Your complete guide to understanding and selling white label AI optimization services that get clients found in ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI.
Before you sell it, you need to understand it. Here's what AIO, GEO, LLMO, and AEO actually mean.
The Umbrella Term
The holistic strategy of optimizing content for any AI-driven discovery. This sits above GEO, LLMO, and AEO, encompassing all efforts to make your brand visible in AI-powered tools.
Answer Engine Optimization
Target Platforms
Generative Search Engines (Perplexity, Google AI Overviews, ChatGPT Search, Bing Chat).
The Goal
To be the single, definitive answer extracted for a specific question. You want your content to be read aloud by a smart speaker or displayed at the very top of Google as a "Position Zero" snippet.
"The Direct Answer" - Position Zero
Generative Engine Optimization
Target Platforms
Generative Search Engines (Perplexity, Gemini / AI Mode, ChatGPT Search, Bing Chat)
The Goal
Unlike AEO, the AI isn't just "copy-pasting" you; it is reading your content, understanding it, and rewriting it as part of a larger explanation, ideally citing you as a footnote or source link.
Citations & Clicks
Large Language Model Optimization
Target Platforms
The foundational models themselves (GPT-4, Gemini, Claude, Llama) during their training or retrieval phases.
The Goal
To become a known entity or "fact" within the model's brain. You want the model to "know" who your brand is, even without looking up the internet in real-time.
"The Knowledge Base" - In the AI's brain
You want to be quoted or cited or linked. The metric is brand visibility and authority.
To be reliably ingested, understood, and cited by machines (specifically LLMs), content must be machine-readable and highly authoritative.
Demonstrating Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. Having a strong digital footprint beyond your website, including credible mentions, reviews, high-quality press, and respected backlinks.
Despite different names, these approaches share most tactics and success factors. The fundamentals remain universal.
Drive revenue and acquire customers—whether they find you through Google or ChatGPT, the bottom line matters most.
High-quality, authoritative content is paramount for both search engines and AI systems. Expertise and accuracy win everywhere.
Clear headings, logical flow, and organized information help both search engines and AI understand your content.
Backlinks, domain authority, and expertise matter across all platforms. AI relies on the same trust signals as search engines.
People want useful answers whether they use Google or ChatGPT. Genuinely helpful content performs well everywhere.
Citations and brand mentions matter more for AI, but the underlying principle is identical: demonstrate credibility.
The differences are smaller than the marketing suggests—here are the few real distinctions.
Backlink quality drives authority and rankings.
Where you're cited across the web matters more than just links.
Focused on driving traffic to your site.
Focused on getting cited in AI responses (though revenue goals remain the same).
Keyword-optimized, long-form content.
Direct, quotable answers to specific questions.
Easy to track with Google Analytics and standard tools.
Requires newer tools and different metrics; customer journey mapping is complex.
Now that you understand the concepts, here's exactly how to position and sell these services.
Use this to start every conversation:
"Are you currently offering any AI visibility services to your clients?"
"Are your clients asking about getting found in AI?"
→ Then transition to: "We're offering white label services to improve your clients' AI visibility and get them more mentions, citations, and links from AI assistants."
ChatGPT
Perplexity
Gemini
Claude
Google AI summaries
We've been following the data and know that the strongest correlations with AI Overview mentions are all off-site factors:
Correlation Coefficient
Branded web mentions
Correlation Coefficient
Branded anchors
Correlation Coefficient
Branded search volume
Just like SEO, on-site factors are important, but off-site signals are arguably even more powerful.
We're making your clients' sites more visible and better understood by AI, which increases the chances of them getting cited, mentioned, and linked by AI assistants.