Getting mentioned in ChatGPT: what a measurement of 4,000 AI answers reveals about GEO

“Which electrician near me is reliable?” More and more people no longer type this question into Google – they ask ChatGPT, Gemini or Perplexity instead. The answer names three or four businesses. Everyone else simply doesn't exist at that moment. That is what Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) is about: making sure AI assistants know your company, describe it correctly and recommend it.

What the measurement shows

How reliably AI assistants name businesses was measured by the geo-evidenz project at the end of September 2026: typical customer questions were put to ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity across ten industries and 32 German towns, and around 4,000 answers were analysed. Two findings matter to every business owner:

• Little agreement: On average, only about 5 per cent of businesses were named by all three services. Each assistant has its own view of the market.
• Strong fluctuation: If you ask the same question twice on the same day, Perplexity names the same businesses about 76 per cent of the time, Gemini 47 per cent and ChatGPT only 27 per cent.

This leads to a simple but often overlooked insight: if you ask ChatGPT about your industry once and do (or don't) find yourself, you have learned very little. A single answer is a snapshot, not a ranking.

What this means for businesses

First: measure instead of checking once. The results only become meaningful when you ask the same customer questions several times, on several services and over a few weeks. Only then can you see whether your business is named regularly or just by chance.

Second: don't optimise "the AI", optimise its sources. AI assistants rely on what the web says about you: your website, your Google Business Profile, business directories, reviews, chambers and trade guilds, industry portals and coverage in regional media. The clearer and more consistent these sources are, the more likely your name is to appear in the answers.

Third: GEO does not replace SEO. Services with web search, such as Perplexity or Google's AI Overviews, draw on search results. If you rank well on Google, you therefore also stand a better chance in AI answers. GEO is an extension, not a replacement.

Five steps that pay off

1. Clear answers to real customer questions: Services, prices or price ranges, process, duration and service area belong on your website in full sentences, ideally with an FAQ section. AI assistants prefer to take over sentences that answer a question directly.
2. Consistent facts everywhere: Name, address, phone number, opening hours and services should read the same on your website, in your Google Business Profile and in every directory. Contradictions make an AI uncertain about you and therefore less likely to recommend you.
3. Structured data: With Schema.org markup for your business, services, questions and reviews, machines read your site reliably. An llms.txt file additionally summarises the essentials for AI services.
4. Presence on the sources that get cited: A well-maintained Google Business Profile with genuine reviews, listings on the relevant industry portals, memberships of guilds and associations, and mentions in regional media. An analysis of the answers shows which sources count in your industry.
5. Measure again regularly: Draw up a fixed list of ten typical customer questions and check them at fixed intervals on several services. That way you can see whether your measures are working instead of relying on the odd lucky hit.

How we approach GEO at Trendtreiber

At Trendtreiber, GEO is part of SEO & online marketing. We start with an audit: which questions do your customers ask, which services already name your company, and which sources do they rely on? We then revise your website with clear answers, structured data and an llms.txt, bring your Google Business Profile and the key directories into line, and measure the mentions regularly afterwards.

We do the same on our own website: FAQ sections on every service page, prices instead of "on request", structured data and an llms.txt. We briefly explain exactly how GEO, AEO and SEO differ in our advertising overview; what online marketing costs with us is on the service page.

Frequently asked questions

What is Generative Engine Optimization (GEO)?

GEO means preparing a company's content and listings so that AI assistants such as ChatGPT, Gemini or Perplexity know the company, describe it correctly and name it in response to relevant questions. It extends classic search engine optimisation to visibility in AI answers.

Does GEO replace classic search engine optimisation?

No. Many AI services with web search rely on search results. A website that ranks well and is technically sound is therefore the foundation GEO builds on.

How do I find out whether ChatGPT names my company?

Ask ten typical customer questions, such as "Which carpenter in [your town] would you recommend?", several times and on several services, and note who is named. Because the answers fluctuate so much, only repetition over a few weeks tells you anything meaningful.

How long does it take for GEO to work?

Services with web search can often pick up changes to your website and listings within a few weeks. What flows into the knowledge of the large language models themselves takes considerably longer. That is why we plan GEO over several months and measure regularly.

Source of the figures: geo-evidenz, summary report of the study dated 29 September 2026 and citable version on Zenodo.