More and more buyers don't scroll through search results; they ask an AI assistant and get a few names back. Here's what decides whether your company is one of them, and what you can do about it for free, on your own site and beyond.
Why does this matter now?
More and more decision-makers don't look at a list of results; they ask: “which Budapest accounting firm works with small businesses?” The answer is a few names, with sources. If you're not there, you drop out at the very start.
Where do AI search tools get their answers?
- ChatGPT: its own crawler (OAI-SearchBot) and largely Bing's search index.
- Perplexity: its own crawler (PerplexityBot) and web search.
- Google AI Overviews and Gemini: Google's own index, the same one behind the classic results.
In other words, good SEO is the foundation; AI search builds on it.
What can you do on your own site?
- Let the crawlers in: don't block AI crawlers in robots.txt, and register your site in Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools.
- Give quotable answers: for every key question (price, timing, who it's for), a short, direct answer at the top of the page, then the details.
- Facts instead of adjectives: numbers, client names, results. Nobody quotes “creative and client-focused”.
- Machine-readable company data: structured data (name, address, services, FAQ) and a short llms.txt file summarising your site.
- Consistent data everywhere: the same name, address and founding year on your site, your Business Profile and directories. AI trusts contradictory data less.
What can you do elsewhere?
- Industry and business directories: your sector's catalogues, chamber and association member lists, review sites. AI tools often build their “best companies” lists from these, so it pays to be listed with complete details.
- Google Business Profile: free, and Gemini uses it for local searches. Customer reviews matter a lot here.
- Articles, interviews, talks: one or two credible mentions are worth more than many of your own posts.
- Partner and supplier sites: a reference or link on a partner, supplier or professional body's site counts as a credible mention.
What about ads?
You can already advertise in AI chats, but it's a separate placement: paid ads appear next to or below the answer, labelled as sponsored, and don't influence the answer itself.
- ChatGPT: running in EEA countries since August 2026, with a self-serve ads manager (beta).
- Google: ads in AI Overviews and AI Mode currently run mainly in English-language markets and aren't yet widespread in Hungary.
A small test budget may be worth it, but lasting visibility still comes from the free steps above.
How do you measure it?
Analytics shows traffic from chatgpt.com, perplexity.ai and gemini.google.com. Once a month, ask the AI tools the same 5–10 questions and note whether they mention you.
Updated: 12 November 2026
