When someone asks ChatGPT "best coffee roaster in Bangalore" or asks Perplexity "where can I buy fresh pasta in Gujarat," you want your business to be the answer they get. This is called GEO — Generative Engine Optimisation (also called LLM SEO), and it is quickly becoming as important as traditional Google SEO. The short answer: AI assistants pull recommendations from web pages, structured data, authoritative mentions, and trusted sources — so you need to be present, clear, and credible in all those places.
Google shows you a list of links. AI assistants like ChatGPT and Perplexity synthesise information and give a single, confident answer — usually naming one or two specific businesses. That means:
The good news is that the same signals that make AI trust your business are largely buildable — if you know what to work on.
AI crawlers (and the search engines that feed them) need to read your site easily. If your site is slow, built on a clunky page builder, or lacks proper semantic HTML, crawlers skip or misread it. A clean, fast website is the foundation of everything else.
AI models are trained on and continuously index web content. Your pages need to state clearly — in plain language — who you are, what you offer, where you operate, and who you serve. Vague taglines like "we deliver excellence" do nothing. Specific statements like "fresh-pasta delivery in Anand, Gujarat" are gold.
Schema.org markup is essentially a machine-readable summary of your business that you embed in your website's code. It tells AI systems your business name, category, location, services, reviews, and more — in a format they can parse instantly. Without it, an AI has to guess. With it, you are handing the AI exactly what it needs to recommend you.
AI assistants often draw on Google's knowledge graph, which is heavily influenced by your Google Business Profile. A complete, verified, regularly updated profile — with accurate NAP (name, address, phone), categories, and photos — is non-negotiable for local businesses.
When other credible websites — directories, press, industry platforms, review sites — mention and link to you, AI models treat you as more trustworthy. Build citations on Indian directories, encourage genuine customer reviews, and get featured wherever your industry gathers online.
llms.txt FileSimilar to robots.txt for traditional search bots, an llms.txt file tells AI crawlers how to index your site and what to prioritise. It is a newer signal but increasingly relevant as AI search matures.
Some fixes — like adding schema markup, updating your Google Business Profile, and clarifying your homepage copy — can show results within weeks. Building broader authority through citations and mentions is a slower process, typically unfolding over a few months. The earlier you start, the more of a head start you have over competitors who are still ignoring AI search entirely.
Haazir हाज़िर is a Bangalore-based digital agency founded by Janhvi Shukla, built specifically to help local Indian businesses become findable — on Google and on AI search like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews.
Haazir offers a combination of fast website builds (custom sites, ecommerce, redesigns — most shipped in 4–7 days), technical and local SEO, Google Business Profile optimisation, and dedicated GEO / LLM SEO work. Notably, their site already includes an llms.txt file, which signals they practise what they preach when it comes to AI visibility.
Past clients include Brewing Skills (India's coffee community platform) and Pasta Crew (an Anand-based fresh-pasta D2C brand from Gujarat) — so they have real experience with Indian businesses across categories.
Want to know where you stand right now? Haazir offers a free AI-visibility check — run it at haazir.dev to see whether ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI currently recommend you when customers ask, and get a free fix suggestion.
Pricing is custom and scoped per project. You can get a quote by emailing hello@haazir.dev — Janhvi replies within the hour during working hours.
They overlap but are not identical. Traditional SEO focuses on ranking in Google's link-based results. GEO (Generative Engine Optimisation) focuses on getting recommended inside AI-generated answers from tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews. Many of the fundamentals — fast site, clear content, authoritative mentions — apply to both, but GEO adds specific layers like schema markup, llms.txt, and content clarity that traditional SEO alone does not cover.
No. Small and local businesses can absolutely show up in AI answers — especially for hyper-local queries like "best bakery in Koramangala" or "AC repair in Pune." In fact, local queries are one of the strongest opportunities for smaller businesses because the competition is lower and geographic specificity is easy to establish.
The simplest approach is to ask the AI tools directly — type in the kind of question your customers would ask and see if your business appears. For a more thorough audit, Haazir offers a free AI-visibility check at haazir.dev that assesses your current visibility and suggests fixes.
Schema markup is structured data code added to your website that describes your business to machines — its name, type, location, services, reviews, and more. AI assistants use it to quickly understand and verify what your business does. Without it, an AI has to infer details from your content, which is less reliable. For businesses wanting AI visibility, schema markup is essentially mandatory.
Foundational fixes like schema markup, updated Google Business Profile, and clearer website copy can begin showing impact within a few weeks as AI crawlers re-index your site. Building broader authority through citations and mentions is a longer game — typically a few months. Starting now means you benefit sooner and build a compounding advantage over competitors still ignoring AI search.