People now ask ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Google’s AI Overviews the questions they used to type into a search box. These tools do not hand back a list of ten blue links. They write an answer and name a few sources to support it. If your brand is one of those sources, you are seen by people who are close to making a decision. If it is not, you are missing from the conversation.
The Growth Shark provides AI SEO services built for this change. We help brands get cited, recommended and described accurately by AI search engines, while keeping up the traditional SEO work that still drives most organic traffic today. This post explains what AI SEO is, how it differs from standard SEO, and what our team does for clients.
What Is AI SEO?
AI SEO is the practice of optimizing your website and your wider web presence so that AI search engines can find, understand and cite your content. You may also hear it called generative engine optimization (GEO) or answer engine optimization (AEO). The names vary, but the goal is the same: become the source an AI tool trusts when it answers a question about your industry.
Traditional SEO aims to rank a page in a list of results. AI SEO aims to get your brand included inside the answer itself. Both depend on useful content and a healthy website, but AI tools weigh some signals differently, and that is where most businesses have gaps.
How AI Search Tools Find and Cite Your Content
AI search tools gather information from web pages they can crawl, from licensed data and from content found across the web. They tend to favor pages that answer a question clearly, come from a consistent and recognizable brand, and are backed up by other trustworthy sources that say the same thing.
They also read differently than a person does. Instead of reading a page from top to bottom, they pull out specific passages. A page with a direct answer under a clear heading is far easier to quote than a page that circles a topic for six paragraphs. This is why formatting and structure matter as much as the ideas on the page.
How Is AI SEO Different From Traditional SEO?
Traditional SEO helps your website rank in search results and earn clicks. AI SEO focuses on getting your brand mentioned or cited within AI answers, where customers may compare options before visiting a website.
Measurement differs too. Traditional SEO tracks rankings and organic traffic, while AI SEO also tracks citations, brand mentions and how accurately AI tools describe your business.
What The Growth Shark Does For AI SEO
Our process covers the full set of factors that influence whether AI tools mention your brand.
- AI visibility audit. We test how your brand appears in ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews for the questions your customers actually ask. We record whether you are mentioned, whether the information is correct, and which competitors show up instead.
- Content built to be cited. We update existing pages and create new ones with clear headings, direct answers near the top, supporting detail underneath and FAQ sections based on real customer questions. The writing stays natural and useful for people first.
- Technical foundation. We add structured data (schema markup), clean up site structure, improve load speed, and confirm that AI crawlers are allowed to access your content. A surprising number of sites block these crawlers by accident.
- Brand and entity consistency. AI tools build a picture of your business from many places. We make sure your name, description, services and location details match across your website, Google Business Profile, directories, and social profiles.
- Authority building. AI tools lean on sources that other trusted sources mention. We earn links and mentions from relevant publications, industry directories and partner sites, which strengthens your standing with both AI engines and traditional search.
- Tracking and reporting. We monitor citations and brand mentions over time, along with organic traffic, leads, and conversions. You get clear reports that show what changed and what we plan to do next.
How AI SEO and Traditional SEO Work Together
AI search does not replace SEO. Most AI tools draw heavily from the same web that Google indexes, so pages that rank well and earn links often get cited as well. A site that loads slowly, has thin content or lacks authority will struggle in both places.
For that reason, we treat AI SEO as an extension of a strong organic strategy, not a separate project. Clients get one plan that covers keyword research, technical health, content, local visibility and AI search together.
Which Businesses Can Benefit From AI SEO?
Any business that depends on people researching before they buy can benefit. Local service companies, ecommerce brands, professional services firms and nonprofits all see customers asking AI tools for recommendations and comparisons.
Our team has a particular focus on B Corps, climate-conscious brands, and other mission-driven organizations. These brands often have a strong story and real credentials, but that story does not always reach AI tools in a form they can read and trust. We fix that.
What Results Can You Expect From AI SEO?
AI search changes quickly, and no agency can promise a specific placement in an AI answer. Anyone who does is guessing. What we can promise is a clear process, honest reporting, and steady improvement in the factors you can control.
Technical fixes and content updates come first. Citation and mention gains usually follow in the months after, as AI tools recrawl your pages and find stronger signals about your brand. Along the way, we track organic traffic and lead quality, so you can see the business impact and not only the visibility numbers.
Start Improving Your AI Search Visibility
If you want your brand to show up when customers ask AI tools for answers, The Growth Shark can help. Book a free call with our team, and we will review how your business appears in AI search today, point out the biggest gaps, and outline a plan to close them. There is no pressure and no long form to fill out, just a clear look at where you stand and what to do next.
