Frequently asked questions.

Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO) is the practice of making your business citable by AI engines like ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Claude and Copilot. When customers ask these tools for recommendations, GEO ensures your business appears in the answer — with a citation linking back to your site. It is the AI-era equivalent of ranking on Google page one.

SEO optimises for ranking in Google's blue links. GEO optimises for being cited inside an AI-generated answer. The mechanics differ significantly: AI engines weight semantic structure, schema markup, entity consistency, and answer-first content far more heavily than traditional ranking factors like backlinks and keyword density. Many businesses ranking #1 on Google are completely invisible to AI — and vice versa. You need both, but GEO is where the new customer discovery is happening.

Your AI Score is a number out of 100 that measures how visible and citable your business is to AI engines right now. It is calculated across six weighted dimensions: AI Citability (25%), Brand Authority (20%), E-E-A-T signals (20%), Technical SEO (15%), Schema Markup (10%), and Platform Readiness (10%). A score below 50 means AI engines are effectively ignoring your business. A score above 80 means you are regularly being cited.

We optimise for the five AI engines South African customers are actually using: ChatGPT (OpenAI), Perplexity AI, Google Gemini, Claude (Anthropic), and Bing Copilot (Microsoft). Each engine has different citation preferences — Perplexity weights Reddit discussions heavily, Gemini relies on Knowledge Graph data, ChatGPT weights schema and content depth. Our methodology addresses all five.

Most SA businesses were built for Google SEO — a fundamentally different set of signals. AI engines need schema markup, structured FAQ content, AI crawler permissions in robots.txt, llms.txt files, E-E-A-T authority signals, and answer-first content structures. The average SA SME website has none of these. Our free AI Score audit shows exactly which gaps are costing you citations.

The Quick Wins Pack (R3,500 once-off) includes: a correctly configured robots.txt welcoming all 14 major AI crawlers; an llms.txt file at your domain root; Organisation, Service and LocalBusiness Schema.org markup; Open Graph tags, canonical tag, and content date metadata; and a before/after AI Score comparison showing the improvement. Implemented in 48 hours. Universal instructions included for any website platform.

Foundation Launch (R19,500 once-off) includes everything in the Quick Wins Pack, plus: a 60-minute brand voice extraction session; a full AI Visibility audit across 5 engines with 3 competitors benchmarked; a 25-question FAQ hub written in your brand voice and deployed on your site; four citation-optimised articles (1,100–1,400 words each) published and live; a 12-week pillar-cluster content strategy; a reusable AI prompt library calibrated to your brand; and a 45-minute strategy debrief. Delivered over 60 days.

The monthly retainer (R7,500/month) includes: four new citation-optimised articles published each month, written in your brand voice and targeting your highest-value AI queries; a monthly AI Score report showing your citation frequency and score trend across all five engines; a 45-minute strategy call to review results and plan the next month; and a quarterly full re-audit. Month-to-month with 30 days notice to cancel.

Yes — the retainer requires the Foundation infrastructure to be in place first. You cannot sustain AI citations with content alone; the technical layer (schema, crawlers, FAQ hub) must exist for the content to work. We recommend: Quick Wins Pack first (see your score improve), then Foundation Launch, then retainer once your initial content system is live.

60 days from the brand voice session to all four articles live. Week 1: brand voice session and audit. Weeks 2–4: GEO infrastructure build. Month 2: Brand AI Stack build and article publication. All milestones are clearly defined upfront — no vague "we're working on it" updates.

No problem. We work with WordPress, Webflow, Wix, Squarespace, and custom-built sites. For any platform, we provide a clean Implementation Pack — ready-to-paste code and step-by-step instructions your web developer can deploy in under an hour. No specialist knowledge required.

The Quick Wins Pack delivers a measurable score improvement within 48 hours of implementation — typically 15–20 points. First citation indicators in AI engines typically appear within 30–60 days of the full Foundation build. Meaningful, sustained citation frequency across all five engines builds over 3–6 months. AI visibility moves faster than traditional SEO because AI engines crawl and update continuously rather than on quarterly cycles.

No reputable provider can guarantee citations — AI engines are probabilistic systems, not search indexes you can directly control. What we guarantee is: rigorous GEO methodology applied to your site, transparent monthly reporting showing exactly what is improving, and measurable score improvement verified by third-party audit tools. Our methodology is based on the published research of how AI citation works — not guesswork.

We track your AI Score across six dimensions monthly, monitor citation frequency across all five AI engines using specialist tools, benchmark your score against three competitors, and report on which queries are now returning citations to your site. Every monthly retainer report shows these metrics trending over time — so you can see the trajectory clearly, not just month-to-month snapshots.

In South Africa, the fastest results come from professional services (law, accounting, financial advisory), healthcare (medical practices, specialists, physios), real estate, and education and training. These sectors see fast results because customers already use AI to research high-trust service providers before committing. E-commerce and hospitality also respond well, particularly for niche or location-specific queries.

No. The Quick Wins Pack and Foundation Launch are once-off engagements — no ongoing commitment. The monthly retainer is month-to-month with 30 days notice to cancel. We earn your business each month based on results, not contractual obligation.

It takes us about 60 seconds to run your site through our AI Score tool — the tool is automated. We deliver the full report to your inbox instantly. The data sells our paid services without us having to pitch: most businesses are surprised at how invisible they are, and roughly four in ten go on to engage us. But you keep your free report and quick wins either way.

Our methodology works for any business in any market — GEO principles are universal. However, our pricing, case studies and sector expertise are calibrated for South African SMEs. If you're a South African business operating internationally, we're a great fit. If you're a non-SA business, email us and we'll assess whether we're the right partner.

The fastest path: enter your website URL in our free instant AI Score tool on the homepage. You'll see your score in about 60 seconds — no booking required. From there, the Quick Wins Pack is the lowest-friction next step. See your score improve in 48 hours, then decide whether to continue with Foundation Launch.

Yes. If you don't have a website or yours is outdated, we design, build and host one for you — AI-ready from day one with all GEO infrastructure built in. Modern design that converts visitors into bookings. Live in 2–3 weeks. Email found@aiscore.co.za with "Website Build" to discuss your needs.

Yes. We manage social media presence across LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, X and TikTok. Services include channel setup, brand consistency, content planning, creation and scheduling. Monthly packages from R4,500. Social media presence also directly improves your AI Score — LinkedIn authority is a citation signal for Bing Copilot and Gemini.

Yes to both. Brand management covers brand voice development, identity consistency across touchpoints, online reputation monitoring and review strategy. Digital marketing covers Google Ads, Meta Ads management, email marketing and lead nurture. Both integrate directly with your GEO strategy — a consistent brand presence across channels amplifies your AI citations. Email found@aiscore.co.za for a conversation about either.