Get Your Business Cited by AI Search
More and more buyers ask AI before they Google. We make sure your company is the one AI recommends, and the one they trust before they've even reached your site.
Search Is Changing. Your Visibility Should Too
More of your buyers are asking an AI tool before they ever reach a search results page. If ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, or Google's AI Overviews do not know who you are, you are missing from the conversation entirely, and you will not see it happening in your analytics.
AEO (Answer Engine Optimisation) and GEO (Generative Engine Optimisation) are how you earn a place in those answers. We work on both: being the clear answer to the questions your buyers ask, and being the trusted name that independent sources back up.
AI search work in the wild
Where we have helped brands show up in AI answers. Have a look at what this turns into.
Let’s Build Something Great Together
A rebrand. A new website. A custom app. A better way to show up online. Whatever's next, let's make sure your digital presence is ready for it.
AI visibility done honestly, not with hacks
The field is full of quick fixes being sold as magic: schema tricks, llms.txt files, content chunking. The controlled evidence says most of them do very little. We would rather tell you that than sell it to you.
Getting cited by AI comes down to two things that actually hold up under scrutiny. First, answer the real questions your buyers ask, in clean structure an AI can extract: proper headings, direct answers, real tables and lists. Second, build the off-site authority and entity recognition that makes the models trust you, which is the slower, higher-ceiling half of the work.
We measure where you currently stand across ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, and Google AI Overviews, fix what actually moves the needle, and track it over time. No jargon, no snake oil, just the work that the evidence supports.
People Like You Who Asked Themselves “What IF ?”
"I approached Isaac on behalf of our organisation after we were experiencing bandwith issues that resulted in large bills each month. Isaac quickly identified the problem and sorted it out for us immediately, resulting in our monthly bills being cut in half."
"We were blown away by Isaac and the team who worked on our project. Super responsive, helpful and a tightly run ship, will definitely work with again."
"I've worked with many developers over the years; these guys were one of the easiest and communicated better than anyone I've ever seen."
"They produced A+ outcomes within the timeline and budget agreed upon. I highly recommend them to anyone needing a Webflow build or redesign."
"The team did a great job delivering a great website experience. They are very responsive and great to work with.
"I highly recommend What IF Web to anyone seeking a professional service and a finished product that effectively attracts the right users to your platform."
"I can confidently recommend the What If Web team to any business looking to stand up a modern, great looking and well crafted site."
"I worked with What IF Web to turn my design into reality, and I’m so happy with how it turned out! They really took my ideas and added their own magic."
"Isaac and Tom with What IF Web were phenomenal to work with, point blank. The website they designed, and developed through Webflow was more than I could've imagined."
"They are quick to respond and action work requests to a high standard, creates helpful guides and is extremely professional in all they do."
"Isaac has worked with my team for the last few months and has been dedicated and diligent, even when briefs are light and time is tight!"
"The team and I highly recommend Isaac and the What IF Web team. He is using the absolute top techniques and processes available."
"Great web design and development service - very proactive and always provide really useful input and feedback throughout the whole process."
"They are a really creative and imaginative team, but most importantly, they are a pleasant team to work with."
"The What IF team's dedication and proficiency in utilizing Webflow have truly exceeded our expectations, making them a top choice for website development services."
"What If provided an exceptional development experience. Not only were they transparent about pricing, but they also delivered our website swiftly while maintaining open communication."
"What IF captured what I needed perfectly. Their meticulous attention to detail made everything user-friendly. Their combination of technical prowess and genuine care truly sets them apart."
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“Isaac and his team have been delivered an outstanding result for us in what was a complex build across multiple platforms. I can't recommend them highly enough.”
"The What IF Web team is awesome. I will be referring them to others who need websites and my company will definitely be using them for all of our website updates."
"Super knowledgeable with great technical skills, but most importantly communicates quickly and thoughtfully, so we get great advice as well as top-notch service."
The Tech Stack
Take a peek inside of some of the tools we use.
Why go with What IF Web for AI search
We are early to this in New Zealand, we keep up with a field that changes monthly, and we will always tell you what actually works rather than what sounds impressive.
Honest and Open Communication
We keep you in the loop, without the jargon.
No Hidden Costs
Transparent pricing and honest timelines, with no sneaky surprises.
Future-Proof and Scalable
We plan for growth, ensuring your site can evolve with your business.
Other Services
We're a New Zealand creative studio building online presences for companies that are ready to grow.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between AEO and GEO?
AEO (Answer Engine Optimisation) is about being the clear, extractable answer in features like Google AI Overviews, featured snippets, and voice results. It is mostly about structure. GEO (Generative Engine Optimisation) is broader: being known, trusted, and cited by generative tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Claude when they compose a response, which depends as much on your off-site reputation as your page. They overlap heavily, and as search shifts toward generative answers they are collapsing into the same job.
Does schema markup get me cited by ChatGPT?
Honestly, less than most agencies claim. Google and Bing have confirmed they use structured data for rich results and extraction, so it is worth having. But neither ChatGPT nor Perplexity confirms using it, and a controlled 2026 study found adding schema moved their citations close to zero. We recommend schema because it is cheap, low-risk, and helps traditional search, not because it will get you cited by ChatGPT. Anyone promising the latter is ahead of the evidence.
What actually gets a business cited by AI?
The single biggest lever is original, first-hand content: real data, genuine expertise, a real point of view, written in clean structure an AI can actually extract. Real tables and headings get pulled far more reliably than styled-up prose. After that, it is off-site authority: getting independent sources the models trust to consistently corroborate who you are. Freshness matters too, since AI-cited content skews recent.
Is AI search a one-off project or ongoing?
It behaves much more like SEO than a one-off project. Visibility decays, freshness fades, competitors move, and the engines constantly re-weight what they cite. Keeping traction means an ongoing rhythm: fresh content, steady authority building, monthly measurement, and a re-audit each quarter as both your site and the AI landscape change. That is why we run it as a retainer rather than a set-and-forget job.
How do you measure AI search visibility?
With a fixed set of real buyer-question prompts, run every month across ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, and Google AI Overviews. For each one we log whether you were mentioned, whether you were cited with a link, how prominently, and which competitors showed up instead. We baseline before making changes and re-measure after, so we can actually prove what moved. Checking a single engine misses most of the picture, since the engines barely agree on who they cite.
How long does AI search optimisation take to work?
It is the slower half of the work, so expect a few months rather than a few weeks before the off-site authority side compounds. On-page fixes that improve how you are extracted can show up faster. This is why we measure from day one and work to a rhythm: you can see progress in the tracking well before it fully matures.
Is AI search the same as SEO?
No. Traditional SEO still matters and shares a lot of the same foundations, but AI search is a different game. Domain authority and backlinks carry less weight than they do in classic SEO, especially on Perplexity, while things like entity recognition, extractable structure, and presence on the right third-party platforms matter more. We treat it as a related but distinct discipline.
What technical setup do I need to be found by AI?
The unglamorous but essential first step is making sure the AI crawlers are actually allowed in. If your robots.txt blocks bots like GPTBot, ClaudeBot, or PerplexityBot, you are invisible to them no matter how good your content is. Beyond that, fast server response and lean code matter, since AI crawlers time out quickly. Chasing a Core Web Vitals score, though, is not the lever people think it is.
