AI Search Optimization
Measured, Then Fixed

No list settles it, so judge on recorded evidence. L3ad Solutions makes the shortlist on these facts: we recorded 2,560 answers from ChatGPT, Gemini, Grok and Claude about roofers in 16 Florida cities (June 2026) and 1,920 answers from Grok, Gemini and Claude about plumbers in the same cities (July 2026). The four assistants agreed on the top roofer in 1 of 16 cities, three agreed on the top plumber in 0 of 16, and the business with the most reviews was named in 28% and 21% of answers. We publish our own numbers as well: on October 5, 2026, ChatGPT named us on 5 of 175 buyer questions, Gemini and Google AI Mode on none. Every job starts with a free check of your own business, and both reports are public before you call.

AI search optimization is the work that gives AI search engines and AI chatbots a clear, consistent picture of your business: structured data on your site, listings that agree with each other, and pages that state your services, area, hours and prices in plain words. Generative engine optimization (GEO), answer engine optimization (AEO) and AI SEO are other names for the same work.

Traditional local SEO gets you into the map pack and local results; AI search optimization gives an assistant something to quote when it writes one answer instead of a list. You need both. Google says its AI features rest on normal indexing and ranking, and ChatGPT, Gemini, Grok and Claude read the same listings, reviews and pages. A thin Google Business Profile or a slow site holds both back, so those get fixed first.

Starter is $350 a month: schema, entity and listing work, AI-ready page formatting, a monthly four-assistant visibility report and a quarterly call. Growth is $650 a month and adds two AI-ready content pieces, citation and authority work, competitor monitoring and a monthly call. For comparison, from the companies' own websites in October 2026: WebFX starts at $3,000 a month with a six-month commitment, Blueleaf Creative charges $1,750 to $3,250 or more as a one-time job, and WebFX's pricing guide puts monthly retainers at $1,500 to $50,000 and up.

By asking and recording, not estimating. Large language models answer differently from one run to the next, so in the Florida runs each assistant was asked eight questions about a trade and city, five times each, and every answer was kept word for word, so we can count who was named, how often, and which sources were cited. For a client the same prompts are re-run each month, and the report shows whether you were named, who was named instead, and what changed. API answers are a snapshot and can differ from the consumer apps, and Google AI Overviews are not part of the runs.

ChatGPT, Gemini, Grok and Claude, through their APIs. Other generative AI systems, Google AI Overviews and Google AI Mode are not part of the Florida runs or the free check, and we say so rather than imply coverage we do not have. We also check that your robots rules let the AI crawlers from OpenAI, Anthropic and Google read your site, because a blocked crawler cannot quote you.

We have no recorded time-to-mention figure, and we will not invent one. The assistants refresh what they know on their own schedules, and the answers move on their own: the four assistants picked 2.9 different number-one roofers per city on average. So the fixes go live in the first month, the first re-check runs 30 days later, and every month after that you see what changed.

No, and nobody honest can. What you get instead is the recorded answer set before the work, the list of gaps, the fixes done, and a monthly re-check showing who was named. If an assistant still names someone else, the report says so and we look at what that business has that you do not.

Google's guide says no special markup or llms.txt file is needed for its AI features, and we do not sell either as a trick. Schema is the baseline, not the edge: 74.4% of 3,073 page-one Florida sites carry structured data (93 cities, 2026). Among the roofers the assistants named, 83% had LocalBusiness schema but only 17% exposed a rating (3 Florida markets, June 2026); among named plumber sites, 15% exposed a rating (120 sites, July 2026). Exposing the rating is the gap most sites leave open, so we close it. Google's E-E-A-T guidance (experience, expertise, authority and trust) applies to its AI features as it does to traditional search, so the pages also name who does the work and how long you have done it.

Mostly from review sites, then from the business's own website. In the July 2026 plumbing run the assistants attached 8,516 citations; of the 3,789 with a real domain, yelp.com had 604, angi.com 342, one national plumber's own site 251, reddit.com 142 and google.com 85. In the roofing run Angi, Yelp, BBB and Google led, with Yahoo Local heavy in Orlando. Complete those listings and give your site pages worth quoting. We track brand mentions on those sites separately from links to your own site.

It depends on where you stand. If your Google Business Profile is incomplete, your reviews are thin or your site is slow, local SEO is the better first spend, because the assistants read those same sources. If that base is solid and the free check shows rivals being named instead of you, the Starter plan is the next step. Run the check first; it is free either way.

Monthly, because the answers change. One-time schema jobs exist and some are priced fairly, but they cannot tell you in month three whether an assistant switched to naming a competitor. Our plans redo the four-assistant check every month and adjust the work to what moved. You can stop after any month.

Answer engine optimization is the work of getting your business named when someone asks an AI assistant a question, such as who the best roofer nearby is. You need it if customers in your trade already ask ChatGPT or Google AI Mode for recommendations. Start with local SEO basics, because the assistants read the same listings, reviews and pages. Then fix what the free check shows.

No. AEO, GEO and AI SEO are three names for the same work: making your business easy for AI assistants to find, understand and name. Agencies pick whichever label they like. Ask what is actually done: structured data, matching listings, pages an assistant can quote, and a monthly check of what the assistants say. If that list matches, the name does not matter.