Services · AI search optimization
AI Search(08)Be the answer when they ask instead of search.
More people now ask ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Google’s AI who to hire, and those tools only recommend businesses they can understand and trust. I make sure they can: clear answers on your site, consistent details everywhere, and the mentions and reviews that get you named.
Illustrative AI answer. The business, sources and scores are examples.
What is AI search?
AI search is when people ask ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Claude or Google’s AI Overviews and AI Mode for an answer instead of scrolling through links. These tools read the web, decide which businesses they trust and name a few. AI search optimization is the work that makes yours one of them.
Why it matters
When an AI tool recommends businesses, it usually names only a handful, and people often act on that short list. If it can’t find clear, consistent information about you, or nobody else on the web vouches for you, you’re left out, even if you rank well on Google.
How I do it
- Chapter 01 · 01MeasureFind out what AI tools say about you today, and what they get wrong.
- Chapter 02 · 02–03Be the answerWrite pages AI can quote, and earn a place in the answers it puts together.
- Chapter 03 · 04–06Build trustGet mentioned, make every profile agree and give AI something worth citing.
- Chapter 04 · 07–08Track and protectTest the same prompts every week, and fix what shapes how AI describes you.
01 · Measure
AI visibility audit
What AI tools say about you today.
I ask ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Claude and Google’s AI the questions your customers actually ask, and record every answer: whether you’re named, what’s said about you, which competitors show up instead and which sources the AI leans on. You get a clear list of what to fix first.
Illustrative audit. Questions and results are examples.
02 · Be the answer
Answer engine optimization
Pages that answer the question first.
AI tools and Google’s answer boxes quote pages that get straight to the point. I rewrite your key pages to lead with a clear, direct answer, add the questions customers really ask, and structure each page so a single passage can be lifted and still make sense.
Illustrative page. Prices and numbers are examples.
03 · Be the answer
Generative engine optimization
Get named when AI puts the answer together.
When AI tools write a recommendation, they pull from many sources at once: your site, reviews, forums, local news and directories. GEO is making sure those sources say clear, consistent, good things about you, so your business ends up in the answer, and near the top.
Illustrative AI answer. Businesses and sources are examples.
04 · Build trust
Brand mentions
Get talked about where AI is listening.
AI tools trust businesses that other people talk about. I help you earn mentions in local news, industry publications, podcasts, community threads and video, the places AI tools read most, through real stories, expert quotes and useful data rather than paid placements.
Illustrative mentions. Sources and numbers are examples.
05 · Build trust
Entity & schema
Make sure AI knows exactly who you are.
AI tools piece together who you are from your website, your profiles and directories. If they disagree on your name, address or what you do, the AI hedges or gets it wrong. I make every profile tell the same story and tie them together with structured data. Schema won’t get you cited on its own, but it removes the guesswork.
Illustrative profiles. Details are examples.
06 · Build trust
Citation building
Give AI something worth quoting.
AI tools cite sources that add something: original numbers, honest comparisons, clear answers and expert coverage elsewhere. I build those pages on your site and earn coverage on the publications AI already trusts in your industry, then track which ones get cited.
Illustrative citations. Pages and numbers are examples.
07 · Track and protect
Prompt tracking
The same questions, asked every week.
AI answers change from one run to the next, so a single test proves nothing. I track a fixed set of prompts your customers use, ask each one many times a week across the main AI tools, and report your share of answers against your competitors over time.
Illustrative tracking. Prompts and numbers are examples.
08 · Track and protect
Reputation signals
Shape what AI says about you, honestly.
When someone asks whether you’re any good, AI tools summarize your reviews, complaints and what people say in forums. I help you reply to reviews, resolve open complaints and fix the problems customers keep mentioning, so the summary improves because the business looks better. No fake reviews, ever.
Illustrative AI answers. Sources and numbers are examples.
Recognized · AI search
AI Search & GEO
Featured on two 2026 lists of AI search and GEO agencies.
Independent roundups are starting to sort out who actually specializes in AI search. Ritner Digital was included in both of these, recognized for AI visibility, entity SEO and content work, and for a direct, founder-led way of working.
From the blog
More on AI search
- VisibilityThe AI Citation Gap: Why Google Rankings No Longer Guarantee AI VisibilityWhy ranking on Google and getting cited by AI are now two different things.Read the post →
- CitationsHow to Get Your Brand Cited in ChatGPT AnswersAnswer capsules, third-party mentions and the sources ChatGPT already uses.Read the post →
- GEOHow to Get Your Business Cited by Claude and Other AI PlatformsWhat it takes to be the business AI tools name in your market.Read the post →
- Entity SEOHow Cincinnati Businesses Can Get Cited by ChatGPT: Entity SEO, LocalizedWhere AI gets its local recommendations, and how to show up in those places.Read the post →
- Prompt testingWe Asked ChatGPT Which Agencies Specialize in GEO, and Why We Weren’t ListedWhat a single prompt test can and can’t tell you about AI visibility.Read the post →
- Honest resultsWe Asked 3 AIs Who Does AI Search for NJ Law FirmsTwo AI tools praised us and one pushed back. Here’s all of it.Read the post →
Featured Client
True BlueAutos
A commercial truck dealership in Greensburg, Indiana. We built an SEO content strategy around the questions real truck buyers ask, and in about three months their Google visibility grew fast.
- +48%Google clicks
- +93%Search impressions
First vs. last 30 days, July–October 2026, Google Search Console. Search growth, not verified sales.
Ready when you are
Let’s get youFound
Tell me about your business and where you want to be found. I’ll take a look, reply personally, and point you to the best first step.
Start the conversation
Socialize
@RitnerDigital
If you’re into SEO advice that doesn’t put you to sleep, AI search news in plain English, and the occasional plate of pasta, you’ve come to the right place.
for 2026