You asked. We listened. Practical marketing tutorials from Brand+Commerce.

AI recommends your competitor. Your brand never comes up. Before you rewrite your entire website, investigate one customer question and the information behind the answer.

This tutorial gives you a first audit you can repeat: choose a buying question, inspect the sources, improve one relevant page and record what changes. It works whether you market a fitness studio, a wellness business or an ecommerce fashion brand. It does not promise a recommendation.

1. Ask a question your customer would actually ask

Use a question someone might ask before they know your name. Asking an assistant to describe your brand tests a different problem from asking it to recommend a business.

Fitness: “Which Pilates studios in [neighborhood] offer beginner classes after work?”
Fashion: “Where can I buy petite linen trousers with clear garment measurements?”
Wellness: “Which massage studios in [city] publish prices and offer evening appointments?”

Choose one question that matches something you genuinely offer. Test it in a search-enabled AI experience. Record the exact wording, date, platform and whether web search was used. Save the answer. This is a sample, not a complete picture of your visibility.

2. Follow the sources

Open the sources linked in the answer. Record the businesses named and the pages cited. A citation can show you supporting material, but it does not reveal every reason a model chose an answer.

Look for specific information: class schedules, locations, product measurements, current availability, editorial reviews or service pricing. Check whether the linked page actually supports the answer. AI can make mistakes.

Then compare those details with your own public information. Is your beginner class schedule easy to find? Does the product page explain inseam length? Are your hours consistent across your website and business listings?

3. Improve one page with a concrete answer

Pick the existing product, service or location page that best answers the question. Put the answer near the top, then provide the details someone needs to decide.

Illustrative fitness example—not a client result:
Before: “Transform your movement. Find your community.”
After: “New to reformer Pilates? Our Foundations class introduces the equipment and basic movements. Check the current schedule for evening sessions, class availability and pricing.”

Keep only claims that are true for the business. Add the relevant booking link, location and preparation information. For fashion, that might mean garment measurements and fit guidance. For wellness, it might mean service scope, practitioner credentials and clear pricing.

Ask your website manager to check access as well. Google says pages must be indexed and eligible for snippets to appear as supporting links in its AI features. OpenAI says OAI-SearchBot access matters for inclusion in ChatGPT summaries and snippets. See Google’s guidance and OpenAI’s publisher guidance.

4. Check the information beyond your website

If the answer points to an outdated listing or article, note the incorrect fact and request a correction from the source. For product brands, identify relevant buying guides and commerce editors whose coverage genuinely fits the product. Prepare accurate specifications, availability and evidence that helps an editor evaluate it.

Editorial decisions belong to the publisher. Coverage and affiliate participation do not guarantee inclusion in AI answers. Your immediate task is to make the information useful and accurate.

5. Track observations and business outcomes separately

Repeat the same question over time and record the conditions. Track whether your brand is mentioned, whether your website is linked and whether the description is accurate. Answers can vary, so one improved response is not proof that your page change caused it.

Separately, review available referral visits and inquiries, bookings or purchases. OpenAI says ChatGPT search referral links include a source parameter that can help identify visits. Referral reporting does not capture every person who encounters your brand in an AI answer.

Save this first-audit checklist

□ One customer buying question
□ Saved answer, platform, date and search setting
□ Linked sources checked
□ One information gap identified
□ One page or listing improved
□ Follow-up observations and business outcomes recorded

You can scope the first question and gap in a short session. Technical fixes, editorial work and measurable outcomes may take longer.

Where SEO, AEO and GEO fit

SEO concerns visibility in search. AEO and GEO are overlapping industry terms used for visibility in answers and generative search. They are not separate switches, and none lets you control what an AI system says. Google states that its established SEO fundamentals remain relevant to its AI features.

Explore how search and AI visibility connects with editorial coverage and the information customers use to choose your brand.