ChatGPT SEO:
Tips to Get Mentioned in AI Searches

SEO techniques can be applied to all types of search engines, but let's face it: most people create their SEO strategy based on Google's ranking criteria. It makes sense considering Google has always dominated global search traffic.

However, the increasing popularity of ChatGPT searches begins to threaten Google's dominance. After all, Google's market share fell below 90% for the first time in 10 years in 2025!

As the future seems poised to feature not one, but two major online search platforms—Google and ChatGPT—it's time we consider the unique aspects of ChatGPT SEO, i.e., what brands and marketers can do to get more mentions on the AI search engine.

What Makes Google &
ChatGPT Different SEO-Wise

Google and ChatGPT have the same goal: to help users find the best possible answer to whatever query they may have. However, the way they produce such an answer is radically different.

To help users, Google organizes web sources according to relevance and other pre-defined criteria, creating an index. If you ask Google, "What's the best book of 2025?", what it will essentially do is collect all web sources relevant to your question and list them from best to worst.

ChatGPT approach, however, is based on generating an answer. While it will also take into account reliable web sources relevant to the question "What's the best book of 2025?", GPT will use a human-like approach based on its trained knowledge. The ChatGPT ranking is organized according to how GPT sources content, not according to page hierarchy.

This means, for example, that ChatGPT can:

• Create unique, AI-generated content (i.e., the answer to your query), whereas Google can only index content that's already on the web (nothing new is actually generated).
• Recommend a 2025 book just for you, based on your previous chat interactions. If GPT knows you're a big fan of Manga, for example, it will probably share a few Manga books with you. Google would never be able to understand context in such a particular way.

So, how do these differences impact Search Engine Optimization (SEO) versus Generative Engine Optimization (GEO)?

Optimizing For Google vs. Optimizing For ChatGPT

If you're working on boosting your online visibility, you probably know a lot about Google SEO. To excel in AI searches, you don't need to throw all that knowledge away. Some Google SEO considerations also apply to ChatGPT, such as:

• Authority: Google and GPT rank content based on its authority by analyzing, for instance, how often it's cited by credible sources or how well it performs in user-review websites.
• Relevance: Both search engines do their best to stay relevant to the user's query, prioritizing snippet-style content that addresses popular questions as clearly as possible.
• Content structure: Well-structured content with proper H2 and H3 headings and FAQ sections is as useful to Google as to ChatGPT.
• Freshness: The two search engines aim to create up-to-date solutions to queries, meaning they will always take into account recent sources over outdated ones.

Yet, it's crucial to understand that Google and GPT SEO goals should embrace different mindsets:

• Google SEO should focus on "How can I help users?", as all Google does is a criteria-based index of the most helpful content for a given query;
• GPT SEO should focus on "How can I help ChatGPT help users?", as your ability to be mentioned depends on whether the AI will find your content to be useful or not.

For this reason, good ChatGPT SEO should aim to produce content with a human-like appeal.

This means, for instance, publishing articles under your real name, using original research instead of just linking to pre-published studies, and focusing on first-hand examples and case studies. Let's consider these in detail.

ChatGPT SEO Fundamentals

We've discussed before how Google and ChatGPT share a common goal: helping users. SEO and GEO (i.e., engine optimization oriented at ChatGPT and other AI models), however, have two distinct objectives:

• SEO aims to drive traffic by making pages appear on the top Google results for relevant keywords;
• GEO aims to increase AI citations by ensuring GPT mentions your brand/business in the answers to relevant queries.

So, how can you apply proper GEO tactics to increase your AI search visibility on ChatGPT and other alternatives?

Ensure Consistency Across Channels

When ChatGPT is answering a question such as "What's the best book of 2025?", it will base the response on the information disclosed by the sources it values the most. To decide on which sources to use, GPT reviews authority.

Traditional SEO tactics (including backlinks) are also useful on ChatGPT, but the all-encompassing way in which LLMs understand authority makes it especially important for brands to have a consistent image across channels.

This is a key facet of AI optimization. If GPT reviews your website and Facebook page (for example), and they are not the same (different logo, pricing, etc.), it will not understand you as clearly, hurting your chances of getting cited.

Be the #1 Source of Information

This means creating and publishing content that uses original information such as case studies, statistics, and so forth. When recommending the best book of 2025, ChatGPT will often try to include links to relevant sources with verified, fact-based information. This means that:

• If you publish a study such as "27% of Americans voted this book as the best of 2025", you're drastically improving your chances of getting mentioned on AI models;
• If you write an article about the best book of 2025 that only uses statistics from other sources, the AI model will ignore your content and go for the original one (i.e., the page where the study was first published).

Help ChatGPT Get to Know You

The better ChatGPT knows you, the more it will trust you. So, make sure to:

• Create a detailed "About Us" page, as well as informative social media bios;
• Transparently disclose authorship and state why your brand's authors are qualified authorities in your niche. If you published a "Best book of 2025" article, and the author is an unknown ghostwriter, there's a high chance GPT will ignore it; if the article was written, for example, by a celebrated book critic, GPT will take it more seriously.

Appear on Platforms That ChatGPT Loves

This one's easy: if you're mentioned on the websites ChatGPT cites the most, you'll also be mentioned on ChatGPT! According to a June 2025 study, these are the 10 websites that ChatGPT cites the most:

1. Wikipedia (almost 8% of total citations!)
2. Reddit
3. Forbes
4. G2
5. TechRadar
6. NerdWallet
7. Business Insider
8. NY Post
9. Toxigon
10. Reuters

Benefits and Challenges of ChatGPT SEO

ChatGPT SEO is not easy, but it has tremendous benefits for brands and businesses:

• Exposure: ChatGPT has over 800 million weekly users and is highly trusted by its audience.
• Conversions: AI search traffic converts five times more than Google traffic.
• Competition: Things are already getting tight, but so far, ChatGPT competition remains drastically inferior to Google competition - there are fewer "big sharks" and more chances to rank (marketers fight for mentions, not just to be one of the 5-10 pages on Google's top SERP).

As for the main challenges of ChatGPT SEO, these are:

• Low control: GEO is not as easily manipulated as SEO for being a new and more "mysterious" art form, offering less control to marketing teams.
• Changes in models: While Google's algorithm has been around for decades, ChatGPT is still being developed, with significant changes in new models affecting GEO strategies.
• Monitoring difficulties: Despite the developments in LLM observability, it's still much harder to track results on ChatGPT than on Google.
• Biases and hallucinations: ChatGPT is not perfect, meaning it can misrepresent your brand, products, and services - something that rarely happens on traditional search engines.

Heading to a More Human SEO

Black hat SEO (based on manipulative techniques like keyword stuffing) has been out of style for a long time, but the rise of AI search platforms like ChatGPT has put the final nail in the coffin.

GPT's context-based, human-like approach means that, to excel in SEO, brands can no longer rely on shortcuts—they must provide valuable, helpful, and original content.

At the end of the day, everybody wins, from overall Internet users to SEO teams making an effort to create real value instead of just exploring Google's algorithm flaws to gain an unfair advantage.

On a final note, it's important to mention that ChatGPT SEO isn't a future requirement, but a present necessity for all online brands and businesses. As of today, AI searches are already favored by consumers more often than traditional searches (44% versus 31%), and the gap between the two will most likely widen in the near future.

To get some professional help and take your ChatGPT SEO efforts to the next level, consider the best GEO agencies and contact Red-Engage for complete Reddit + LLM marketing services.