More people now ask an assistant — ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google's AI overviews — a question like "who represents luxury African lodges to the trade?" and read a summarised answer instead of clicking through a page of links. To be the business named in that answer, your website has to be easy for a machine to read and trust: clear answers, structured data, and signals that you are a credible source. This is the same discipline as good SEO, taken a step further.
What has changed
Classic search returned ten links and let the reader choose. AI search reads many sources and writes one answer, citing a handful. The prize is no longer only ranking — it is being the source the assistant quotes. That rewards sites that state things clearly and back them up, and quietly skips sites that bury the answer in marketing language.
How to be the business AI names
- Answer the actual question, first. Open each page with a direct, quotable answer to the question a reader (or an assistant) is really asking. Lead with the substance, then expand.
- Use structured data. Schema markup — organisation, FAQ, articles, defined terms — tells a machine what each part of your site means, not just what it says. It is some of the highest-leverage work for AI visibility.
- Be in the indexes that feed the assistants. Several assistants draw on the Bing index as well as Google, so being verified and indexed in both Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools is foundational. If the index cannot see you, the assistant cannot quote you.
- Build off-site consensus. Assistants weigh agreement across sources. When other credible places describe you the same way you describe yourself, your claims become facts the model is comfortable repeating.
- Keep it fresh and specific. Current, specific, well-organised content reads as more trustworthy than vague evergreen copy — to people and to machines.
SEO is not dead — it is the foundation
None of this replaces search engine optimisation; it builds on it. A fast, well-structured, properly indexed site with clear content is what both Google and the assistants reward. Get the fundamentals right and you are visible in classic search and quotable in AI search at the same time — they pull in the same direction.
What the trade gets wrong
- Thin, mass-produced copy that says little a machine would want to quote.
- No structured data, leaving an assistant to guess what the business even is.
- Invisible in Bing, and so absent from the assistants that lean on it.
- Burying the answer three paragraphs into brand storytelling.
How to think about it
Write the clearest, most specific answers in your corner of the trade, mark them up so machines understand them, and make sure the major indexes can see you. That is how a small, specialist travel business gets named alongside far larger ones. We build sites this way by default — structured, answer-first and machine-readable — because in our field it is increasingly how you get found at all. If you would like yours built to the same standard, let's talk.
Common questions
How do I get my travel business found in AI search?
Make your website easy for a machine to read and trust: open each page with a direct, quotable answer to the real question; use structured data (schema for organisation, FAQ, articles and defined terms) so machines understand what your content means; make sure you are verified and indexed in both Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools, since several assistants draw on Bing; build off-site consensus so other credible sources describe you the same way; and keep content current and specific. It is good SEO taken a step further.
What is generative engine optimisation (GEO)?
Generative engine optimisation is the practice of making a website likely to be quoted in the answers produced by AI search assistants such as ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google’s AI overviews. Where classic SEO aims to rank a link, GEO aims to be the source the assistant summarises and names — which rewards clear, answer-first content, structured data and credible off-site agreement.
Does ChatGPT use my website?
AI assistants can draw on web content when answering, often via search indexes and live retrieval, and they cite a handful of sources. Whether yours is used depends on being indexed where the assistant looks (Google and frequently Bing), stating answers clearly, marking them up with structured data, and being corroborated by other credible sources. If the indexes cannot see you, an assistant cannot quote you.
Is SEO still worth it for travel businesses?
Yes. AI search builds on search engine optimisation rather than replacing it. A fast, well-structured, properly indexed site with clear content is what both Google and the assistants reward, so good SEO makes you visible in classic search and quotable in AI search at the same time. The fundamentals pull in the same direction.
