4 Things I Learned About AI Search (And How You Can Use It to Get Your Business Discovered)

As entrepreneurs, we all share the same goal: get customers. And to get customers, people have to find you. Online, in search, in AI, wherever they're looking.

At LLC Attorney, our job isn't just forming your LLC. It's helping you after you've formed your LLC and you're trying to run a successful business. Right now, one of the biggest shifts I've seen in my entire career is how people discover brands online. It's impacting our business and whether you're aware of it or not, it's probably starting to impact yours.

So I've been going to conferences to learn more about this new reality. Every conference I attend shares a different statistic, but they are all making the same basic prediction:

Most searches will happen through AI and not Google, by 2030.

And honestly? I think it'll happen sooner.

That means it's time to start thinking about GEO: Generative Engine Optimization. Or, in plain English, how to make sure ChatGPT and other AI tools actually find and recommend your business when people ask questions.

Before we dive in, I want to make sure we're all on the same page.

Let's Start With the Basics

A lot of entrepreneurs tell me they feel overwhelmed by all the talk about AI, SEO, GEO, and algorithms. And I get it. You're running a business. You don't have time to become an internet engineer.

So before I get into how all of this impacts your business, let's break down how people are searching now, in the simplest possible way. Because once you understand that, everything else falls into place.

How People Are Using ChatGPT Now

For years, search worked the same way:

You went to Google, typed your question, scrolled past a few ads, clicked through a handful of websites, and eventually found what you needed. If you discovered a helpful business along the way, great. That's how customers found brands.

But that's not how people search anymore.

Now, millions of people go straight to ChatGPT (or Gemini or Claude) and type the exact same questions they used to put into Google:

"How do I start an LLC in Florida?"

"How do I get more customers as a plumber?"

"What's the easiest bookkeeping software?"

"How do I set up payroll for my business?"

Instead of sending them to a list of websites, ChatGPT just… answers. Right away.

And then and this is the part entrepreneurs should really care about, ChatGPT often includes:

• links
• references
• citations
• recommended providers
• brand names

This is the new front door to customer discovery. And if ChatGPT doesn't mention your business when someone asks about your category? You're invisible in this new search world.

Which leads to the important part:

How does ChatGPT decide which businesses to show people… and which ones to ignore?

It turns out it's a simple two-step process but not easy to do.

Can AI Find You? And Can It Trust You?

AI tools like ChatGPT don't just toss out business names randomly. They run through two questions every single time.

1. Discoverability: This is about whether your website and online presence are structured clearly enough for AI to understand what you do.

2. Validation: Does the AI trust your business enough to recommend it? If it does know you, then it looks at what happens outside your website — reviews, engagement, mentions, links.

If you're weak in either step, AI simply won't surface your business. And in a world where people rely on AI for answers, being shown is the new "page one" of Google.

Discoverability: Helping AI Find You

Discoverability is about clarity, making your business easy for AI to understand quickly.

Here are some ways to do that:

• Match your content to how customers ask questions.
• Your content needs to be structured a certain way. Use headings, lists, bullets, FAQs.
• Your site has to be fast. AI crawlers are impatient. Slow sites get skipped.
• Your brand needs to appear in the places AI checks. Directories, review sites, local listings, etc. These help AI determine whether you're credible.
• Your domain needs a solid SEO foundation. To rank in AI, you need to usually do well in SEO. It doesn't replace it.

Validation: Convincing AI That You're Worth Recommending

Once AI finds you, it checks whether your business is real, active, and trusted.

Validation comes from things like:

• Backlinks from credible sites. These help AI verify you're legit. If another website links to yours, that's a good start. But you need more of these.
• People talking about your brand online. Reddit threads, LinkedIn posts, industry mentions, Quora, they all count.
• Engagement. AI sees clicks, shares, comments, reactions as proof of people caring about what you do.
• Customer reviews. Do customers like you? Are your reviews recent? These things matter.

1. How AI Actually Reads Your Website

AI crawlers don't read like humans. They skim to "minimize time to first token," which basically means: they are trying to get the information fast so they can provide it to their user.

So your site needs to be:

• fast-loading
• clearly structured
• easy to skim
• written in plain English
• organized with clear headings and bullets

AI pulls from two main sources:

• Google search results
• What the LLM already knows from training

This is why SEO still matters — a lot. GEO sits on top of it.

2. Authority Comes From Being Part of the Conversation

Old SEO was all about backlinks. While that still matters, AI is more interested in your entire online footprint:

• Digital PR
• Social media conversations
• News coverage
• Mention in communities (Reddit, LinkedIn, Quora)
• Reviews (Yelp, G2, Trustpilot, etc.)
• Influencers talking about you

Offsite campaigns matter more than ever. PR hits, social initiatives, influencer mentions, partnerships give AI confidence that your brand is active and respected.

3. Engagement = Proof of Life (And You Only Get Engagement With Good Content)

People discover brands through social channels:

• X
• TikTok
• Reddit
• LinkedIn
• Instagram
• YouTube
• And more

But small business owners shouldn't try to chase them all. If your customers aren't searching for a plumber on TikTok, don't waste your nights making TikTok plumbing videos unless your teenager feels like it. Pick the platforms where your customers actually look and build traction there.

It's better to make good content than a lot of content since AI pays attention to what humans pay attention to:

• comments
• clicks
• shares
• saves
• reactions
• repeat visits

And engagement only happens when your content is good, or at least good to the audience you're trying to reach.

Trying to show up on every platform leads to mediocre content, low engagement, weak signals, and no AI traction

4. SEO Is Still the Foundation (GEO Builds on Top of It)

The message from all three conferences was generally the same. SEO is the foundation. GEO is the next layer, which is frustrating because it means as business owners, we now need to do more. For those of you who don't know a lot about SEO, and most small business owners don't, these are the things that still matter:

• a fast site
• good internal linking
• structured content
• credible backlinks
• clear messaging
• content that answers customer questions

Now what matters just as much are:

• offsite mentions
• influencer validation
• social engagement
• reviews
• structured formatting
• content AI can skim

The New Era of Business Discovery

You don't need to become a marketer to take advantage of this shift but it helps to be aware of what's important so you can put your energy in the right place. The good news is, most of what helps the AI engines discover your brand are generally solid marketing strategies. If you approach it that way, it becomes pretty intuitive.