Get your business recommended by ChatGPT and AI search
Homeowners are asking ChatGPT, Gemini, and Google's AI Mode who to hire, and those tools only name a handful of businesses. We make sure yours is one of them for the services and cities you want.
What is AI search optimization?
AI search optimization is the work of getting your business named in answers from AI assistants like ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Gemini, Perplexity, and Copilot. You'll also hear it called generative engine optimization (GEO) or answer engine optimization (AEO). For a home service business, it means that when someone asks "who's the best HVAC company near me?", the AI recommends you.
SEO Slushie is an AI SEO agency built specifically for home service businesses. Generic GEO agencies chase national brand mentions. We focus on what makes AI tools recommend a local contractor: listings, reviews, service-area content, and trusted local sources.
Regular SEO gets you a spot in a list of ten blue links. An AI answer usually names three to five businesses and explains why it picked them. If you're not in that short list, you don't get the call, and the homeowner may never see the regular search results at all.
Why AI search matters for contractors right now
AI assistants are becoming a normal way to find local services. Google now shows AI Overviews above the regular results for many searches, ChatGPT has built-in web search, and homeowners use these tools to compare companies, check prices, and ask for recommendations. Most of your competitors haven't started optimizing for this yet. Getting in early is much easier than catching up later.
Where AI assistants get their local recommendations
AI tools don't make up recommendations. They search, read, and summarize. Each one pulls from slightly different sources:
| AI tool | Main sources for local businesses |
|---|---|
| ChatGPT (search) | Web results from search partners and OpenAI’s own crawler (OAI-SearchBot), plus business listing data for local results. |
| Google AI Overviews & AI Mode | Google’s search index and Google Business Profile / Maps data, including reviews. |
| Gemini | Google Search and Google Maps data. |
| Perplexity | Its own web index (PerplexityBot) plus cited sources like directories, review sites, and articles. |
| Microsoft Copilot | Bing’s search index and Bing Places business data. |
On top of those, they all lean on third-party mentions: Yelp, BBB, Angi, Nextdoor, Reddit threads, local news, and "best [trade] in [city]" articles. If many sources agree you're a top choice, AI tools are much more likely to say so.
How we get you recommended by AI
Six pieces, all included in your plan.
1. Open the door to AI crawlers
Many sites block OAI-SearchBot, PerplexityBot, and others without knowing it. Cloudflare blocks AI bots by default on many plans. We fix robots.txt and firewall settings so AI search tools can read your site.
2. Make your business details match everywhere
Your name, services, service area, and contact details are cleaned up and kept consistent on Google Business Profile, Bing Places, Apple Business Connect, Yelp, BBB, Angi, and Nextdoor.
3. Answer-first service pages
Each service and city page opens with a clear, quotable answer: what you do, where, for whom, and why you. AI tools quote these passages directly.
4. Schema markup
Structured data tells machines exactly who you are: business type, services, service area, reviews, and FAQs. It helps search engines and AI tools understand your business without guessing.
5. Reviews that describe your work
A review that says "replaced our AC in Mesa the same day" is worth more to AI than "great job." We help you ask for reviews in a way that brings out services and locations.
6. Monthly AI visibility tracking
Every month we run your target prompts through ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, and Google AI and report where you're named, where you aren't, and what we're doing about it.
AI search optimization vs. traditional SEO
You need both. They share the same foundation, but the goals are measured differently:
| Traditional local SEO | AI search optimization | |
|---|---|---|
| Goal | Rank in the Map Pack and top 10 results | Get named in the AI's short list of recommendations |
| What wins | Relevance, proximity, reviews, links | Consistent facts across many sources, review text, quotable answers |
| How it's measured | Rankings, clicks, calls | How often you're mentioned for target prompts |
| Who's doing it | Most of your competitors | Very few home service businesses yet |
Every SEO Slushie plan covers both. Read the full breakdown in our guide: How to get your business recommended by ChatGPT.
The Page One + AI Guarantee
Page one on Google, plus recommendations from AI assistants like ChatGPT, for the target terms we agree on together. We set those terms on your free audit call based on how competitive your trade and city are, so the goal is realistic and written down. And because it’s month-to-month, you’re never locked in.
Frequently asked questions
What is AI search optimization?
AI search optimization is the work of getting your business mentioned and recommended inside AI-generated answers from tools like ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Google AI Mode, Gemini, Perplexity, and Microsoft Copilot. It is also called generative engine optimization (GEO) or answer engine optimization (AEO). For local businesses, it builds on local SEO: strong listings, reviews, consistent business details, and clear website content that AI tools can read and trust.
Can you guarantee ChatGPT will recommend my business?
We guarantee results for the target terms we agree on during your free audit, chosen based on your trade, city, and competition. AI answers change from one conversation to the next, so we test the same prompts every month across ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, and Google AI and report how often your business is named. Being recommended consistently for realistic, local prompts is the goal we put in writing.
Is AI search optimization different from regular SEO?
It overlaps heavily. AI assistants pull local recommendations from search indexes, map listings, reviews, and third-party sites, so the core of local SEO still matters. The differences are emphasis: AI tools reward clear, quotable answers, consistent entity details across many sources, review text that describes your services, mentions on trusted third-party sites, and making sure AI crawlers are allowed to read your website.
Why is my business not showing up in ChatGPT?
The most common reasons are thin or inconsistent information about your business online, too few reviews compared with competitors, a website that does not clearly say what you do and where, and AI crawlers being blocked. Many sites on Cloudflare block AI bots by default without the owner knowing. Our free audit checks each of these and shows you what ChatGPT says about your trade in your city today.
How long does it take to show up in AI answers?
Fixes like unblocking AI crawlers and cleaning up business listings can show up in AI answers within a few weeks. Earning steady recommendations in competitive trades usually takes a few months, because AI tools lean on the same reviews, citations, and rankings that take time to build. You get a monthly AI visibility report so you can see progress.
Is AI search optimization included in the $399/month plan?
Yes. AI search optimization is built into every SEO Slushie plan, not sold as a separate add-on. The $1,000 setup covers the technical foundation (crawler access, schema markup, entity setup), and the $399/month plan covers ongoing listing management, review strategy, content, third-party mentions, and monthly AI visibility tracking.
Part of every SEO Slushie plan
See what ChatGPT says about your business today
Book a free SEO audit call. I’ll show you where you rank on Google and in AI answers today, who is beating you, and the specific terms we can guarantee for your trade and city.
No contracts. $399/mo after setup. Cancel anytime.