Home Guides
How AI search works, and what a business can do about it.
Each guide is written for business owners, checked against the platforms' own documentation and linked to its sources. Where we use our own numbers, we say so.
- 7 minute read
What is generative engine optimisation (GEO)?
A plain explanation of generative engine optimisation: where the term comes from, how it relates to SEO, what Google, Bing and OpenAI say about it, and what the work involves for a UK business.
Read the guide - 8 minute read
How AI search decides which businesses to name
How Google AI Mode, AI Overviews and ChatGPT search find, read and choose the businesses they name, based on platform documentation and our own research.
Read the guide - 8 minute read
How to measure your AI search visibility
How to measure how often AI search tools name a business: a fixed set of real customer questions, asked more than once, with every answer saved and counts reported with dates. Plus what Search Console, Bing and analytics can add.
Read the guide - 8 minute read
AI search visibility checklist: 20 checks for any business
20 practical checks any UK business can run on its website, Google Business Profile, reviews and listings to make it easier for AI search tools to name it accurately.
Read the guide - 7 minute read
Google Business Profile and AI search
Why your Google Business Profile matters for AI search answers, what Google's own rules say about names, categories, hours and reviews, and a practical set-up for any local business.
Read the guide
By In Plain Cite. Published 12 October 2026. Sources are listed at the end of each guide.
Research and reference
What Google's AI tells Londoners about gyms
12 questions in Google AI Mode: which gyms were named, and how many were independents.
ReferenceGlossary
Plain definitions of the terms used in AI search, from appearance rate to query fan-out.
MethodHow it works
How we measure, fix, earn and report.
QuestionsCommon questions
Short answers on data, results and the rules we work to.