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Generative Engine Optimization

Chicago GEO services to get you named by AI.

We provide generative engine optimization for a moment when people ask ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity who to hire instead of scrolling a results page. We get you named.

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The shift

Generative engine optimization is the new word of mouth.

Ask an AI assistant for the best option in your city and it will name a few businesses with total confidence. Your customers are already doing this. To that buyer, the businesses the assistant names are the only ones that exist. Everyone else was never in the conversation.

Generative Engine Optimization decides whether you make that list. We cannot rewrite the models, but we can shape what they read about you, the entity signals, the citable sources, the consistent story across the web, and the reputation they weigh. Get those right and the assistants start naming you, accurately and often. Generative work is one half of a broader program, so if you are weighing the whole picture start with our AI SEO agency in Chicago overview.

The Chicago skyline at night seen from Lake Michigan
Chicago from the lakefront. AI assistants are the new word of mouth.
Who is the best option in Chicago for this?
A strong choice is your business, recognized for quality and trusted across the sources I can see.

When the assistant answers, you want to be the name it says.

The data

In GEO, being named beats being linked.

AI tools are a smaller share of search than the headlines suggest, and the answer layer inside Google is far larger. Both matter. Here is the honest split.

3.2%
of search activity happens on AI tools
Less desktop search activity than Amazon, Bing, or YouTube
68%
of US Google searches end without a click
68.01% from January to April 2026, up from 60.45% in 2024
74%
of desktop searches still happen on Google
Across 41 major search destinations, Q4 2025
1 in 5
searches happen outside a traditional engine
Commerce 10%, social 5.5%, AI tools 3.2%

Where search actually happens

  • 80% Traditional search engines
  • 10% Commerce sites
  • 5.5% Social networks
  • 3.2% AI tools
  • 1.3% Everything else

Most AI answers people see are Google AI Overviews, not chatbot replies. A serious GEO program covers both.

See the full breakdown Talk to a strategist

Sources: SparkToro and Similarweb, June 2026, and SparkToro and Datos, March 2026. Figures current as of August 2026. Full breakdown and method.

What we do

How our Chicago GEO services work.

Being recommended by AI is engineering, not luck. Here is the full stack of work.

Entity

Entity grounding

  • Make models understand who you are
  • Consistent entity across the web
  • Knowledge graph signals
  • Clear services, place, and category
Authority

Sources and citations

  • Get cited by sources models trust
  • Original data and first hand info
  • Mentions on relevant sites
  • The references models read
Content

Citable source content

  • Clear claims and facts
  • Comparisons and specifics
  • Structured for extraction
  • Easy to quote and attribute
Footprint

Consistent web presence

  • Directories and profiles
  • Third party mentions
  • A consistent story everywhere
  • More than just your own site
Signals

Reputation and trust signals

  • Reviews and sentiment
  • Proof and credibility
  • Trust the models weigh
  • Recency and consistency
Tracking

AI answer monitoring

  • Test real customer prompts
  • Across ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity
  • Track when you are named
  • Close the gaps that remain
How we work

Our generative engine optimization process.

A clear path from invisible in the assistants to the name they recommend.

Step one

Step 1, audit what the models say

  • Ask the assistants what customers ask
  • See who they name today
  • Find where you are missing
  • Map the gaps to close
Step two

Step 2, build the GEO signals

  • Ground your entity clearly
  • Create citable content
  • Strengthen third party presence
  • Build the authority models trust
Step three

Step 3, get named and track

  • Appear in the recommendations
  • Monitor across assistants
  • Improve accuracy and frequency
  • Expand into more prompts

We test the real prompts your customers use and show you exactly when the assistants start naming you.

By the numbers

Be the name the assistant says.

The AI presence we engineer toward across the major assistants.

5x
More AI assistant mentions
ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity
4
Assistants covered
The ones your buyers use
3x
More citable sources
Pointing back to you
100%
Entity consistency
Across the web models read

Figures are representative engagement targets. Your AI presence is measured from live prompts during the audit.

Works alongside

The services behind our GEO work.

Generative work pairs naturally with these.

Answer Engine Optimization SEO Services Content Strategy Technical SEO Local SEO Google Business Profile All services
When you need us

Signs your business needs GEO services.

Generative engine optimization matters when buyers shortlist you before they ever open a search results page.

Naming

Assistants name competitors instead

  • ChatGPT recommends others in your category
  • Gemini and Perplexity never mention your brand
  • You appear only when asked about by name
  • Competitors show up in every shortlist prompt
Entity

The models do not know what you are

  • No clear, repeated description of your business
  • Category and service language differs everywhere
  • Nothing establishes where you operate
  • Assistants describe you inaccurately when asked
Sources

Nothing citable exists about you

  • No third party mentions the models can draw on
  • Directory and profile information is inconsistent
  • No original data, guides, or definitions
  • Your site is the only source that mentions you
Buyers

Your buyers already use AI

  • Prospects arrive already holding a shortlist
  • Inbound inquiries mention comparisons you never made
  • Fewer discovery calls, more late stage ones
  • Branded search volume is flat while the category grows
What we do

What our generative engine optimization includes.

GEO works on what the models believe about your business, across every source they read.

Ground

Entity grounding

  • One consistent description of what you do
  • Organization and service schema tied together
  • Location, category, and service area stated plainly
  • Same facts on every profile and directory
Source

Citable source material

  • Original guides, definitions, and reference content
  • Data or process detail worth quoting
  • Clear authorship and expertise signals
  • Content structured for a machine to summarize
Spread

Off site brand signals

  • Consistent listings across the platforms models read
  • Third party mentions in credible places
  • Reviews and profiles that reinforce the same facts
  • Unified naming across the whole web
Test

Assistant prompt testing

  • Real buying prompts run across major assistants
  • Track whether you are named, and how
  • Monitor how the models describe your business
  • Report movement in AI share of voice
Questions

Chicago GEO services, answered.

Straight answers about getting named by the assistants.

Talk to a strategist
What is Generative Engine Optimization?
Generative Engine Optimization is the work of getting your business named and recommended inside AI assistants like ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, and Copilot. Instead of ranking a link, you become one of the businesses the model names when someone asks it for a recommendation.
How is GEO different from SEO and AEO?
SEO competes for links in Google. AEO competes for the answer boxes on Google like AI Overviews and snippets. GEO competes for a mention inside the generative assistants themselves, which pull from a wider mix of sources across the whole web, not just your ranking pages.
How do you get a business mentioned by ChatGPT or Gemini?
We ground your entity so the models clearly understand who you are, build citable content and third party mentions on the sources they read, keep your story consistent across the web, and strengthen the reputation signals they weigh. Then we test prompts and expand from what works.
Can you really influence what AI says about my business?
We cannot control the models, and anyone who promises that is not being honest. What we can do is shape the signals they read, your entity, your sources, your reputation, and your presence across the web, which meaningfully improves how often and how accurately the assistants name you.
Why does being named by AI matter?
Because a growing number of buyers now ask an assistant for a recommendation instead of searching and scrolling. If the model does not name you, that customer never considers you. Being in the answer puts you in front of high intent buyers at the exact moment they decide.
Are AI tools really taking over search?
Not yet, and not in the way the headlines suggest. AI tools account for about 3.2% of measured desktop search activity, less than Amazon, Bing, or YouTube. The far larger AI surface is inside Google itself, where AI Overviews now appear on more than 20% of searches. A serious program covers both.
In one line

Chicago generative engine optimization that gets a business named and cited by ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, and other AI assistants when customers ask what to buy or who to hire.

Get started

See whether AI assistants name you today.

Start with a free visibility audit. We ask the assistants the questions your customers ask, show you who they name today, and map how to become that name.

Start your visibility audit See pricing

A clear read on your AI presence, with no obligation.