How to optimize your business for AI results?

When people think of online visibility, they typically focus on Search Engine Optimization (SEO). While classic SEO remains invaluable, we are now witnessing the advent of Generative AI Optimization (GAIO). GAIO, also known as LLM Optimization, ensures that when users turn to AI-driven chat tools and large language models (LLMs) for answers, your brand, product, or service is included in the AI’s summarized response.

In this article, we feature two AI evangelists at Index – Jeremy Easterbrook (CEO & Head of R&D), and Francois LaPalme (VP Strategy of AI) that highlight this  fundamental shift: no longer is the goal simply to “rank number one.” Instead, we want to become part of a multi-step, conversational flow. Someone might start by asking an LLM, “Which tools can automate my analytics?” and follow up with, “What’s the best service for a small startup with a limited budget?” If you’ve taken a GAIO-minded approach, your brand has a far better chance of being woven into that AI-driven conversation.

François LaPalme (VP Strategy of AI)

For years, ranking well in Google was enough. Now, that mindset expands to ensuring your content is “readable” by the new breed of AI models—everything from ChatGPT to Gemini, Perplexity, or Grok.

Traditional SEO is anchored in keywords, backlinks, and structured data. GAIO preserves many of these priorities but adds a “conversational” layer. LLMs reprocess web results, combine them, and deliver a single, synthesized answer.

“LLMs don’t rank results like a list of blue links; they consolidate your brand into a single, conversational response. We have to adapt our content strategy to be part of that conversation.” — Francois LaPalme (VP Strategy of AI @ Index)

When people type an entire paragraph—“Plan me a two-week trip under $10,000 with some beach time, starting from these airports”—a single search query might encompass dozens of parameters. An LLM can handle that gracefully. The content on your site (and on external sites referencing you) helps the AI decide whether to recommend you.

LLM optimization is not about ignoring Google. Instead, you expand your view to Bing, Google’s own AI-driven “Gemini,” and specialized tools (e.g., Perplexity.ai). Each LLM often has a unique method of indexing, re-ranking, and presenting data.

“Google won’t just vanish—neither will Bing. But they’re evolving into hybrid search-chat engines, meaning GAIO is the extension of SEO, not its replacement.” — Jeremy Easterbrook (CEO & Head of R&D @ Index)

Most major LLMs are trained on huge datasets scraped from the web, including websites, PDFs, social media content, and sometimes private data troves. Each LLM then sorts and “learns” from that data in a process that can take months.

When a user inputs a query, the LLM (or its connected search engine) rapidly fetches relevant web pages and known sources. But instead of listing 10 possible links, it reprocesses them to produce one cohesive answer.

Just as search engines benefit from structured data (schema markup, headings, author details), LLMs also prefer well-labeled content. A thorough FAQ with clear headings, bullet points, and references often appears more reliable in AI-driven summarization.

Historically, backlinks determined “authority” in SEO. GAIO also values external citations but interprets them more dynamically. Credible mentions in reputable sources—like known forums, industry reviews, or news outlets—can be strong signals for LLMs.

“When generative AI ‘reads’ the web, it looks for consistent mentions of your brand in credible places. That’s why being cited by reputable forums or news outlets really matters.” — Jeremy Easterbrook (CEO & Head of R&D @ Index)

• Is your site’s text comprehensive enough to answer nuanced or multi-layered questions?

• Are your headings clear, with FAQ sections or “How-to” guides that an AI might summarize easily?

• Create articles that speak directly to deeper questions. For instance, if you’re a travel agent, write about “all-inclusive Caribbean packages under $10,000,” referencing dates, budget tips, and location comparisons in detail.

• Being featured or cited by recognized authorities, forums, or publications increases your brand’s weight in an LLM’s training data.

• Some agencies place AI-friendly JavaScript or data layers behind the scenes. This can help LLMs parse your content more accurately without necessarily changing the on-page text for human readers.

“We’ve been doing AI since way before it was trendy. That hands-on experience means we can set up structured content, scripts, or data layers that LLMs actually pick up.” — Francois LaPalme (VP Strategy of AI @ Index)

• Check if people are arriving via ChatGPT or Perplexity. That’s an early signal you’re being mentioned by an LLM.

• LLMs can “hallucinate” (invent unverified information). If it misrepresents your brand, publishing counter-content or clarifying details can help correct it over time.

A portion of the population is shifting from traditional web search to AI chat queries. By optimizing for these new channels, you gain an edge over competitors slow to adapt.

Users will no longer search for single keywords and open multiple tabs; they might refine the question within the same conversation. If your site surfaces in the first prompt, you’re present throughout subsequent queries.

GAIO not only improves discoverability but also helps guard brand reputation. Actively monitoring and shaping what an LLM “knows” can safeguard you from inaccuracies.

“If an LLM is misrepresenting your brand, sometimes the best remedy isn’t legal action. It’s publishing clear, authoritative data so the AI sees and replaces the inaccurate info.” — Francois LaPalme (VP Strategy of AI @ Index)

As LLMs evolve, the volume of queries they handle will only grow. A GAIO mindset ensures you’re riding that trend—not forced to scramble when AI-driven results become the norm.

SEO fundamentals—strong keyword targeting, logical structure, and authoritative backlinks—still matter. The key difference is that you expand your attention to the ways LLMs:

• Parse context and conversation, not just keywords
• Summarize multiple pages into a single “answer”
• Rely on fresh or well-cited sources for credibility

So, you do not abandon SEO. Instead, you layer on GAIO, ensuring your existing SEO strategy is in sync with how LLMs read and cite content.

“We’re starting to see ChatGPT or Perplexity in website analytics as referral sources. That tells us we need to track AI-driven traffic just like we track traffic from Google Ads.” — Jeremy Easterbrook (CEO & Head of R&D @ Index)

Even experienced SEO practitioners face a learning curve when tackling GAIO. Partnering with a team that has hands-on AI expertise like Index marketing agency makes a difference:

• Technical Know-How: They can implement structured data or “script layers” that feed LLMs the right info without disrupting your website design.
• Prompt Engineering & Content Planning: Advanced knowledge of how LLMs parse text leads to more targeted article outlines, FAQ pages, and microcopy that LLMs favor.
• Ongoing Monitoring: GAIO is never a single-and-done effort. It requires watching how tools like ChatGPT or Gemini evolve—and updating your site accordingly.

“We’re not just optimizing for Google anymore. We’re positioning brands so that AI chatbots can actually retrieve and recommend them, which is a completely different game.” — Jeremy Easterbrook (CEO & Head of R&D @ Index)

Generative AI Optimization isn’t a fleeting trend. It’s the emerging reality that complements—and even extends—your hard-earned SEO efforts. Businesses that embrace GAIO early stand to capture a savvy subset of users who are already pivoting to chat-driven research.

More than that, GAIO guards your brand from AI misrepresentations and lays a foundation for future developments in AI-assisted interactions. As generative AI tools mature, the old rules of SEO will remain necessary but no longer sufficient. Instead, a well-structured approach to content creation and distribution, tailored for the unique mechanics of LLMs, is what drives long-term online visibility.

Now is the perfect time to audit your existing site, shore up content gaps, create new authoritative pieces, and position yourself in the channels LLMs rely on most. Those who do so quickly will find themselves firmly embedded not just at the top of a search page—but in the very words and recommendations AI gives millions of users every day.