● AI search optimization

Does ChatGPT name
your business?

Lyons Web Solutions, in Howard County, Maryland, does AI search optimization as part of its SEO work. We check what ChatGPT and Gemini say when customers ask for a business like yours, then work on what those answers are built from.

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ChatGPT and Gemini · Part of our SEO work · Howard County, Maryland

What we check → What you get
  • The questionsAsked the way your customers ask
  • ChatGPT and GeminiWhether they name you, every month
  • Their sourcesThe listings and pages they rely on
  • Your reportWhere you were named that month

Why it matters

Customers now ask an assistant who to hire

In BrightLocal’s 2026 survey, 45% of US consumers had used an AI tool to find a local business in the past year, up from 6% the year before. They ask in full sentences, and the answer names a handful of businesses.

They ask, not search

A customer types a whole question, such as who can fix my website or who is a reliable contractor near Columbia, and gets an answer instead of a page of links.

A short list, no page two

The answer names a few businesses. One that is not named is not seen, however good its website is.

Built from sources you can work on

Assistants draw on business listings, directories, review sites, and the pages they can read. All of those can be improved.

A Maryland tax preparer asked ChatGPT who could take over her website. It named three firms, and we were one.

How the work runs

We start with your customers’ questions

AI search work starts by asking the assistants what your customers would ask, not with a score from a tool. We write the questions with you, in your customers’ words and naming the places you serve. Then we ask ChatGPT and Gemini, and keep asking through the month, because their answers change from one asking to the next.

  • Questions written in your customers’ words
  • Checked again every month
  • Reported in plain language
The order of work
Questions
What your customers would ask an assistant, written with you and naming the places you serve.

01

Check
What ChatGPT and Gemini say: whether they name you, who they name instead, and which sources they cite.

02

Fix
The pages, listings, directory profiles, and business details those answers are built from, worked on by us.

03

Report
Where you were named that month, in your monthly report, beside your search results.

04

Setting expectations

What AI search work can and cannot do

Plenty of firms now sell placement in ChatGPT. Nobody can sell that. This is what is realistic.

Nobody controls the answer
ChatGPT and Gemini decide what to say. Anyone promising placement in an AI answer is guessing.
Answers change
Ask the same question twice and the list can differ. We read a month of answers, not one screenshot.
It rests on ordinary SEO
Assistants lean on what search engines do: a clear website, accurate listings, and real reviews.
Your listings count
Answers quote directories, review sites, and business listings, so keeping those accurate is part of the work.

We report what ChatGPT and Gemini say. The same work helps with Google’s AI answers, which our reports do not yet show separately.

What is AI search optimization?

AI search optimization is the work of making your business easier for AI assistants such as ChatGPT and Gemini to find, describe correctly, and name when customers ask for a business like yours. At Lyons Web Solutions in Howard County, Maryland, it is part of our SEO work for the websites we host.

Is AI search optimization different from SEO?

Less than the name suggests. Google says optimizing for its AI answers is still SEO, and the assistants lean on the same foundations: a clear, fast website, accurate business listings, real reviews, and pages that say plainly what you do and where. What changes is how we measure it. We ask the assistants directly.

Do you do AEO or GEO?

Yes. Answer engine optimization (AEO) and generative engine optimization (GEO) are other names for the same work. We call it AI search because that is the name most people use when they look for help.

Can you guarantee ChatGPT will recommend my business?

No, and nobody honest can. ChatGPT and Gemini decide what to say, and their answers change from one asking to the next. What we commit to is the work, a regular check of what the assistants say, and a plain report of where you were named.

How do you know what ChatGPT says about my business?

We ask it. Together we write the questions your customers would ask, in their words and naming the places you serve, and we put them to ChatGPT and Gemini through the month. Your monthly report shows the questions they named you for.

What do you change to get my business named more often?

The things the answers are built from: a page on your site for each service you offer, your Google Business Profile, your listings on the directories and review sites the assistants cite, business details written so software can read them, and your site registered with Bing, which Microsoft Copilot draws on. We do the work; you are not handed a task list.

Does this cover Google’s AI Overviews?

The work does, because Google’s AI answers draw on the same website, listings, and reviews. Our reports currently show what ChatGPT and Gemini say.

Do I need to host my website with you?

Yes. AI search work is part of our SEO, and we do SEO on the websites we host, so the site and its pages are ours to keep in order. If your website is hosted somewhere else, we move it onto our managed hosting first, and the move is included. If nobody can reach the old site, we take it over.

How long does it take to show up in AI answers?

There is no honest timeline, because the assistants decide when their answers change. We report what changed each month rather than promise a date.

Has it worked for your own business?

A Maryland tax preparer found us by asking ChatGPT for someone local to take over her website. It named three firms, and Lyons Web Solutions was one of them. Read her story.

Are you local?

Yes. Lyons Web Solutions is based in Highland, in Howard County, Maryland, and works with businesses across Maryland and throughout the US. Most of the work happens by phone, text, and email, and you can ask to meet.

How much does AI search optimization cost?

It is part of our SEO work rather than a separate add-on, and SEO is quoted per client after we look at your site and your market. A good first step is a free website review, which includes a check of whether AI assistants such as ChatGPT mention your business.

Find out what ChatGPT says about your business

Start with a free website review. We check whether AI assistants mention you, along with your site’s speed and upkeep and your Google listing, and write back with what to fix first.

Request a quote Get a free website review