AI search visibility audit (GEO)
See what ChatGPT and Google's AI say about your business, and what to change.
For businesses that want to know whether AI assistants recommend them, and who they recommend instead. I put your customers' questions to ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Google's AI answers, record what each one says and cites, and give you a ranked list of changes.
You'll work with me, AnthonyNot an account manager or a junior. I reply to every enquiry myself.
What is a GEO audit?
A GEO (generative engine optimisation) audit checks how AI assistants such as ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Google's AI Overviews describe your business. I ask them the questions your customers ask, record who gets named and cited, trace why, and give you a ranked list of changes to your site, profiles and listings.
What I check
The same questions go to each assistant, and every answer is recorded with its date, so you can run them again later and compare.
What works, and what's hype
There's a lot of GEO advice for sale. This is what the evidence supports, from Google's own guidance, updated July 2026.
| Compared on | What the evidence says | Priority |
|---|---|---|
| Rank and be indexed in normal search | Google says its AI features are “rooted in our core Search ranking and quality systems”. A page must be indexed and eligible for a snippet to appear in them. | Highest |
| Facts written as text | Answers quote what they can find on the page: prices, timeframes and results. A figure that only appears in an image or a PDF can't be quoted. | Highest |
| Genuine listings and mentions | Assistants cite directories, lists and profiles, not just company websites. Google says seeking inauthentic mentions “isn't as helpful as it might seem”, so stick to the ones that genuinely cover your industry. | High |
| The same details everywhere | Answers are assembled from several sources. If your site, Google Business Profile and LinkedIn describe you differently, the answer may use the wrong one. | High, and cheap |
| Schema and FAQ markup | Google: “Structured data isn't required for generative AI search.” Still worth having for normal search results. | Low |
| llms.txt and other AI-only files | Google says Search ignores them, so they “neither harm nor help”. There's no good evidence other assistants rely on them either. | Skip |
| Tools that promise AI rankings | Google warns against tools that promise ranking success or claim to use internal Google metrics. | Be wary |
Check it yourself
Ask the assistants yourself
Log out, or use a private window, so your own history doesn't colour the answers. Ask each question in ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity, then search it in Google.
- Ask for a recommendation. “Who would you recommend for [your service] in [your city]?” Note who is named, and in what order.
- Ask about you. “What does [your business] do, and what does it charge?” Check every fact against your own pages and profiles.
- Ask a buyer's question. “How much should [your service] cost in Australia?” See whose figures get quoted.
- Open the sources. Where an assistant links to its sources, open them. They're the pages and listings it trusts on your topic.
If someone else is named everywhere and you're named nowhere, the audit finds out why, and what to change first.
What it costs
Prices in AUD, ex GST. 50% when you go ahead, 50% on delivery.
How it works
- Day 1A 20-minute callFree. Your services, your market and the competitors you keep losing to.
- Before I startThe questionsThe questions your customers would ask an assistant, in their words, and the competitors to watch, agreed with you. Fixed price in writing.
- 3 to 5 business daysThe auditEach question in each assistant, every answer recorded and dated, then the reasons traced to the pages and sources behind them.
- DeliveryReport and callWhat the assistants say, why, and a ranked list of changes, walked through on a call. Then you decide who makes them.
From the field
I ran it on my own business first
Over the 30 days to 6 October 2026, I tracked 15 questions a buyer might ask ChatGPT about services like mine. I was named in about 13% of the answers.
- Craft CMS: asked for a Craft CMS freelancer in Australia, ChatGPT named me third. Asked for ongoing Craft support, it named me second. Both answers repeated details from my pages, such as my published starting price.
- Taking over a site: asked for someone to take over an existing Craft site, it cited a directory I'm not listed in.
- Project rescue and fractional leadership: across six questions about rescuing a failing project or hiring a fractional Head of Digital, I wasn't named once. Two of the firms that were have “rescue” in their name.
So I'm fixing it the way I'd advise a client: prices and timeframes in plain text on every service page, the same details on my Google Business Profile and LinkedIn, and listings in the directories those answers draw on.
Common questions
How much does an AI search audit cost?
$1,500 to $2,500, ex GST, depending on how many services, locations and competitors the audit covers. I confirm a fixed price in writing before I start, and it includes the report and a walkthrough call.
GEO or SEO: what's the difference?
They overlap more than most GEO pitches admit. Google says its AI features are rooted in its core search ranking systems, so good SEO is the foundation. GEO adds what SEO doesn't measure: what the assistants actually say about you, who they cite instead, and whether your facts are stated clearly enough to quote.
Can you guarantee ChatGPT will recommend us?
No, and be wary of anyone who does. The assistants decide, the same question can get a different answer from one ask to the next, and nobody outside OpenAI or Google controls them. Google says even a page that meets every requirement isn't guaranteed to be shown. What I can do is show you where you stand, why, and which changes give you the best chance.
Do I need an llms.txt file?
No. Google says Search ignores llms.txt and other AI-only files, which “neither harm nor help” your visibility, and there's no good evidence other assistants rely on them. Spend the time stating your facts clearly on the pages people already visit. Source: Google's guide to AI features in Search, updated July 2026.
How long before changes show up in AI answers?
It varies, and nobody can promise a date. Answers built from a live web search can change once your updated pages have been crawled again. Answers that rely on what a model learned in training change only when that model is updated, which nobody outside the AI company controls. Re-run the questions from your report every month or two to see what's moved.
Is this part of the Website Health Check?
No, it's a separate audit. The Website Health Check covers the groundwork AI answers depend on: whether Google can crawl and index your pages, your structured data and your speed. This audit looks at the answers themselves. If your site has technical problems, fix those first.
Can you make the changes for us?
Yes, on prepaid hours (from $725 for 5) or as a fixed-price project. Or your team or agency can work from the report: it's written so anyone can act on it.
Want to know what the assistants say about you?
Book a 20-minute call and tell me what your customers ask. No pitch, no obligation. If I'm not the right person, I'll say so.
Call me on 0466 977 253 or send me a message. I answer both myself.