text. Test with Google’s tools.

• Performance & UX: Core Web Vitals and accessible HTML (LLMs prefer clean, text‑first pages).

Content & marketing checklist

• Publish or refresh one flagship guide per key topic with:

  • An executive summary, Q&A section, in‑line citations, and a “last updated” date.

• Ship one original data asset (survey, benchmark, or index) with downloadable CSV and a short methodology.

• Create one “alternatives” & one “comparison” page in your category.

• Update GBP / Apple / Bing Places: categories, services, photos; ask customers for un‑incentivized reviews (Google is stricter about fake or incentivized reviews).

• Localize the top 3 revenue pages with hreflang (if you operate in multiple languages/regions).

Three mini‑playbooks (pick your scenario)

Local service business (clinics, home services, hospitality)

• GBP/Apple/Bing Places fully built; location pages with LocalBusiness schema; publish “How to choose a [service]” and “Pricing & FAQs.”

B2B / SaaS

• Public docs & implementation guides with versioned URLs; “ROI calculator,” case studies, and competitive comparison pages; Organization schema + author bios.

Ecommerce / D2C

• Product schema with rich attributes; buying guides (“[product] vs [product]”), sizing/compatibility charts, and shipping/returns policy in plain language. Feed up‑to‑date data to Merchant Center.