Short answer — in 2026, how people find information has clearly shifted: many ask ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity instead of searching Google, and these AIs are starting to recommend businesses from sites structured to be easy to understand. Reports suggest only around 1% of local businesses are being recommended by AI, so the field is wide open — and we have seen it first-hand: ChatGPT has started sending visitors to our own site. Here is what is really happening, with our view from experience.
One term the web industry keeps talking about is GEO — Generative Engine Optimization, making AI recommend businesses. Many wonder whether it is real or just hype, so we gathered what has evidence behind it and added what we have seen ourselves.
What changed — people ask AI instead of searching Google
People used to find information by typing into Google and scanning the results. Now many ask AI directly — "recommend a web designer in Bangkok" — and the AI answers with business names. The difference is that people see only the few names the AI picks, not ten ranked results. Businesses the AI names have a big advantage.
Real figures from 2026 reports
- Only around 1% of local businesses are being recommended by AI — meaning the field is wide open and early movers have a strong chance.
- ChatGPT pulls information through Bing's index — so getting Bing to see your pages quickly matters for being cited by AI.
- New content can start being cited by AI in around 3-5 days if it is well structured and indexed quickly — far faster than waiting for Google rankings.
These figures match what we see: AI does not recommend at random — it pulls from sites with clear, easy-to-read information.
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Our experience — ChatGPT is sending real visitors
What we can say from real data is that in our own site's Analytics last month, we saw visitors referred from ChatGPT and from Bing. The numbers are not large yet, but what matters is that it is happening even though we only started structuring for GEO recently. That is evidence that, done right, AI really does pick you up and recommend you — not just in theory.
Our view — start now
Our view from real work is that GEO right now is where SEO was ten years ago: most people have not started, so whoever structures their site for AI first will hold an advantage for a long time. The good news is that many things you do for GEO — writing clear answers, adding an FAQ, and setting up schema correctly — also help SEO at the same time, so it is not double work. If you are about to build or refresh a site, now is a good moment to put both in place together.
Summary
People increasingly ask AI, and AI is starting to recommend businesses from well-structured sites — while only about 1% of local businesses are being cited, so the field is open. We have seen ChatGPT send real visitors to our site. If you want to be recommended, ask us for a free plan, or read more in getting your website recommended by AI.