AI Search Hub

AI Search Hub: Be the Brand AI Recommends

Search has become a conversation. Buyers ask ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Google's AI Overviews which option to choose, and the answer names a handful of brands. This hub brings together our AI search services, platform guides and research, so you can see how to become one of those names.

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The short answer

AI search optimisation is the work of making sure AI assistants and AI search features can find your brand, understand what you do, trust your evidence and recommend you when buyers ask. It builds on SEO but adds entity work, answer-first content, citations on trusted third-party sites and new ways of measuring visibility.

Why this matters now

The shift is not a forecast any more. Pew Research found that about one in five Google searches in March 2025 produced an AI summary, that people clicked a traditional result in 8% of those visits against 15% without one, and that only 1% of visits included a click on a link inside the summary (Pew Research Center, July 2025). Alphabet says AI Overviews now reach around 2.5 billion people a month (Alphabet via The Motley Fool, Aug 2026). ChatGPT reported 900 million weekly active users in February 2026 (TechCrunch, Feb 2026), Perplexity said it handled 780 million queries in May 2025 alone (Search Engine Land on Perplexity queries), and Gemini passed 750 million monthly users by the end of 2025 (Alphabet Q4 2025 earnings remarks).

For buyers that means shorter journeys. For brands it means a new question: when someone asks an AI for the best option in your category, are you in the answer?

Our AI search services

AI SEO servicesThe full programme: technical foundations, answer-first content, entities, citations and tracking, run as one plan.Generative engine optimisation (GEO)Get cited in answers written by ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude and Perplexity.Answer engine optimisation (AEO)Be the direct answer in AI Overviews, featured snippets and voice results.Entity SEOMake sure search engines and AI models know exactly who you are and what you are known for.LLM visibility trackingMeasure how often AI assistants mention, cite and recommend you against competitors.Digital PR for AI searchEarn the brand mentions on trusted sites that AI answers lean on.Search everywhere optimisationVisibility across Google, AI assistants, YouTube, TikTok, Reddit and Amazon.Free AI visibility auditSee how AI assistants describe your brand today, and what to fix first.

Platform guides

ChatGPT SEOHow ChatGPT search finds sources and how to become one of them.Google AI Overviews and AI ModeWhat Google says it takes to appear, and what the data shows.Perplexity SEOGetting cited by the answer engine built around sources.Gemini SEOVisibility in Google's assistant and across its ecosystem.Claude SEOHow Claude's web search works and what it means for your content.Microsoft Copilot SEOBing, Copilot and the B2B buyers who use them every day.

What the research says actually works

Brand mentions beat backlinks: Ahrefs' study of 75,000 brands found branded web mentions correlated with AI Overview visibility at 0.664, against 0.218 for backlinks (Ahrefs, 75,000-brand AI Overview study)
Video matters: Ahrefs' 2026 benchmark found YouTube mentions were the strongest single signal of AI visibility across 75,000 brands (Ahrefs Q1 2026 AI search report via Business Wire)
Evidence gets cited: research presented at KDD 2024 found adding statistics, quotations and sources lifted visibility in generative engine answers by up to 40% (Aggarwal et al., GEO, KDD 2024)
Fundamentals still count: Google says there are no special requirements to appear in AI Overviews or AI Mode beyond normal search eligibility and helpful content (Google Search Central: AI features and your website)

Latest AI search guides

How to rank in ChatGPTA practical checklist for getting your brand into ChatGPT answers.How to appear in Google AI OverviewsWhat Google says, what the data shows and what to do this month.What is entity SEO?Why AI search thinks in things, not strings.How to track brand visibility in AI searchA simple measurement framework you can start this week.Why brand mentions matter more than links for AIThe evidence, and how to earn mentions that count.Why answer-first content winsWriting so AI can quote you accurately.

FAQ

What is the difference between AI SEO, GEO and AEO?

AI SEO is the umbrella. GEO focuses on being cited in answers generated by large language models. AEO focuses on being the direct answer in search features and assistants. In practice the work overlaps heavily, and we run it as one programme.

Does AI search replace Google?

Not yet. Ahrefs found Google still sends around 190 times more traffic to websites than ChatGPT (Ahrefs Q1 2026 AI search report via Business Wire). But AI answers increasingly shape which brands buyers shortlist before they click anything.

How long does AI search visibility take to improve?

Content and technical fixes can show in AI answers within weeks for platforms that search the web live. Brand mentions and entity signals build over months.

Published Sep 29, 2026 · Last updated Sep 29, 2026

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