GEO
GEO promotion: do you need it and which tricks don't work
Customers increasingly ask AI assistants whom to choose and get a ready answer with company names. We explain how to get into those answers, why one file will not do it, and when you need help.
- The VOLOSHIN IT Agency team
- Published
- 5 min read
It used to be that a customer typed a query into a search engine and chose from ten links. Now they increasingly ask an AI assistant ("who should I pick to build a website", "how to vet a contractor") and get a ready answer with a few names. Google built such answers into search itself (AI Overviews and AI Mode), and ChatGPT has its own search. If your company is not in that answer, the customer simply does not hear about you.
Why a business needs visibility in AI answers
An AI assistant names several companies in its answer and often links to its sources. Getting onto that list means getting a visitor who has already asked a specific question and is looking for someone to trust with it.
That is why GEO (optimization for AI answers) is better treated as one more channel next to ordinary search, not as a fashionable add-on. This channel has one feature, though: you cannot buy a place in it or switch it on with a single setting.
Why the "magic button" does not work
Quick fixes are on sale online: a file, markup, a special text format. We checked this advice against Google's official guide for sites in its AI features (page updated 10 July 2026). The conclusion:
| What is sold | What Google says | What is actually needed |
|---|---|---|
| An llms.txt file | Search does not use such files; they change visibility neither up nor down | Do not spend time on it. If you already have one, you can leave it |
| Chopping text into "chunks" | There is no requirement to split content for AI, and no ideal page length | Write for the reader; add structure where a person needs it |
| Special schema.org markup for AI | No special markup is required | Ordinary markup you need for rich results |
| Separate files and Markdown copies of pages | New files and Markdown are not needed to appear in Google Search | Make sure ordinary pages open and get indexed |
| Hundreds of near-identical pages for queries | Pages made to manipulate results violate Google's policy | Fewer pages, each with its own substance |
All these tricks have one thing in common: they promise a result without work on the substance of the site. Google's guide recommends the same as for ordinary search: useful content of real quality and a clear technical base.
What affects the result for sure
Four things are confirmed by the systems themselves, and they are the place to start.
Crawlers can see the site
Pages open, return no errors and get indexed. If a crawler cannot read a page, the rest of the work will not help. If pages are slow or return errors, a website upgrade fixes that.
Pages contain what competitors lack
Your own numbers, "from" prices, timelines, examples of work, terms. Google directly advises creating material based on what you know about the topic. A text that could be written about any company gives an AI no reason to quote you.
The right bots are not blocked
OpenAI has three bots that are often confused:
| Bot | Purpose | If you block it |
|---|---|---|
| OAI-SearchBot | Showing sites in ChatGPT search | The site stops showing in search answers |
| GPTBot | Training OpenAI models | Texts are not used for training; search display is unaffected |
| ChatGPT-User | User actions, for example "open this page" | Not used for automatic crawling |
The bots are configured independently. If you want to be in ChatGPT search but keep your texts out of training, robots.txt looks like this:
User-agent: OAI-SearchBot
Allow: /
User-agent: GPTBot
Disallow: /
According to OpenAI's documentation, its systems need about a day after you update the file. Check your own robots.txt: if it blocks every bot except the ones listed, OAI-SearchBot may be blocked.
The result is measured
Google Search Console has a Generative AI performance report showing how the site appears in Google's AI features. For other systems you measure by hand: a series of the same questions at regular intervals. One answer proves nothing, because assistants answer differently, so you compare a series.
This is the base. It also works well for ordinary SEO: the same pages, the same content, the same technical requirements.
Do you need such a service
You can start with a one-hour check:
- Open
your-site/robots.txtand look at the rules for OAI-SearchBot and GPTBot. - Check in Search Console that key pages are indexed.
- Pick 5 questions your customers ask ("how much does… cost", "how to choose…"), ask them to assistants and write down who is named and in what order.
- Repeat a week later with the same questions.
- Look at your service pages: do they have a "from" price, timelines, examples, terms? If not, there is nothing for an assistant to quote.
If after this you see competitors named and not you, or you are not sure how to close the gaps, it makes sense to take it up systematically. If the site is not yet indexed, or the pages hold general words without facts, start there; a GEO service at that stage will give little.
What is not settled yet
The field is still forming. Assistants change how they pick sources, show different answers to the same question, and the selection mechanisms are closed. So any promise to "guarantee" a place in an answer rests on nothing, and we do not make it.
Waiting until everything settles is not a good option either. Customers are getting used to recommendations from AI assistants now, and the future of search belongs to such answers. The base you need for this (a site open to crawlers, pages with substance, measurement) will not vanish when the rules change: it helps ordinary search too. So it is worth moving in this direction already.
Questions and answers
Is it true that GEO increases traffic?
AI answers include links to sources, and visitors come through them. How many depends on the topic, the competition and the state of the site. Promising numbers without looking at the site is not possible, so we start by checking whether you are named today.
Should I add llms.txt to my site?
For Google you do not need to: its guide says search does not use the file and creating it does not change visibility. The file does no harm, but do not expect a result from it. Counting on it to solve the task is a mistake.
Should I rewrite my pages in short blocks for AI?
No. Google says there is no requirement to break content into small pieces for AI, and there is no ideal page length. Write so that a person finds it easy to read.
If I block GPTBot, will my site disappear from ChatGPT answers?
No. GPTBot relates to model training. OAI-SearchBot controls whether the site shows in ChatGPT search, and the bots are configured independently.
Can I do it all myself, or do I need a service?
You can check the basics yourself: crawler access, indexing, answers to your customers' questions. A service makes sense when you need systematic work: ongoing measurement, new pages for customer questions, site fixes and control of the result.
The VOLOSHIN IT Agency team
We write about IT, AI and marketing: websites, speed, search and visibility in AI answers. Facts are checked against the systems' official documentation, which we name in the text.
And that's the scoop on GEO promotion, pup