AI Entity Optimisation
AI Entity Optimisation (AEO) for South African Brands
Get named and cited when your customers ask ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews, Gemini or Claude about your industry. AEO makes your business a recognisable entity to the AI engines that are quietly replacing Google's blue links.
Get cited in ChatGPT
Show up in the answer, not just page two of Google.
Full schema overhaul
Organization, LocalBusiness, Product, FAQ, HowTo, Person.
llms.txt + AI crawler ready
Tell GPTBot, PerplexityBot and Google-Extended what to index.
Entity signals
Wikidata, Knowledge Panel, Crunchbase, consistent NAP.
What we do in an AI Entity Optimisation project
- Entity audit across Wikipedia, Wikidata, Knowledge Panel, Crunchbase, LinkedIn and 20+ sources
- Prompt research: which questions your customers ask AI engines
- Baseline test: which prompts already mention you, which don't
- Full JSON-LD schema overhaul (Organization, LocalBusiness, Product, FAQ, HowTo, Person)
- Hand-written
llms.txtandrobots.txtAI-crawler policy - Wikidata entry (where eligible) and Google Knowledge Panel claim
- About page, founder bio and cornerstone content rewritten for entity clarity
- Citation building in publications AI engines trust
- Monthly prompt tracking across ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews, Gemini
Why AEO matters now
Google AI Overviews already appear on nearly a third of SA commercial searches, ChatGPT has hundreds of millions of weekly users, and Perplexity is quietly winning the 'research before buying' use case. When the AI answers, the user often doesn't click through. AEO is how you stay in the answer.
AEO stacks on top of traditional SEO
AEO is not a replacement for SEO — it's an additional layer. AI engines still crawl the same open web, so strong technical SEO, quality content and legitimate backlinks remain the foundation. AEO adds entity-specific work on top: schema depth, llms.txt, Wikidata, and citation patterns tuned for how LLMs summarise.
Our step-by-step process
- 1
Entity audit
Who does the web (and today's AI models) think you are? We check Wikipedia, Wikidata, Google Knowledge Panel, Crunchbase, LinkedIn and 20+ business databases for inconsistent data.
- 2
Prompt research
The 20-40 real prompts your customers ask AI engines in your category, and where you currently do and don't get mentioned.
- 3
Schema & llms.txt overhaul
Full Organization, LocalBusiness, Product/Service, Person and FAQPage schema, plus a hand-written llms.txt telling AI crawlers what your site is.
- 4
Entity properties
Wikidata entry (where eligible), Google Knowledge Panel claim, Crunchbase profile, LinkedIn Company page — all with consistent NAP, founding date and description.
- 5
Citation & mention building
Getting your brand named in the sources AI engines trust: SA industry publications, directories, podcasts, roundups and press.
- 6
AEO-ready content
About page, founder bio and cornerstone pages rewritten to feed AI engines clear factual answers with sources.
- 7
Monthly monitoring
Tracked prompts across ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews and Gemini, plus AI-referrer traffic in GA4.
Pricing guide (South Africa, ZAR)
AEO Foundation
R6 500 once-off
Entity audit + full schema + llms.txt + About page rewrite.
- Entity audit
- Full JSON-LD schema
- llms.txt + robots.txt policy
- About & founder bio rewrite
AEO Launch
R12 500 once-off
Everything in Foundation plus Wikidata + Knowledge Panel + 5 citations.
- Wikidata entry submission
- Google Knowledge Panel claim
- 5 authority citations
- Prompt baseline test
AEO Retainer
R4 500 – R8 500 / month
Ongoing entity building and monthly prompt monitoring.
- Monthly prompt tracking
- 2 authority citations / month
- Content updates for entity clarity
- GA4 AI-referrer report
Retainer requires the AEO Foundation as a prerequisite. Wikidata acceptance is not guaranteed and depends on your business meeting notability criteria. Ex VAT.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is AI Entity Optimisation (AEO)?
AEO is optimising your business so that AI answer engines — ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews, Gemini and Claude — recognise your brand as a real entity and cite you when users ask about your industry, products or services. It's the SEO of the AI-search era.
How is AEO different from traditional SEO?
Traditional SEO targets Google's ten blue links. AEO targets AI answer engines that summarise the web into a single cited answer. AEO focuses on entity signals (Wikipedia, Wikidata, structured data, citations across authoritative sites), factual accuracy and llms.txt — not just backlinks and keywords.
Do people actually use ChatGPT and Perplexity to find businesses?
Increasingly, yes. Google AI Overviews now appear on 30%+ of commercial searches in SA, and ChatGPT's browsing + Perplexity have millions of SA users. When a customer asks 'best solar installer in Johannesburg', the AI answer often replaces the click.
How much does AI Entity Optimisation cost?
Once-off entity setup from R6 500 (Wikidata entry, schema overhaul, llms.txt, entity-focused About page, brand mention audit). Ongoing AEO retainers from R4 500/month for entity monitoring, citation building and content updates.
How do you measure AEO results?
We track brand mentions in ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews for a set of target prompts monthly, plus referral traffic from AI answer engines (visible in GA4 as chatgpt.com, perplexity.ai, gemini.google.com referrers).
Is AEO worth it for a small SA business?
If your customers are researching before buying — solar, legal, medical, B2B, high-consideration purchases — yes. If you sell impulse buys or purely local walk-in services, traditional local SEO is still a better first spend.