GEO and AEO services in Cardiff, so AI assistants recommend you.

Generative engine optimisation (GEO) is the work of getting your business named and cited when an AI assistant writes an answer. ChatGPT, Gemini, Microsoft Copilot, Perplexity and Google's AI Overviews all write answers in their own words, then point to a few sources.

Answer engine optimisation (AEO) is the work of shaping your pages so a machine can lift a clear, direct answer from them: the question as a heading, the answer in the first sentence, the detail underneath. It helps with featured snippets and voice search as well as AI answers.

Both matter because the way people search has shifted. Ofcom reports that about 30% of searches now show AI Overviews, and 53% of adults in its research say they see these summaries often. ChatGPT had 1.8 billion UK visits in the first eight months of 2025, up from 368 million in the same period of 2024 (Ofcom). Google brought AI Mode to the UK in July 2025 and says early users ask questions two to three times the length of traditional searches (Google).

Longer, more specific questions favour businesses whose websites answer specific questions. That is good news for a well-run local firm.

Nobody outside the AI companies knows the exact rules, and answers vary by person, wording and day. What we can see is where the assistants look. When ChatGPT searches the web, it reads sources and summarises them. A BrightLocal study of 800 local searches in ChatGPT, run across US cities in November 2024, found that 58% of the sources cited were business websites, 27% were mentions of the business on other sites and 15% were directories (BrightLocal). The study also notes that ChatGPT draws on reviews and ratings.

In practice, assistants favour businesses that:

• Say clearly what they do and where. A page for each service and each area you cover, written in plain language.
• Can be read by AI crawlers. If your site blocks them, or hides its text behind scripts they cannot run, the assistants have little to go on.
• Look the same everywhere. The same name, address and phone number on your site, your Google Business Profile and your directory listings.
• Have evidence from other people. Reviews, local press, trade bodies and directories that mention you.
• Answer questions directly. Prices, process, areas covered and FAQs, stated plainly.

1. Baseline. We run Cited across your site and test the questions your customers actually ask in the main assistants, so you can see who gets named today.
2. Fix the foundations. AI crawler access, structured data, page speed and a consistent business listing across your site, Google Business Profile and directories.
3. Write answer-first pages. Service and area pages that answer the questions buyers ask, with honest prices where you publish them. This is where AEO happens.
4. Build evidence. Reviews, directory listings and mentions on sites the assistants already read.
5. Measure and report. We track visits and enquiries from AI assistants in GA4, re-test the same questions and tell you plainly what moved.

Our AI search hub explains how the pieces fit, and the GEO and AEO service pages go deeper on the method. If you also need stronger Google rankings, see SEO in Cardiff; the two pieces of work overlap heavily.

GEO is priced as part of the ongoing content and visibility work in our Demand & Content packages, which are public: Signal £450 a month, Traction £850 a month and Flywheel £1,500 a month, all plus VAT with a three-month minimum. Which one fits depends on how many services and areas you cover and how much content is needed. We agree that on a call, after looking at your Cited results.

If your website is holding you back, our website packages start at £350 a month plus VAT and include on-page SEO foundations, GA4 and Search Console, and Google Business Profile set-up. One-off fixes can be done at our hourly rate of £95 plus VAT.

Be wary of anyone who guarantees a place in ChatGPT's answers. Nobody controls them. A fair provider tells you what they will change, how they will measure it and what it costs.

Ask these questions of any provider, us included:

• Will you show me the questions you test? You should see the actual prompts, which assistants were used, and the answers before and after.
• How will you measure success? AI referral visits and enquiries in your own analytics count as evidence. A screenshot of one good answer proves very little.
• Can you name a client result? With a business name, a date range and real numbers.
• How does this fit with Google? Google's AI features sit inside Google Search, so traditional SEO still matters.
• Are your prices visible? If not, ask for a range before the first call.
• Who does the work? Ask who writes the pages and who you speak to each month.

I have spent fifteen years in websites and digital marketing, starting in sales and working on brands including Vodafone, Sainsbury's, Airbus and LVMH in earlier roles. I founded Roddy Digital in 2021 and lead every engagement personally. You speak to me on Zoom, and you are welcome at our Pontcanna office by arrangement.

We run Roddy Digital as an AI-first agency, so we use these assistants daily in our own work. Our free report, Your Next Customer Won't Google You, sets out what changes for a local business when customers ask AI first. It is a good read before a call.

Cardiff is full of owner-run service firms competing for the same postcodes, from Canton and Roath to Llanishen, and out to Penarth, Newport and Caerphilly. When an assistant answers a question such as "who is a good pest control company in Cardiff", it names a few firms and gives reasons. Those reasons come from what is written about you online.

Pest & Property Solutions shows what that looks like locally. Its site has sixteen service pages and twelve location pages, each answering a specific Cardiff or South Wales search, backed by 344 Google reviews. Assistants such as ChatGPT now send it measurable visits and enquiries.

Specific local detail is hard for a national firm to fake: the areas you serve, jobs you have done in Grangetown or Whitchurch, reviews from local customers. Assistants looking for a Cardiff answer need Cardiff evidence, and that is evidence a local business can build.