Your customers no longer just type “a good steakhouse in Beşiktaş?” or “a reliable SEO agency in Istanbul?” into Google; they’re asking ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity. Google itself now shows an AI-written summary first in many searches. A business that isn’t mentioned in these answers never gets seen by that customer.
That’s why terms like “AI SEO,” “GEO” (Generative Engine Optimization), and “AEO” (Answer Engine Optimization) are spreading fast. The good news: most of what actually works is built on solid fundamentals. The bad news: just as much myth is floating around.
Let’s clear up a myth first: you don’t need a special AI file
Google is clear on this: there’s no extra requirement or special optimization needed to appear in AI Overviews or AI Mode. According to Google’s documentation, for a page to be shown as a supporting link in these features, it just needs to be indexed and eligible to be shown with a snippet in Google Search. The same documentation states that you don’t need to create new machine-readable files, “AI text files,” or additional markup to appear in these features.
So a file like llms.txt isn’t a ranking factor for Google. llms.txt is a proposed format for presenting a plain-text summary of your site to AI models; it’s easy and harmless to add, but on its own it won’t get you into any answer.
1. Make sure bots can actually access your site
If AI assistants can’t see your site, they can’t recommend you. The most common mistake we see is a security plugin or an outdated robots.txt setting unknowingly blocking these bots.
OpenAI’s documentation is clear on this:
- OAI-SearchBot is used for ChatGPT’s search answers. OpenAI recommends allowing this bot in your
robots.txtfile so your site can appear in search results; sites that block OAI-SearchBot aren’t shown in ChatGPT’s search answers. - GPTBot, on the other hand, crawls for model training; blocking it means you don’t want your content used in training. These are two separate decisions.
- It can take about 24 hours for a
robots.txtchange to take effect in OpenAI’s systems.
A practical check: open yoursite.com/robots.txt and confirm these bots aren’t blocked. A server-side firewall could also be blocking them; you can only find this out by testing with an actual request.
2. Getting indexed in Google is still the key that opens the door
Google’s AI summaries draw from pages indexed in Google Search. Check Search Console regularly to confirm your pages are indexed and that your important pages aren’t showing up in the “not indexed” list. A site that loads fast, has solid internal linking, and has no technical errors is the shared foundation for both classic search and AI answers.
3. Keep your business information identical everywhere
When AI recommends a business, it looks for consistent information about that business across the internet. Your name, address, phone number, category, and business hours should be exactly the same on your website, your Google Business Profile, maps, directories, and your social accounts. If one place says “Beşiktaş” and another says “Levent,” the model gets confused.
Marking this information up with structured data (schema) on your site helps machines identify you correctly. Google also lists keeping structured data accurate among its core best practices; the information you mark up should match what’s visible on the page.
4. Write content that directly answers questions
Take note of the questions people ask you: “How many days does delivery take?” “What determines the price?” “Are you open on weekends?” Give each of these questions a short, clear, honest answer on your site. AI assistants tend to cite paragraphs that answer a question directly and plainly as their source.
A good rule: start every page with a “short answer” that summarizes the page’s topic in two or three sentences. Let the details follow after that.
5. What’s being written about you on other sites?
Models don’t just look at your own website. What’s written about you in local directories, industry listings, news articles, and customer reviews also matters. Recent, positive reviews and appearing with accurate information in trustworthy listings both help AI see you as a “known” business.
6. Measure it, or you won’t know
There’s no classic “ranking report” for AI visibility. So here’s a simple method we recommend: write down a list of 20–30 questions your customers would ask, ask ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity the same questions every month, and record who gets recommended and which source gets cited. That’s the only way to actually see change over time.
In short
AI SEO isn’t a magic file. A business that’s open to bots, indexed in Google, consistent in its information everywhere, clear in answering questions, and mentioned on other sites as well, improves its odds of standing out in both Google and AI answers. No one can guarantee a model will recommend you, but businesses that build these foundations start from a much better place than those that don’t.