When customers ask an AI assistant and you are not in the answer
More customers now ask ChatGPT, Google or Perplexity a question like “who is a good plumber in Cambridge” instead of scrolling a list of links. If your business is not in the answer, there is usually a plain reason. The site does not say clearly what you do or where. Prices and hours are missing. Your name is spelled three ways across the internet. Or a crawler is blocked by mistake.
Magnet Mint is a Boston studio. We do AI search optimization, also called GEO (generative engine optimization) and AEO (answer engine optimization), for local service businesses. Our job is to fix those plain reasons and to measure the result.
We start with your website. Then we improve your business one step at a time, and you choose every step.
What we do for AI search optimization
Everything below is a written deliverable you can read and check. The full list is on the GEO audit page.
- Page map. One list of the pages your site should have: a page per service, per main area and per common question, and what each one should answer.
- Service page template. A fixed layout for each service page: what is included, who it is for, where you work, a price or “from” price, how long it takes, what you need to do, and the questions customers ask.
- Missing information. The facts customers and AI assistants look for and cannot find on your site today.
- Technical checks. Can search crawlers reach your pages? Is robots.txt open to Googlebot, Bingbot, OAI-SearchBot and PerplexityBot? Is there a sitemap, and do pages load without a click or a chat window?
- Schema. Structured data for Organization, LocalBusiness or ProfessionalService and Service, written from the visible text on the page. Google no longer shows FAQ rich results, so FAQ markup is optional; the visible FAQ is what matters.
- Matching name, address and phone. We compare your business details on Google Business Profile, Apple Business Connect, Bing Places and Yelp, and list every mismatch.
- Bing Webmaster Tools and IndexNow. We verify your site and set up IndexNow, a protocol that tells participating search engines when pages change.
- AI-answer baseline and re-check. We ask the main assistants your customers’ questions, record what they say, and ask again after the fixes.
What the primary sources say
We build on what the platforms publish, not on rumors.
- Google says AI Overviews and AI Mode need no special optimization: a page must be indexed and eligible to show with a snippet. Its 2026 guide calls optimizing for generative AI search “still SEO”, says there is no special schema to add, and says Google Search ignores llms.txt files. Structured data should match the visible text.
- OpenAI says sites opted out of OAI-SearchBot will not be shown in ChatGPT search answers, and recommends allowing it. GPTBot, which relates to model training, is a separate choice. OpenAI does not publish which search providers feed each answer in consumer ChatGPT.
- Perplexity recommends allowing PerplexityBot so a site can appear in its search results.
- Bing reports citations in Microsoft Copilot and Bing’s AI summaries in the AI Performance report of Bing Webmaster Tools, and says citation counts show how often pages are referenced, not their ranking or placement in an answer.
This is why the work is mostly fundamentals: a crawlable site, clear facts and correct listings. See how AI search differs from SEO and where ChatGPT gets its information about businesses.
llms.txt is optional
llms.txt is a proposed text file that summarizes a site for AI tools. Google says Google Search ignores it, and we know of no measured effect on other AI answers. We treat it as low priority. If you want one, we can add it after the important items are done. Details: llms.txt: what it is and whether it helps.
What nobody can promise
Nobody controls what ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, AI Mode or Perplexity recommend, and answers change from one day to the next. We do not promise placement. We promise structure, correct facts and a measured before and after, so you can see what changed.
What it costs and what is not included
- GEO/AEO audit: from $750, delivered in 1-2 weeks.
- Ongoing AI search optimization: from $450/month. Page updates, profile fixes, technical checks and a re-check of AI answers.
- Local SEO: from $600/month. Google Business Profile, reviews and service-area pages. See local SEO in Boston.
- A new site built for AI and search: see AI-ready website and web design in Boston.
Prices are as of October 2026. Not included: domain and hosting, new photography, third-party software subscriptions (billed at cost), SMS carrier registration (A2P 10DLC) and message fees, and AI usage above the plan allowance. Scope, price and timeline are agreed in writing before work starts, and each step is optional.
Who this is for, and who it is not for
This fits local service businesses in Boston, Cambridge and Greater Boston with a real website and real services: contractors, clinics, salons, law firms, cleaners and similar. It also fits owners elsewhere in the US who work by call and screen share.
It may not fit if you have no website yet. Then the right first step is a site, and the audit comes after.
How to start
Ask for a free demo (30-minute call; demo shared within 3 business days). We look at how customers and AI assistants see you today and tell you honestly whether the audit makes sense. Or call 617-991-9912. Our AI assistant answers and passes your request to the team, which is available Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm ET.
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