Buyers are no longer just Googling: they’re asking ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, and Google’s AI Overviews to recommend products, compare vendors, and research partners. If your brand isn’t showing up in those AI-generated answers, you’re invisible to a growing share of your market. Beantown Media Ventures (BMV), an AI-native PR agency, helps companies earn visibility and citations across generative engines through a proven combination of earned media, authoritative content, and technical optimization. Research shows that 89% of AI citations come from earned media, making PR domain expertise the backbone of any serious GEO strategy.
A Comprehensive Approach to Generative Engine Optimization
Generative engines overwhelmingly cite authoritative, third-party sources when recommending brands. High-domain-authority outlets such as Reuters, Forbes, The Wall Street Journal, Axios, TIME, and TechCrunch are among the most frequently cited by ChatGPT and Perplexity — but so are niche trade publications and industry verticals. BMV’s PR team earns the coverage that becomes the fuel for AI citations. Every media placement we secure does double duty: it builds brand credibility with human audiences and feeds the AI engines that increasingly influence buying decisions.
Thin service pages and generic blog posts don’t get cited. AI models are looking for comprehensive, authoritative content — the kind with specific data points, original research, step-by-step frameworks, and clear heading structure. BMV creates definitive content assets designed to be the single best resource on a topic: pillar pages, data-driven reports, thought leadership guides, and FAQ sections that give AI engines structured, quotable answers to the exact questions your buyers are asking.
Most company websites are accidentally invisible to AI. Whether it’s Cloudflare blocking AI crawlers, missing schema markup, or the absence of machine-readable identity signals, there are critical technical foundations that determine whether generative engines can find, parse, and cite your brand. BMV implements the full technical GEO stack: AI crawler access, robots.txt and llms.txt configuration, Organization/Service/Person/FAQ schema markup, and structured data that makes your brand a parseable entity — not just words on a page, but a machine-readable identity.
You can’t optimize what you can’t measure. BMV tracks your brand’s AI Share of Voice — how you appear across ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Google AI Overviews, and Claude compared to your competitors. We monitor which queries trigger mentions of your brand, identify gaps and inaccuracies in AI-generated responses, and deliver actionable insights so you can see exactly where your GEO strategy is working and where to double down.
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Why Generative Engine Optimization Matters Now
The shift from traditional search to AI-powered discovery is accelerating faster than most marketers realize. ChatGPT alone now handles over a billion queries per week, and Perplexity has become a go-to research tool for executives, investors, and buyers evaluating vendors and partners. Google’s own AI Overviews now appear in a significant share of search results, often answering queries directly without users ever clicking through to a website.
For brands, this represents both a threat and an opportunity. Companies that don’t appear in AI-generated responses are being left out of an increasingly critical stage of the buyer’s journey. But companies that invest in GEO are discovering that AI citations can drive highly qualified, high-intent traffic and build credibility in ways that traditional search rankings never could.
What makes GEO fundamentally different from SEO is the role of earned media. While SEO is primarily about optimizing your own website, GEO depends heavily on how your brand is mentioned, described, and evaluated across the broader web. AI models don’t just read your website — they synthesize information from thousands of sources to decide whether to recommend you. That’s why PR has become a performance channel in the age of generative search.
BMV sits at the intersection of PR, content marketing, and technical optimization — the three pillars that drive GEO results. With over a decade of technology PR expertise and deep relationships with the media outlets AI models trust most, we help brands build the kind of multi-source authority that generative engines reward.
- Proven earned media strategy with Tier 1 and niche trade publications
- Technical GEO implementation (schema, llms.txt, crawler access, structured data)
- Original research and data-driven content that AI models cite
- AI Share of Voice tracking across ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, and Google AI Overviews
- Trusted by venture-backed startups and B2B technology companies globally
5 Steps to Make Your Owned Content Citable by AI
AI models decide whether to cite your brand based on both off-site signals (earned media) and on-site foundations. Here’s the technical playbook BMV implements for every GEO client:
Step 1: Let AI Crawlers in the Front Door
Most company websites are accidentally blocking GPTBot, ClaudeBot, and PerplexityBot via Cloudflare or hosting security settings. If AI can’t read your site, it can’t cite your site. We audit and configure your robots.txt with explicit Allow rules for every major AI user agent — the single biggest prerequisite most brands are missing.
Step 2: Add an llms.txt File
This emerging standard acts as a cheat sheet for AI models — a plain-text file at your domain root that tells ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity exactly who you are, what you do, and where to find your best content. Think of it as handing the AI a pre-written brief instead of making it piece your brand together from scattered web pages.
Step 3: Implement Structured Schema Markup
Organization, Service, Person, and FAQ schema transforms your brand from words on a page into a machine-readable entity. Without it, you’re leaving it to AI to guess what you do. With it, you’re telling it directly — and AI models weigh structured data heavily when deciding what to cite.
Step 4: Build FAQ Sections with Schema
AI models disproportionately pull from Q&A-formatted content. FAQ sections with proper schema give AI a clean question-to-answer structure to reference. We identify the exact questions your buyers are asking ChatGPT and build FAQ content that positions your brand as the authoritative answer.
Step 5: Write for Depth, Not Just Keywords
Thin service pages don’t get cited. AI models look for comprehensive, authoritative content — specific data points, frameworks, step-by-step guides, and clear heading structure. We help transform your key landing pages into definitive resources that become the content AI cites.
The punchline: Earned media drives the off-site signals that get AI to notice you. These on-site foundations ensure you’re visible when AI comes looking. PR + GEO-optimized owned content = the full stack.
How Is Your Brand Showing Up in AI Search?
Every day, millions of users turn to AI platforms like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Gemini to discover brands, research products, and make decisions. Is your brand being mentioned, recommended, and positioned the way you want?
Request a free AI Visibility Audit from BMV to find out where you stand.
- Track Your AI Share of Voice — See how your brand compares to competitors across AI platforms
- Uncover Visibility Gaps — Identify missing or inaccurate brand mentions in AI-generated results
- Get Actionable Recommendations — Learn how to improve your presence in generative search
Request Your Free AI Visibility Audit
Generative Engine Optimization FAQs
What is Generative Engine Optimization (GEO)?
Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) is the practice of optimizing your brand’s online presence so that AI-powered platforms — such as ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews, and Gemini — surface, cite, and recommend your business when users ask relevant questions. Unlike traditional SEO, which focuses on keyword rankings and blue-link results, GEO focuses on earning citations in AI-generated responses through authoritative content, earned media, structured data, and digital PR strategies.
How is GEO different from SEO?
SEO optimizes your website to rank in traditional search results. GEO optimizes your brand’s entire digital footprint — including earned media, structured data, and third-party mentions — to be cited by AI. The biggest difference: GEO depends heavily on off-site authority. AI models don’t just read your website; they synthesize information from thousands of sources. That’s why earned media is the engine of GEO, and why PR has become a performance channel in the age of generative search.
Why does earned media matter for GEO?
Research shows that 89% of AI citations come from earned media stories. Generative engines like ChatGPT and Perplexity disproportionately cite high-domain-authority publications — Reuters, Forbes, The Wall Street Journal, TechCrunch, and others — when recommending brands. Getting your company covered by these outlets is no longer just about brand awareness; it’s about ensuring AI models have trusted third-party sources to pull from when they mention your brand.
What industries benefit from GEO?
Any company where buyers use AI to research vendors, products, or services. This includes B2B technology, SaaS, fintech, healthcare, e-commerce, cybersecurity, professional services, and more. If your prospects are asking ChatGPT or Perplexity questions like “What’s the best [your category]?” — you need a GEO strategy.
How long does it take to see results from GEO?
Technical foundations (crawler access, schema markup, llms.txt) can be implemented in days. For AI search tools that use real-time web results — like ChatGPT Search and Perplexity — you can begin appearing in results within 2-8 weeks of implementing changes and earning new media coverage. Building consistent visibility as a top recommendation takes 3-6 months of sustained earned media and content optimization.
Can you measure GEO results?
Yes. BMV tracks your AI Share of Voice across ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Google AI Overviews, and Claude. We monitor which queries mention your brand, how you compare to competitors, and whether AI-generated responses are accurate and favorable. This gives you a clear, ongoing picture of your GEO performance.
