AI SEO is the work of making your business easy for AI search tools such as Google AI Overviews, ChatGPT search, Perplexity, Gemini and Copilot to find, understand and cite. It builds on standard SEO: crawlable pages, clear facts, consistent listings and a genuine reputation.

Is generative engine optimisation (GEO) different from SEO?

Mostly no. Google describes optimising for its generative AI features as still SEO. The extra attention goes on consistent business facts, third-party mentions and checking what AI tools say about you.

Should I block AI crawlers from my website?

That is a business decision. Blocking GPTBot stops OpenAI using your content for training but does not affect ChatGPT search. Blocking OAI-SearchBot or PerplexityBot removes you from those search answers, which most local businesses do not want.

Do I need an llms.txt file?

No. Google says Search ignores it and that it neither helps nor hurts your visibility there. It is harmless to add, but fixing crawl access, service pages and your Google Business Profile matters far more.

How do I know if ChatGPT recommends my business?

Ask it the questions your customers ask, in a logged-out session, and note who is named. Check your analytics for referrals from chatgpt.com. For Google and Bing, use the AI reports in Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools.

How much do AI SEO services cost in NZ?

At Airea Digital, AI search visibility is part of our SEO work, with packages from $999 + GST a month, after a free audit or a $950 + GST Audit & Strategy. We do not sell AI visibility as a separate add-on.

AI SEO for NZ businesses.

AI SEO is mostly good SEO done thoroughly: a crawlable website, a complete Google Business Profile and consistent listings that AI Overviews, ChatGPT and Perplexity can find and cite.

By Craig Stewart, founder of Airea Digital · Updated 22 October 2026

How AI search works

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How AI search tools find NZ businesses

New Zealanders already use these tools. In InternetNZ's 2025 survey, 79% of New Zealand adults had used AI in the past 12 months, and AI in search engines was the most common kind of use.

When someone in Auckland asks an AI tool for "a good accountant in Grey Lynn" or "how much does a heat pump install cost in NZ", the tool searches the web or its own index, reads a handful of pages, and writes an answer with links. Each platform publishes slightly different rules about what it can read.

Google AI Overviews and AI Mode

Google says there are no extra requirements: a page must be indexed and eligible to show a snippet in normal Search. Its May 2026 guide calls optimising for generative AI search "still SEO", and says Business Profile and Merchant Center data can help your products and services show in AI responses. The guide is written for Google Search, and we follow the same approach for the Gemini app.

ChatGPT search

OpenAI uses a crawler called OAI-SearchBot to find pages for ChatGPT's search answers. Sites that block it in robots.txt are not shown in those answers. GPTBot is a separate crawler for model training, and blocking it does not remove you from ChatGPT search.

Perplexity

Perplexity uses PerplexityBot to surface and link websites in its results, and recommends allowing it in robots.txt if you want to appear.

Microsoft Copilot and Bing

Microsoft Copilot and the AI summaries in Bing cite web pages in their answers. Bing Webmaster Tools now reports (in preview) how often your pages are cited there, which makes a verified Bing Webmaster Tools account worth having even if few of your customers use Bing directly.

AI SEO versus classic SEO in New Zealand

The overlap is large. Google's own guide says its generative features are rooted in its core ranking systems and highlight content from the same Search index, so a site that is slow, hard to crawl or vague about what it does will struggle in both. Google adds that unique, useful content is likely to influence your presence more than any other suggestion in its guide.

The differences are in emphasis. A classic results page shows ten links and lets the searcher choose. An AI answer often names only a few businesses and summarises each in a sentence, so the facts about you need to be easy to extract and identical everywhere: your business name, what you do, where you work, your prices or price ranges, and your opening hours. AI answers can also draw on what other sites say about you, such as reviews, directories and news articles, not only your own pages.

Agencies sell this as AI SEO, generative engine optimisation (GEO) or answer engine optimisation (AEO). The names describe the same work. Be cautious of anyone selling a separate GEO package that ignores the basics on your own website.

Practical AI SEO steps for NZ businesses

Crawlable HTML and open robots.txt

Put your important words in the page HTML, not only inside images, PDFs or scripts that load later. Check robots.txt and any hosting, firewall or CDN bot settings so Googlebot, Bingbot, OAI-SearchBot and PerplexityBot are not blocked by accident. A website audit finds these problems quickly.

Clear facts on every service page

Give each service its own page that says plainly what it is, who it is for, where in New Zealand you offer it and what it costs or what drives the cost. Answer the questions customers ask on the phone.

Structured data that matches the page

Google says no special schema.org markup is needed for its AI features. If you use structured data such as Organization, LocalBusiness or Service markup, Google asks that it matches the visible text on the page, so keep the two in step.

Consistent business details across NZ listings

Use the same business name, address or service area, phone number and categories on your website, your Google Business Profile, Bing Places, the NZBN register, Apple Business Connect, Facebook and NZ directories such as Yellow, Finda and your industry association. Conflicting details make it harder for any system to be sure who you are.

Genuine Google reviews

Ask real customers for reviews on Google and the platforms your industry uses, and reply to them. Our guide to getting more Google reviews covers how. Reviews describe your work in customers' own words, which is the kind of evidence AI answers summarise. Never buy or script reviews.

Mentions on other NZ websites

Local news, supplier and partner pages, industry bodies, event listings and "best of" round-ups can be among the sources AI tools cite. Earn these through real work and relationships. Google warns that chasing inauthentic mentions "isn't as helpful as it might seem".

llms.txt: optional and unproven

An llms.txt file is a short plain-text map of your site proposed for AI tools. Google says Search ignores it and it will neither help nor hurt your visibility in Google Search. It costs little to add, so we treat it as a tidy extra, not a ranking factor.

How to check whether AI search mentions your NZ business

Google Search Console: the Search Generative AI performance report shows how often your pages appeared in AI Overviews, AI Mode and Discover AI features, by page, country and date. Google says it was rolled out to all websites as of 31 August 2026.
Bing Webmaster Tools: the AI Performance report (in preview) shows how often your pages are cited in Copilot and Bing AI summaries, with a sample of the grounding queries behind those citations.
Your analytics: look for referral visits from chatgpt.com, perplexity.ai, gemini.google.com and copilot.microsoft.com.
Manual checks: once a month, ask ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and Copilot the questions your customers ask, such as "best [your service] in [your suburb]". Record who is named and which sources are linked.
Source gaps: when a competitor is named and you are not, open the cited pages. That shows which directories, reviews or articles you are missing.

AI answers change with wording, location, time and whether someone is logged in. Treat manual checks as a direction of travel, not a score.

Why no one can guarantee AI search citations

Google, OpenAI, Perplexity and Microsoft decide what their AI tools say, and Google states plainly that indexing and serving are not guaranteed even when every requirement is met. Any agency promising a set number of ChatGPT mentions or a place in AI Overviews is promising something it does not control. What can be done is to remove the barriers, publish clear and useful information, build genuine reputation, and measure what changes.

AI SEO services from Airea Digital

We treat AI search visibility as part of our SEO and AI search work, not a separate product. That work covers technical access, clear service pages, structured data where it serves a purpose, Google Business Profile and reviewing how AI search tools describe you, where that can be observed. The scope of each package depends on your site and market.

Free SEO audit

No charge Send us your website and we email a report on its search foundations. Request one on our website audit page.

Audit & Strategy

$950 + GST, one-off A full technical, content and competitor audit, a written plan and a consult. Your first month on any package is free if you go ahead.

SEO Starter

$999 + GST a month One location: Google Business Profile, on-page fixes, one content piece a month and a monthly report.

SEO Growth

$2,200 + GST a month Several services or areas, four content pieces a month, legitimate authority building and a monthly strategy call. Bespoke plans from $3,500 + GST a month.

Packages have a three-month minimum, then continue month to month. Full details on our SEO page, and local work on our local SEO page. For wider pricing context, read what SEO costs in NZ and how long SEO takes.

AI SEO questions from NZ businesses

What is AI SEO?: AI SEO is the work of making your business easy for AI search tools such as Google AI Overviews, ChatGPT search, Perplexity, Gemini and Copilot to find, understand and cite. It builds on standard SEO: crawlable pages, clear facts, consistent listings and a genuine reputation.
Is generative engine optimisation (GEO) different from SEO?: Mostly no. Google describes optimising for its generative AI features as still SEO. The extra attention goes on consistent business facts, third-party mentions and checking what AI tools say about you.
Should I block AI crawlers from my website?: That is a business decision. Blocking GPTBot stops OpenAI using your content for training but does not affect ChatGPT search. Blocking OAI-SearchBot or PerplexityBot removes you from those search answers, which most local businesses do not want.
Do I need an llms.txt file?: No. Google says Search ignores it and that it neither helps nor hurts your visibility there. It is harmless to add, but fixing crawl access, service pages and your Google Business Profile matters far more.
How do I know if ChatGPT recommends my business?: Ask it the questions your customers ask, in a logged-out session, and note who is named. Check your analytics for referrals from chatgpt.com. For Google and Bing, use the AI reports in Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools.
How much do AI SEO services cost in NZ?: At Airea Digital, AI search visibility is part of our SEO work, with packages from $999 + GST a month, after a free audit or a $950 + GST Audit & Strategy. We do not sell AI visibility as a separate add-on.

Sources for this AI SEO guide

Sources: Google Search Central, AI features and your website and Optimizing your website for generative AI features on Google Search (May 2026); Google Search Central Blog, Search Generative AI performance reports in Search Console (June 2026, updated August 2026); OpenAI, Overview of OpenAI crawlers; Perplexity, Perplexity crawlers; Bing Webmaster Blog, Introducing AI Performance in Bing Webmaster Tools (February 2026); InternetNZ and Verian, New Zealand's Internet Insights 2025 (n=1,003; AI in search engines used by 55% of those who had used AI).

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