To show up when someone asks ChatGPT, Gemini or Google's AI Overviews who to hire, you need the same things good SEO always needed, done more clearly: pages that plainly say what you do and where, real answers to the questions customers ask, consistent information about you across the web, and proof other sites talk about you. Google says outright that there are no special files or markup required to appear in its AI features.
That's the honest answer. There's a whole industry selling "AI SEO" as something brand new. Some of it is useful, a lot of it is the old work with a new name. Here's how I'm approaching it on my own site, and what I'd tell any small business.
Where I started
Squarespace now has an AI visibility panel that asks ChatGPT and Gemini a set of prompts about your business and shows whether you're mentioned. When I first checked mine, the results were clear: I was mentioned in 3 of 5 prompts that used my name, and 0 of 5 general prompts like who to hire for design in Philadelphia.
That's normal for a small business, and it's the gap this post is about. Being found by name is easy. Being recommended to someone who has never heard of you is the goal.
How AI search tools find you
Most AI assistants answer questions about businesses by searching the web and reading the pages that come back, then summarizing them. Google's AI Overviews and AI Mode draw on Google Search's index. ChatGPT, Perplexity and others run their own web searches.
So the path is: be findable by search engines, be easy to understand once found, and be mentioned by enough trusted places that you look like a safe recommendation.
What actually matters
1. Pages that say exactly what you do and where
AI tools quote and summarize. They do that best with pages that state things plainly. A page titled "Logo Design in Philadelphia" that opens with "I'm Paul Vu, a Philadelphia designer who creates custom logos for..." is easy to cite. A page with a moody headline and three images is not.
One service per page, with the service and the city in the title and the first paragraph
The first sentence answers the main question directly
Text, not text baked into images
2. Real answers to real questions
People ask AI full questions: "how much does a logo cost," "what size is an Instagram carousel," "do I need a brand guide." Pages with clear FAQ sections and guides that answer those questions in the first few lines are the ones that get pulled into answers.
Write the answer first, then the detail. Every guide on my blog now opens with a short, direct answer before the long version.
3. A consistent identity across the web
AI tools build a picture of you from many sources. If your name, business name, location and services say different things on your website, Instagram, LinkedIn, Google Business Profile and directories, that picture gets blurry.
Use the same name and description everywhere
Link your profiles from your site, and your site from your profiles
Have an About page that connects your work history, past names or aliases and the brands you've worked with
On my site, I added Person structured data to my About page that ties together Paul Vu, Vucifer and my earlier names (Killronin and Fawx), plus links to my profiles. It's a small step that makes "who is this" easier to answer.
4. Proof that other people talk about you
AI tools lean on sources they trust: reviews, directories, press, articles and lists. If the only place that says you're good is your own website, you're less likely to be recommended.
Collect reviews on Google Business Profile
Get listed in the directories that show up for your service (for design in Philly, that's Clutch, DesignRush and Expertise.com, among others)
Earn mentions: features, interviews, podcasts, local press
This is the hardest part and the one most worth the effort.
5. Structured data that matches the page
Schema markup (FAQPage, Service, Person, LocalBusiness) helps search engines understand a page. Google's guidance says no special schema is needed for AI features, and that any structured data must match the visible text. Treat it as clarity, not a trick.
What's mostly hype
llms.txt
llms.txt is a proposed file that summarizes your site for AI tools. Squarespace now offers one, and I use mine because it takes five minutes. But be realistic: in June 2025, Google's John Mueller said "no AI system currently uses llms.txt," and Google's own AI features guidance says you don't need special AI text files. Do it if it's easy. Don't expect it to move anything on its own.
Stuffing pages with "AI-friendly" phrases
Writing for robots makes worse pages for people, and AI tools are trained on human writing. Clear beats clever, and clear beats keyword-stuffed.
Paying someone to "get you into ChatGPT"
Nobody can guarantee placement in AI answers. What they can do is the work above, which you can also do yourself.
A simple plan for a small business
Fix your service pages. One per service, with the service and city in the title, a direct first paragraph and an FAQ.
Write five guides answering the questions customers ask before they hire you. Answer first.
Make your identity consistent: same name, description and links everywhere, and an About page that connects it all.
Set up Google Business Profile and start asking happy clients for reviews.
Get listed in the two or three directories that rank for your service in your city.
Check your visibility every month. Ask ChatGPT and Gemini the questions your customers would ask, and see who comes up and which sources they cite. If a directory or article keeps getting cited, that's where you need to be.
Track it like SEO
You won't get a neat dashboard for AI traffic yet, but you can:
Watch for visits from chatgpt.com, perplexity.ai and gemini.google.com in your analytics referrers
Ask new clients how they found you, and add "ChatGPT or an AI tool" as an option on your contact form
Re-run the same prompts every month and note who's mentioned
AI search FAQ
Is AI search replacing Google?
Not replacing, adding to. Google itself now shows AI Overviews, and many people use both. The good news is the same work helps you in both.
Do I need a separate strategy for ChatGPT?
Mostly no. Be findable in search, be clear on the page and be mentioned by trusted sources. ChatGPT pulls from the web like everyone else.
Does schema markup get me into AI answers?
Not on its own. It helps search engines understand your pages, which helps everything downstream. Google says no special schema is required for its AI features.
How long does it take?
As long as SEO: weeks for pages to be found, months for reputation to build. Reviews and mentions compound over time.
Should I block AI crawlers?
That's a business decision. If you want AI tools to recommend you, they need to be able to read your site. Blocking them keeps your content out of their answers.
Want help getting found?
I design and write websites that are built to be found, from service pages and guides to the structured data underneath. Start with my Squarespace SEO checklist and local SEO guide for Philly businesses, see web design and SEO, or start a project.