Insight
How do I get my brand cited in ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity?
You get cited in ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity by becoming a consistent, named entity that those systems can retrieve and cross-check: branded mentions across the web, structured answers on your own site, and original work people can quote. Backlink volume is a weak predictor. Ahrefs’ analysis of 75,000 brands found branded mentions correlate with AI visibility at 0.66 to 0.71, while traditional backlinks sit below 0.30.
People are using AI search more and trusting it less. Fractl’s Q2 2026 survey (1,008 consumers, 150 marketers) found trust in AI-powered search fell 28 percentage points in a year, from 82% in 2025 to 54% in 2026, while 70% of consumers said they use those tools more than they did a year ago. That is why “best GEO or AEO agency” is the wrong first question. The first question is whether your brand is built to be cited at all.
How do I get my brand cited in ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity?
Citation is not a plugin. Models pull from pages, forums, publications, directories, podcasts, and other named references they can match to you. If those sources disagree, or barely exist, you do not get the quote.
| Lever | What it actually is | What it is not |
|---|---|---|
| Named entity | The same brand name, services, and facts repeating in public places | A clever slogan that never appears off your homepage |
| Branded mentions | Editorial, directory, and community references to you as a company | Buying links as the main play |
| Structured answers | Question-shaped pages, FAQs, and facts a model can lift | A 3,000-word essay with no extractable verdict |
| Original work | Research, methods, and proof only you could have written | Rewritten listicles with no source |
| Disclosure | Saying when AI was used, when it matters | Hiding generation while trust in AI answers is falling |
Fractl also found 84% to 91% of consumers want AI-generated content labelled, yet only 20% of brands always disclose AI use and 33% never do. In a market where usage is up and trust is down, honesty is a ranking signal of a different kind: people (and the systems quoting them) have a reason to believe you.
Only 12% of marketers who say they prioritise GEO and AEO tactics report measurable results. Schema markup and a chatbot widget will not close that gap if the brand is not citable in the first place.
Best GEO or AEO agency UK
“Best” is a buyer filter, not a badge. A useful GEO or AEO partner in the UK should be able to show work on entity, content, and measurement, not a renamed SEO retainer.
Look for:
| You should hear | Walk away if you hear |
|---|---|
| How they will make you nameable and quotable in your category | “We will get you cited” with no mention map |
| What they will publish that an engine can lift (questions, facts, sources) | A backlink package as the whole plan |
| How they will tell if it worked (citations, branded queries, not only rankings) | Traffic screenshots from last year’s SEO report |
| Digital marketing that still covers SEO, plus AI search | GEO as a bolt-on keyword with no search work underneath |
A digital marketing programme that already includes SEO, GEO, and AEO is the honest shape: one service, not three competing retainers. If the firm cannot explain how brand architecture and structured content feed citations, they are selling tactics without the entity work.
This is not a Cambridge-only problem, but it is acute for UK professional services, finance, and healthcare, where buyers already ask “who said this?” before they trust an AI summary.
What to do this quarter
You do not need a 40-page GEO playbook. You need a short, boring sequence:
- List the questions buyers actually ask (including the ones in ChatGPT). Write public answers with a verdict in the first paragraph.
- Audit mentions. Where does your name already appear? Where should it, and is that true?
- Publish proof, not adjectives: methods, numbers, named clients where you have permission, dated sources.
- Label AI use on content that was generated or heavily assisted, if that is your policy. Do not pretend a model wrote nothing.
- Measure citations and branded queries, not only classic rankings.
If you cannot describe how a model would know you exist without visiting your homepage, start there. That is brand and content architecture, which is why it sits next to brand strategy, not only next to ads.
Frequently asked questions
Is this just SEO with a new name?
SEO still matters for Google. GEO and AEO are about being retrieved and quoted by answer engines. The overlap is structured, trustworthy pages. The difference is that backlinks are a weak citation predictor next to branded mentions.
Can I do this with ChatGPT and no agency?
You can draft. You cannot fake a mention graph or a consistent public entity from a chatbot window. Use the tools for speed. Use a partner when the work is positioning, proof, and a site that engines can parse.
How long before we see citations?
Engines recrawl on their own clocks. A new page will not show up in HubSpot or Perplexity the day it goes live. The work is still worth doing; treat it as a quarter, not a weekend.
Do I need schema markup?
It helps machines read your pages. It does not create authority you have not earned. Put schema on after the answers and mentions exist, not instead of them.
Next step
The short version: citations follow a citable brand. Ahrefs’ 75,000-brand data puts mentions well ahead of backlinks (about 0.66 to 0.71 vs below 0.30), while Fractl shows people using AI search more and trusting it 28 points less. Schema without entity work will not close that gap.
Do not buy a link package and hope ChatGPT notices. Decide whether your public footprint is consistent enough to quote, then brief the content and mention work against that.
Book a free call and you will speak to Jonathan Porter, not a salesperson. If you would rather start in writing, ask a question and we will reply within four working hours. No obligation. No hard sell.
Related reading
- Digital Marketing and Conversion: SEO, GEO, AEO, paid search, and conversion design as one service.
- Brand Strategy and Identity: the entity and positioning work citations depend on.
- How much does branding cost in the UK?: what a scoped brand programme actually costs.
Evidence last reviewed 15 August 2026. Fractl Q2 2026 consumer and marketer survey; Ahrefs analysis of 75,000 brands as reported in trade coverage. Correlation is not a guarantee of citation.