They search the web, often through Bing
ChatGPT's web search relies heavily on Bing's index. If Bing doesn't know your business well, ChatGPT is unlikely to name it.
AEO, answer engine optimization
AEO Montreal: be the business AI recommends.
More and more clients ask ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity or Google's AI Overviews for a recommendation instead of scrolling through links. These tools name a handful of businesses. AEO is how you become one of them.
AI assistants are the new word of mouth
AEO, also called GEO (generative engine optimization), is the work of making your business easy for AI tools to understand, trust and cite.
AI answers are built from your website, your Google Business Profile, reviews, directories, local media and structured data. If those sources are thin, inconsistent or hard to read, the AI recommends someone else. Most Montreal businesses haven't started on this yet, which is an opening for the ones that move first.
Who it's for
This is for you if
- You've asked ChatGPT about your industry in Montreal and weren't mentioned
- Your website explains what you do, but not clearly enough for a machine to quote
- Your information differs across Google, Facebook and directories
- You want to be ready as clients shift from search to AI answers
What's included
What's included in AEO
- AI visibility trackingA fixed set of real client questions, checked every month in ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews.
- Answer-first contentPages and FAQs that answer questions directly in the first lines, the way AI tools like to quote.
- Entity and schema markupOrganization, LocalBusiness, Service and FAQ data so AI reads your facts correctly.
- Consistent facts everywhereYour name, services, areas and hours aligned on every platform AI tools read.
- Trusted mentionsPresence on the Montreal and Québec sources that AI assistants rely on.
- Review signalsA review routine that gives AI tools recent, specific reasons to recommend you.
How it works
How AEO runs
Week 1
AI visibility test
We ask AI tools your clients' real questions and record who gets named.
Weeks 2 to 4
Structure
Schema, answer-first page rewrites and fact clean-up across platforms.
Months 2 to 6
Earn trust
Mentions, content and reviews that give AI tools reasons to cite you.
Every month
AI mentions report
How often you're named, linked or recommended, and by which tool.
What we measure
What we measure
- How often you're mentioned for your key questions
- Which AI tools cite or link to you
- Who gets named instead of you
- Traffic and leads arriving from AI tools
Starting at
$1,490 /month
AEO is included in our SEO + AEO Growth plan, starting at $1,490/month.
AEO, GEO and SEO
AEO vs SEO vs GEO in Montreal
Three names you'll hear. Here's what each one means for a Montreal business.
| SEO | AEO | GEO | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Goal | Rank in Google and Bing results | Get named in AI answers | Another name for AEO |
| Where it shows | Lists of links and the map | ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Copilot, Google AI Overviews | Same as AEO |
| What wins | Relevant pages, technical health, links | Clear facts, consistent listings, trusted mentions, reviews | Same as AEO |
| How we measure | Rankings, calls, forms, bookings | Mentions for your key questions, each month | Same as AEO |
How AI picks a business
How AI tools choose which Montreal businesses to recommend
AI assistants don't invent answers. They pull from sources they trust and favour businesses they can verify in several places.
They cross-check your facts
Your name, services and areas should match on your site, Google Business Profile, Bing Places, Apple, Facebook and directories.
They quote clear answers
Pages that answer a question in the first two sentences are much easier for AI to quote than long introductions.
They trust third-party mentions
Local “best of” articles, directories and media mentions carry a lot of weight in AI answers.
They look at reviews
Recent, specific reviews that mention your service and your city give AI tools reasons to recommend you.
AEO: your questions
Is AEO different from SEO?
They overlap. SEO helps you rank in Google's list of links. AEO helps you become the answer AI tools write out. Both rely on clear content, technical health and trust, so we run them together.
Can you guarantee ChatGPT will recommend me?
No one can honestly guarantee that, because AI answers change and vary by person. We measure how often you're mentioned today, improve the signals AI tools use and report the change every month.
How long does AEO take?
Structural fixes like schema, FAQ content and profile clean-up can show up within weeks. Earning mentions on trusted sources usually takes 3 to 6 months.
Do I need SEO to do AEO?
AI tools lean on the same signals as search engines, so a healthy SEO base makes AEO work much faster. That's why AEO lives in our SEO + AEO plan.
Related services
Find out if AI recommends you, or your competitor.
Your free audit includes an AI visibility test across ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews.