A growing share of your potential customers no longer type "web design agency Logroño" into Google: they ask ChatGPT. And the answer they get —whether your business appears, with what details and alongside which competitors— depends on signals you can optimise. That discipline is known as GEO (Generative Engine Optimization), and it's the natural extension of SEO.
How AI assistants choose what to recommend
Generative engines don't invent their recommendations: they build them from sources they can read and verify. When someone asks about a local service, the assistant combines:
- Its training knowledge, where consistent mentions of your brand across the web carry weight.
- Real-time searches (Perplexity and ChatGPT with browsing), where whoever answers the specific question best wins.
- Structured data and listings that confirm address, hours, services and reviews.
The practical consequence: the content that works best with AI is the kind that answers complete questions with verifiable data.
The five highest-impact actions
1. Allow AI crawlers in robots.txt
It seems obvious, but many sites block them without realising. GPTBot (OpenAI), ClaudeBot (Anthropic), PerplexityBot and Google-Extended must be granted access in your robots.txt for your content to appear in their answers.
2. Publish an llms.txt
The llms.txt file is to AI assistants what robots.txt is to search engines: a convention that makes their job easier. In it you summarise your business in Markdown: what you do, where, indicative prices, frequently asked questions with direct answers. We implement it on all our projects alongside an extended version (llms-full.txt).
3. Structure content as answers
Models extract information better when it's framed as a self-contained question and answer. A well-written FAQ section —with concrete data: prices, timeframes, addresses— is among the most citable content there is. The same questions, marked up with FAQPage schema, reinforce the signal.
4. Complete structured data
Schema.org JSON-LD is the common language between your site and machines. At a minimum: Organization or LocalBusiness with address, phone, hours and services; Person for professionals with demonstrable experience; Article on the blog; FAQPage wherever there are frequently asked questions. Assistants cross-check this data before recommending you.
5. Consistent authority beyond your site
AI trusts what it can verify across several sources: your Google Business profile, industry directories, reviews and mentions in the local press. If your name, address and phone number don't match across sources, trust drops.
What doesn't work
- Hidden text aimed at AI: models detect it and search engines penalise it.
- Recycled keyword stuffing: repeating "best agency" fifty times won't convince a language model, precisely because it understands language.
- Expecting immediate results: model knowledge updates in cycles; GEO is an investment that pays off over months, just like SEO.
Conclusion
AI SEO doesn't replace traditional SEO: it extends it. The foundation is still a fast site, with genuinely useful content and impeccable structured data. On top of that foundation, llms.txt, direct answers and consistent external authority determine whether, the next time someone asks ChatGPT for a service like yours, your business is in the answer.
Frequently asked questions
What is the llms.txt file?
It's a text file at the root of your site (like robots.txt) that summarises your business in Markdown, designed so AI models can read it easily. It's an emerging convention: it doesn't guarantee appearances, but it makes it easier for assistants to find correct, up-to-date information about you.
Does traditional SEO still matter in the AI era?
Yes, more than ever. AI engines largely feed on the same indexes as the classic search engine. A fast site with useful content, structured data and solid authority is still the foundation; GEO adds a layer of optimisation on top, it doesn't replace it.
How do I know if AI is recommending my business?
Ask ChatGPT, Perplexity or Gemini directly what your customer would ask ('best hairdresser in Elche', 'web design agency in La Rioja') and check whether you appear and with what details. You'll also see referral traffic from chatgpt.com or perplexity.ai in your analytics.
Does blocking AI bots protect my content?
Blocking GPTBot or ClaudeBot stops assistants from citing your site, which for a local business is usually counterproductive: you're giving up a free recommendation channel. It only makes sense to block them if your business model is selling the content itself.
