AI SEO: become the source the answer cites.
I'm Miroslav Planansky. I have worked with generative AI since the GPT-2 era and I am responsible for content and technical SEO of Flashscore's betting section across 20+ markets. I test AI-search hypotheses on my own site before using them in client work. Remote, CET.
On this page
The shift
What does AI search change for SEO?
AI search adds a new visibility layer: AI Overviews answer queries directly in Google, while ChatGPT and Perplexity answer them outside Google entirely, and in all three the win is being the cited source. Simple factual queries increasingly end without a click. Queries that need detail, comparison or trust still send visitors, and they send them to the sources the answer names.
What it doesn't change is the work. GEO is just SEO: what earns citations (precise answers, consistent entities, technical cleanliness, visible authority) is what has ranked pages for years. If someone sells you GEO as a separate discipline, you're paying twice for one job.
The mechanics
How do AI models see your site?
AI systems learn about your site in two ways: from training data and from live retrieval. Each works differently and each is optimized differently. The third condition is that AI crawlers can reach your site at all.
Training data
A model carries knowledge from the texts it saw during training. That picture of your brand can be a year or more old and cannot be edited directly. Consistency helps: the more uniformly your site, profiles and external sources describe you, the lower the risk of a distorted answer.
Live retrieval (grounding)
AI Overviews, ChatGPT and Perplexity look up current sources before answering and cite them. The systems reach for pages they can quickly use as answer material: a direct answer up front, clear structure, verifiable facts.
AI crawler access
Citations in AI search are controlled by the search crawlers: OAI-SearchBot (ChatGPT), Claude-SearchBot and Claude-User (Claude), PerplexityBot (Perplexity) and Googlebot (AI Overviews and AI Mode). GPTBot, ClaudeBot and Google-Extended only govern whether content is used for model training – Google-Extended has no effect on inclusion in Google Search. I check robots.txt, the CDN and the firewall, since blocks usually happen by accident and the site quietly disappears from AI answers.
Tooling
Measurement, experiments and Claude Code
What AI visibility genuinely adds on top of classic SEO: measuring brand mentions and citations across AI answers, keeping AI crawlers unblocked, and experiments like llms.txt or a page written for AI assistants. I test these on my own site – see mipaco.cz/en/ai-instructions, where I track how AI models pick up brand facts.
For the analysis itself I use Claude Code – agentic workflows over Google Search Console and crawl data compress a day of work into an hour. I can set the same workflow up for your team as part of AI consulting.
$ claude "measure brand mentions across AI answers"
✓ baseline: 30 prompts, 3 models, report ready
$ claude "check AI bot access in robots.txt"
✓ OAI-SearchBot, Claude-SearchBot and PerplexityBot allowed
Consistency
Consistency across AI systems
I tune content and brand facts to be clear to people and to the systems that work with web sources. Each model selects and cites differently.
ChatGPT (OpenAI)
Claude (Anthropic)
Gemini (Google)
Perplexity
Grok (xAI)
Mistral (Le Chat)
Citability
How does a site become citable by LLMs?
AI visibility builds on the same accessible, useful and trustworthy content required by search. Citations are never guaranteed, but four areas improve the conditions for discovery and reuse.
Technical access
Search engines and relevant AI crawlers need to access the pages you want discovered. Important content should not depend on fragile client-side rendering.
Clear answers
Descriptive headings, concise opening answers and enough supporting detail make a page easier for people and machines to understand.
Consistent entities
Names, services, locations and credentials should remain consistent across the site, structured data and reputable external profiles.
Original evidence
Named authorship, first-hand experience, verifiable facts and independent references make content less interchangeable and easier to source.
The technical layer is the usual blocker on modern stacks. If your site runs on React or Next.js, see JavaScript SEO for what AI crawlers actually see.
Scope
What do I do in an AI SEO engagement?
The engagement starts with measurement, because optimizing what you haven't measured is guesswork with an invoice.
Baseline measurement
I run a structured prompt set against GPT, Gemini and Perplexity via the DataForSEO API and record where your brand appears, with and without links. That's the before picture.
Content and entity work
Key pages get clearer answers, original evidence, internal links, appropriate structured data and consistent entity statements. Optional machine-readable files can be tested, but they are not a Google ranking requirement.
Re-measure and report
The same prompt set runs again after the changes settle. You see which gaps closed, which didn't and what the next iteration targets. No vibes, just recorded responses.
Classic rankings stay in scope the whole time. Defending positions and earning citations are one workstream, which is exactly the point.
Curious where you stand?
Ask ChatGPT about your category and see who it names.
If it isn't you, that's the gap we'd be working on. Fifteen minutes is enough for a first read on how closeable it is.
Pricing
How much does AI SEO cost?
AI SEO consulting runs from €100 per hour, the same rate as the rest of my SEO work. Same work, same rate; charging an AI premium for it would contradict everything this page says.
AI SEO consulting
from €100
/ hour
Citability review, entity and structure work, AI crawler access, measurement setup. Scoped after the free intro call.
Within a retainer
from €100
/ hour · 10+ hrs/month
AI visibility folded into ongoing SEO work, with citation measurements as part of the monthly reporting.
Enterprise advisory
€150+
/ hour
For in-house teams building their own AI search playbook. Workshops, measurement methodology and knowledge transfer.
The 15-minute intro call is free. If the underlying issue turns out to be technical rather than content-side, we start with technical SEO instead.
Why me
Why AI SEO with me
I experiment on my own site
mipaco.cz publishes an experimental machine-readable profile (/ai-instructions plus llms.txt). I measure brand mentions with structured prompt sets before and after changes, while treating the files as a test rather than a universal requirement.
LLMs are my daily tooling
I work with Claude daily and this site's content operations run on AI-assisted workflows I built. I know what models do with web content because I watch them do it every day.
I am responsible for content and technical SEO of Flashscore's betting section across 20+ markets. The section is delivering the fastest-growing revenue share in its history, and AI visibility work follows the same measurement discipline.
Want AI in your team's workflow rather than in your rankings? That's AI consulting, a separate service.
Common questions
7 questions
01Is GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) different from SEO?+
No. GEO is just SEO. What gets a page cited by AI Overviews, ChatGPT or Perplexity is the same work that ranks it in classic search: a precise answer to the query, consistent entities, clean technical access and visible authority. Treating GEO as a separate discipline mostly means paying twice for one job.
02How do AI models learn about my site?+
Two ways. First, training data: a model carries knowledge from texts it saw during training, which can be a year or more old and cannot be edited directly. Second, live retrieval (grounding): systems like AI Overviews, ChatGPT and Perplexity look up current pages before answering and cite them. The precondition for that second path is access for the search crawlers, meaning OAI-SearchBot for ChatGPT, Claude-SearchBot for Claude, PerplexityBot for Perplexity and Googlebot for Google's AI features, plus content that offers direct, verifiable answers.
03How do I get my site cited by ChatGPT and Perplexity?+
Make the answer easy to lift: a direct first sentence under a clear heading, structured data, consistent facts about your brand across the site, and no technical barriers for AI crawlers. Citations also follow authority, so an unknown domain rarely gets cited even with perfect structure. I cover all of those layers in an engagement.
04Will AI Overviews kill my organic traffic?+
For simple factual queries, some clicks are gone and won't return. For queries where the user needs detail, comparison or tailored advice, being the cited source keeps you in the journey. The realistic goal is to be present in AI answers while defending the classic rankings, and both come from the same work.
05How much does AI SEO cost?+
Consulting runs from €100 per hour, the same rate as my other SEO work, because it is the same work with an extra visibility layer. Enterprise advisory for in-house teams starts at €150 per hour. The 15-minute intro call is free.
06Can you measure whether AI models mention my brand?+
Yes. I run structured prompt sets against models like GPT, Gemini and Perplexity via the DataForSEO API and record whether your brand gets mentioned and linked. I run the same experiment on my own site, with a published machine-readable profile (/ai-instructions and llms.txt) and before/after measurements, so the advice comes from tested practice.
07Should I block AI crawlers like GPTBot?+
It depends which crawler. GPTBot, ClaudeBot and Google-Extended only govern whether your content is used to train models, and Google-Extended has no effect on inclusion in Google Search. Blocking those costs you training exposure, not citations. The crawlers that decide whether AI search can cite you are the search ones, meaning OAI-SearchBot, Claude-SearchBot, PerplexityBot and Googlebot, so those should stay allowed if you want to appear in AI answers. Which side of that line your content belongs on is a business decision we can go through case by case in robots.txt.
Start working together
Be present where your customers ask, including the AI answers.
I'll check how AI models currently see your brand and where the quickest gains sit. The 15-minute intro call is free, no commitment.
Book a consultationmarketing@mipaco.cz