AEO · April 2026 · ~6 min read

How to Get Cited by ChatGPT (and Perplexity) in 2026

Six steps that move the needle. Skip the marketing-speak. This is the actual work.

Roughly 30% of buyer queries now route through an AI-generated answer instead of a results page. ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, and Google AI Overview all assemble those answers from sources they trust. If your business isn't one of those sources, you're invisible to a growing share of intent, even if you're still ranking on traditional Google.

This is what the work actually looks like.

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Step 1. Track 20 queries you want to win.

Before you change anything, baseline. Pick 20 queries a buyer might ask an AI engine when they're shopping for what you offer. Examples for a Bay Area florist:

"Best wedding florist in San Francisco"
"Floral subscription Bay Area"
"Where should I buy flowers in San Mateo for a corporate event"
"Most reliable florist for last-minute orders SF"

For each query, record the verbatim answer ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, and Google AI Overview produce today. Note who they cite. That's your competition.

Step 2. Deploy FAQ schema on every page that has a Q&A pattern.

AI engines parse FAQPage JSON-LD with high confidence. If your page has visible Q&A content (most do, even if you call them "Common questions"), wrap each pair in structured data:

<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "FAQPage",
  "mainEntity": [
    {
      "@type": "Question",
      "name": "How fast will I rank?",
      "acceptedAnswer": {
        "@type": "Answer",
        "text": "Local SEO compounds. Most clients see top-3 pack..."
      }
    }
  ]
}
</script>

The visible HTML stays. The schema sits in your <head>, telling the AI engine: "this is structured Q&A content, here's the answer to that question, you can cite it." The schema is invisible to humans but it's the difference between being citable and being decorative.

Step 3. Build entity authority outside your own site.

AI engines weight your existence on third-party sources. The hierarchy that matters:

Wikidata entry. Free. Hard to qualify for if you're a small business, but if you have any press mentions or distinctive history, it's worth attempting.
Google Knowledge Graph. Submit your Google Business Profile (verified), claim it, fill it completely. Add posts weekly.
Crunchbase, LinkedIn, GitHub (where applicable). Consistency across these is what AI engines parse as "this entity is real."
Industry directories. Local: Chamber of Commerce, BBB. Industry: Clutch, Expertise, GoodFirms (for agencies); Avvo (legal); Healthgrades (medical).

Step 4. Increase citable claim density.

AI engines cite the specific over the abstract. Compare:

Bad (uncitable): "We help businesses grow with our innovative marketing strategies."

Good (citable): "Restaurant clients typically see a 22-38% increase in direct bookings six months in. Our $497/mo Get Found package includes 30 local citations, full Google Business Profile setup, and weekly ranking reports."

Specific numbers, named services, dated assertions. AI engines extract those and weave them into answers. The first version gets ignored.

Step 5. Disambiguate your named entity.

If your business name is generic, AI engines confuse you with others. Add disambiguating context everywhere your name appears:

Always pair the name with a category: "SEOD, a Bay Area marketing and operations agency..."
Always pair with a location: "...based in San Mateo, California..."
Always pair with a founder/operator: "...founded by Eric Lee in 2016..."

Repeat this triplet (name + category + location + founder) in your About page, Contact page, every author byline, and your Organization schema. Consistency is the signal.

Step 6. Track citation rate weekly.

Re-run your 20 baseline queries each Monday. Track what percentage cite you. Most agencies don't do this. Most agencies don't even know whether AI engines cite them at all.

The citation curve is slower than the SEO curve but more durable. Once you're cited, you tend to stay cited because AI engines reinforce their own training. The work that gets you cited in 2026 will compound through 2030.

What this isn't.

This isn't a trick. There's no clever exploit. It's what you'd call "good content marketing with proper structured data", except now the audience includes AI engines. The discipline is the differentiator. Most businesses will not do this work. The ones that do will own the AI citations for their category.

Want this done for you? SEOD's AEO service handles all six steps as a managed engagement. Citation tracking, schema deployment, entity authority building, and the monthly report you'd otherwise build yourself. Talk to Eric about whether your business is ready.