SEO is the foundation: How strong rankings carry over into ChatGPT and other AI tools

Key takeaways

• AI assistants such as Google's AI Mode, ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity run their own web searches for their answers, often several for a single question.
• If you perform well in these sub-searches, you make the shortlist for the answer. According to Google, AI Mode is rooted in the core quality and ranking systems of Search.
• The proven SEO fundamentals remain: crawlability, indexing, relevant content, internal linking and page quality. New additions are content for sub-questions and follow-up questions, comparisons, detailed questions and quotable paragraphs.
• SEO and AI visibility belong together. If you combine both and measure regularly, you grow your visibility in classic search and in AI answers at the same time.

As of September 2026

A purchasing manager is looking for a new supplier of industrial packaging and asks Google's AI Mode for recommendations. Before the answer appears, the system runs its own searches in the background, several of them: for manufacturers in the region, for materials and for minimum order quantities, for example. Which providers end up being named depends heavily on who performs well in these searches.

For companies that have invested in search engine optimization (SEO), this is good news: their work continues to pay off in AI search.

Every AI answer is built on several search queries

For its AI Mode, Google describes a method called query fan-out, which essentially means fanning a search query out into several. AI Mode breaks a question down into subtopics and searches for each of them at the same time, including across multiple data sources. It then brings the results together into an easy-to-understand answer. In Google's own example, a comparison of sleep tracking with a smart ring, a smartwatch and a sleep tracking mat, the system plans several searches and adjusts its plan based on what it finds. According to Google, its in-depth research feature Deep Search can even run hundreds of searches.

The other major systems work on a similar principle:

• ChatGPT rewrites a question for its web search into one or more targeted search queries. After the first results, it can follow up with further, more specific queries.
• Gemini, according to Google's developer documentation, checks whether a Google search would improve the answer, generates one or more search queries if needed and summarizes the results with source citations.
• Perplexity searches the web in real time and adds numbered sources to every answer. Its research feature automatically runs dozens of searches.

Applied to your company, this means that a single customer question about a provider can trigger sub-searches on services, prices, region, processes and experiences. Each of these sub-searches is another opportunity to be found.

Why SEO remains the foundation of AI visibility

According to Google, the principles it has long recommended to website owners also apply to its AI features. Google describes AI Mode as rooted in the core quality and ranking systems of Search. Its answers rely on high-quality web content. Pages that perform well in search are therefore the basis from which AI builds its answers.

This results in a two-step logic that we also describe at GeoUp. First, an AI system retrieves suitable documents, then it decides which of them to mention in the answer. For retrieval, what matters most is how well a piece of content matches the question: classic SEO work. For the mention, it also matters how clear and verifiable the statements are. This is where optimization for AI answers comes in, known as generative engine optimization (GEO). SEO gets your pages into the selection, and GEO makes them the source AI likes to cite.

For ChatGPT, OpenAI recommends allowing its search crawler OAI-SearchBot so that a website can appear in ChatGPT's search answers.

What stays: the proven SEO fundamentals

Google has summarized what matters for success in its AI features, and the list reads like an overview of good SEO. According to Google, if you meet the technical requirements of Google Search, you are prepared for Search as a whole, including the AI formats. These fundamentals build on that:

• Crawlability: Search engines are allowed to access your pages. Googlebot is not blocked, and the pages return an error-free status code and indexable content. For ChatGPT, this includes OAI-SearchBot.
• Indexing: Your important pages are in the index. Google Search Console shows this, as does the setting for generative AI features, which has been available for all websites since August 31, 2026 and includes your website by default.
• Relevant content: Unique content with your own perspective, experience and expertise that goes beyond general knowledge. According to Google, this is exactly the kind of content with its own added value that it wants to show.
• Internal linking: Every important page is linked from at least one other page on your website. Google uses links to find new pages and to assess their relevance.
• Page quality: The pages load quickly, work on all devices, and the main content is easy to identify.
• Structured data: Schema markup makes your details machine-readable, and Google's systems take it into account. What matters is that it is complete, correct and consistent with the visible information.

What's new: content for sub-questions, comparisons and details

According to Google, people ask longer and more specific questions in its AI features and dig deeper with follow-up questions. In AI Mode, you can also ask questions that used to require several searches, for example to compare options. This gives you four starting points for your content.

Answer sub-questions and follow-up questions as well

For every important service page, consider which questions naturally come next: Roughly how much does it cost? What does working together look like? How long does it take? A thorough page per topic that answers these questions along the way works best. That way, a single page matches several sub-searches.

Offer comparisons

Many customer questions are comparison questions: option A or B, buy or rent, which provider for which need. A page that openly sets out the decision criteria and shows who your offer suits best provides the right material for such answers. In our GeoUp measurements, too, comparison questions are a fixed part of the mix, alongside recommendation and pricing questions.

Answer detailed questions with your own expertise

Beyond the big search terms, there is a wide range of rare, very specific search queries, known in SEO as the long tail. This is where companies with real experience shine: figures from their own projects, typical questions from consultations, the particularities of their industry. This is in line with Google's recommendation for unique, helpful content.

Write clear, quotable paragraphs

A clear structure that makes key facts easy to find favors selection as a source. Meaningful subheadings and paragraphs that each fully answer one question help readers and AI systems alike. Concrete figures, quotations and named sources also make statements verifiable. In a Princeton study that we put into context in a GeoUp analysis, verbatim quotations increased position-weighted presence in AI answers by 41% in tests, and statistics and source citations by around 25% each.

In practice: what our GeoUp measurements reveal about AI's sources

With our tool GeoUp, we also measure which sources AI systems link to. For an analysis of 12,769 AI answers, we carried out 100 complete measurement runs for 27 companies from the DACH region (Germany, Austria and Switzerland) between January and July 2026. In each run, ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews each answered 25 to 35 realistic questions from the company's industry.

Of all answers, 56% linked to sources, with around eight links on average per answer that included sources. Together, that came to 56,656 links to 12,261 different domains. The high number of sources per answer fits well with the principle of sub-searches. And the large number of different domains shows how many websites have a chance of being cited.

At the top were YouTube, industry and provider directories, Reddit, trade media, press portals and Wikipedia, in other words platforms that offer content for a very large number of search queries. Your own website is the basis, and your presence on the right platforms increases the number of sub-searches in which you appear. With Authority Building, GeoUp finds the portals that AI systems draw on in your industry and checks whether your name, address and phone number are consistent everywhere. We show the role your own website plays, especially for smaller providers, in the article What does AI say about your company?

This is exactly where GeoUp brings SEO and AI visibility together. With every measurement, our tool asks ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews 30 typical customer questions from your industry. It records whether your company is mentioned, in which position and which sources the AI cites. The measurement runs regularly, up to weekly, and you can add your own questions.

SEO and GEO under one roof

Because the two are closely linked, we handle SEO and AI visibility together. As part of our AI visibility service, we continuously measure with GeoUp what ChatGPT, Gemini and other AI assistants say about you and your competitors. We regularly write new articles on exactly the questions your customers ask AI, and we strengthen your presence on your website and wherever AI systems look things up. Complete schema markup is part of the standard.

A monthly report shows what has become more visible and what we did to achieve it. AI does the work, our team makes the decisions: every measure is reviewed by people. Our SEO and GEO expert team can be booked at any time, including in addition to GeoUp. Simply write to us at our email address.

Frequently asked questions

Do I still need SEO if my customers ask ChatGPT?
Yes. AI assistants search the web themselves for their answers and rely on the pages they find. Google describes AI Mode as rooted in the core quality and ranking systems of Search. Good SEO is therefore the foundation for visibility in AI answers.

What does query fan-out mean?
This is Google's term for fanning out a question into subtopics that the system searches for at the same time. AI Mode uses this method to find more relevant pages and then combines the results into one answer. Each of these sub-searches is an opportunity for your website to be found.

Does good SEO also help with ChatGPT and Perplexity?
Yes. These systems also search the web, and ChatGPT partly uses external search providers to do so. Crawlable pages, relevant content and a clear technical structure are the best starting point everywhere. For ChatGPT, also allow the OAI-SearchBot crawler.

How can I see whether my website appears in AI answers?
For AI Overviews and AI Mode, the generative AI performance report in Google Search Console shows how often links to your pages appeared. Across ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity and AI Overviews, GeoUp regularly measures whether your company is mentioned in response to typical customer questions and which sources the AI cites.

Conclusion

AI assistants don't replace search, they use it, often several times for a single question. If you perform well in these sub-searches, you make the shortlist for the answer. The proven SEO fundamentals therefore remain the foundation. Complemented by content for sub-questions, comparisons and details, they become a strategy for classic search and AI answers at the same time. If you measure regularly, you see how the two work together.

How visible is your company in ChatGPT, Gemini and other AI assistants?

With the free GeoUp quick check, you can see in moments, based on sample questions, whether ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, Gemini and Google AI Overviews mention your company. GeoUp is a product by njudev.

Would you rather hand over SEO and AI visibility? Then our team will take care of it: AI visibility at njudev.

You can book our SEO and GEO expert team at any time in addition to GeoUp. Simply write to us at our email address.

Sources

1. Google Search Central Blog: "Top ways to ensure your content performs well in Google's AI experiences on Search", May 21, 2025. https://developers.google.com/search/blog/2025/05/succeeding-in-ai-search
2. Google: "Expanding AI Overviews and introducing AI Mode", Google Blog, March 5, 2025. https://blog.google/products/search/ai-mode-search/
3. Google: "AI in Search: Going beyond information to intelligence", Google Blog, May 20, 2025. https://blog.google/products/search/google-search-ai-mode-update/
4. Google Search Help: "Get AI-powered responses with AI Mode in Google Search". https://support.google.com/websearch/answer/16011537
5. OpenAI Help Center: "Searching the web with ChatGPT". https://help.openai.com/en/articles/9237897-chatgpt-search
6. OpenAI: "Overview of OpenAI Crawlers". https://developers.openai.com/api/docs/bots
7. Google AI for Developers: "Grounding with Google Search". https://ai.google.dev/gemini-api/docs/google-search
8. Perplexity Help Center: "How does Perplexity work?". https://www.perplexity.ai/help-center/en/articles/10352895-how-does-perplexity-work
9. Google Search Central: "SEO Link Best Practices for Google", as of December 10, 2025. https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/links-crawlable
10. Google Search Console Help: "Search generative AI control", available for all websites since August 31, 2026. https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/16908024
11. Google Search Console Help: "Generative AI performance report (Search)". https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/16984139
12. GeoUp: "12.769 KI-Antworten ausgewertet", July 24, 2026. https://geoup.io/news/ki-sichtbarkeits-auswertung-12769-antworten (in German)
13. GeoUp: "Wie KI-Systeme entscheiden, welche Quelle sie nennen", June 5, 2026. https://geoup.io/news/wie-ki-systeme-quellen-auswaehlen (in German)