BrisTechTonic is a Bristol SEO agency that helps UK businesses get found on Google, the local map pack and the AI assistants they now ask, like ChatGPT and Perplexity. Generative engine optimisation (GEO) is the work of making your business the source that AI tools such as ChatGPT, Google's AI answers, Perplexity and Gemini pull together and name when they answer a question in your area. It rests on the same groundwork as SEO, being a clearly understood business with the right behind-the-scenes details, but it aims for the passage an AI quotes rather than the link a person clicks. We measure it by how often you get named and the enquiries it helps bring, never by guaranteed placements.
The term "generative engine optimisation" comes from 2023 research that looked at how AI tools choose which sources to weave into an answer. The finding that matters for your business is simple: these AI tools do not list ten links and step back. They read the strongest sources, write one blended answer, and credit a handful of them. If your business is not in that handful, you are invisible at the exact moment a buyer is putting together a shortlist.
Read the full detail →
GEO is the work of shaping that outcome. It sits under answer engine optimisation as the broad layer that works across all the AI tools: where our pages for individual tools tune for how one tool behaves, GEO is the shared method that puts you in the running to be pulled together and named wherever the answer is written. The groundwork is the same as good SEO, being a clearly understood business with the right behind-the-scenes details, but the target moves from the ranked link to the quoted passage, which changes how content has to be written and laid out.
Two honest limits shape everything we do here. First, nobody controls what an AI writes, so no agency can guarantee a mention, and any that promises one is guessing. What we can do is improve the things the AI tools clearly use, and measure the result against your own set of buying questions. Second, GEO is too early without something worth quoting. If you have no behind-the-scenes details, no reputation and no reference content, there is nothing for an AI to pull together, and we will tell you to start with SEO rather than sell you GEO you are not ready for.
The pay-off, when the foundations are there, is being the named source in the answer your market trusts by default. That lasts in a way a paid slot does not, and it builds on itself: every extra credible mention and every clean signal about who you are makes the next mention more likely.
Get named in the answer, or get skipped.
These are industry figures, not our own results, and we do not invent numbers. Answer engines quote a handful of sources, so the game is being one of them, not just ranking. No citation is ever guaranteed.
Generative engine optimisation, broken down.
Entity and citation baseline →
We find out where the AI tools currently get their information about your area and who they credit today. That honest starting point is what every later gain is measured against, and it usually reveals which competitors have quietly become the default answer.
Technical legibility →
Clean, well-organised code, fast pages, correct behind-the-scenes details, and content that appears without relying on heavy browser processing, so an AI reads your facts rather than skipping a page it cannot make sense of. This is the least glamorous and most decisive part.
Answer-surface mapping
The 40 to 120 questions your buyers actually ask AI tools, ranked by how much business each is worth, so the work targets the questions that bring enquiries rather than phrasings nobody actually asks.
Source-worthy content
Reference pages, clear explanations and original research written so they can be lifted and quoted, with the answer stated plainly near the top. Content built to be pulled into an AI answer, not just to rank on its own.
Corroboration and authority →
Press coverage and mentions in the publications the AI tools already trust in your industry, because a claim repeated by credible sources is one an AI will repeat too.
AI Overviews and the assistants →
The same groundwork aimed at each AI tool your buyers use, from Google's AI answers to ChatGPT, Perplexity and Gemini, tuned to how each one finds and names its sources.
More on generative engine optimisation.
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What clients say about working with us.
“I've had the pleasure of working with Chris on several SEO projects for my websites in the health field. He was definitely been able to demystify things so that I felt able to make decisions with him and feel confident they were the right ones. For a non-techie, that is worth gold! I look forward to working with Chris again and warmly recommend him to anyone who - like me - is unsure about all things SEO.”
“I was recommended by my branding partner to use Chris and his team last year. I can’t recommend them highly enough. They are very responsive , easy to communicate with and great at translating techy stuff when needed. They are now an essential part of my business model”
“We've been working closely with Chris, Hannah and the team for over 12 months now. As a small company with ambitious growth plans, it was incredibly important that we made the right choice on who to trust with our SEO. 18 months later, we're totally thrilled with our experience so far and our growing online presence within our market. We'd happily recommend BTT and their services to other SMEs. Drop them an enquiry!”
Real people on your account, not a faceless agency.
You work directly with the senior people who do the work, a small Bristol team you will actually get to know, not a call centre or an account manager relaying messages.
Meet the team →
The way we run Generative engine optimisation.
Baseline the answers
We run your priority questions across the main AI tools and record what they say, who they name and where you sit today. No forecasts, just what the answer looks like right now.
Fix what blocks legibility
We clear the technical and layout problems that stop an AI reading you cleanly: how the page is built, the behind-the-scenes details, keeping your identity consistent, and page speed. This is the foundation the rest depends on.
Map and prioritise the surface
We build the ranked list of buying questions, then decide which answers are worth going after first, based on how much business each is worth and how winnable it looks.
Build the source material
We write and lay out the reference content and original research the AI tools can quote, with the quotable answer up front and the signals an AI needs to credit it to you.
Earn corroboration
We go after the coverage, mentions and links in trusted sources that make an AI confident enough to name you, without buying links or pitching stories we cannot stand behind.
Track share of answer
We report how often you get named, question by question, month by month, so you see the movement honestly, whether it is up or down, and we adjust where a particular AI tool is not responding.
How do we approach Generative engine optimisation?
Make you machine-legible
AI tools can only pull together what they can actually read. We fix the things that stop an AI reading your pages cleanly, how the page is built, how it is laid out, and the behind-the-scenes details, so your facts survive when the AI sums things up.
Give the model something to quote
Answers written up front, original research, clear explanations and reference pages built so they can be quoted word for word. If a passage is easy to lift and hard to argue with, it gets used.
Consolidate the entity
One consistent identity across your website, Companies House, the big public reference sources and the directories, so AI tools know who you are, what you do, and do not mix you up with a competitor.
Earn the corroboration
AI tools trust claims that other credible sources repeat. We build the coverage and mentions in sources the AI tools already lean on, so they are confident enough to name you.
Real people doing the work, and putting their name to it.
You deal with our small, experienced Bristol team directly, from the first call to every monthly report.
Meet the team →What Generative engine optimisation puts on your desk.
Are we the right fit for you?
Thinking of switching from another agency?
Moving your Generative engine optimisation to us is more straightforward than staying somewhere that is not working. You keep everything you already own, we pick up without a gap, and we can run the whole thing for you or work alongside your team and your developers, whatever suits.
A free look first
We review what your current agency has done, tell you straight what is worth keeping and where the quick wins are. No obligation to move.
You keep what's yours
Your site, content, Google Business Profile and analytics stay in your name. We work with what you already have; nothing is held hostage.
A clean handover
We map the work across, set a plain-English baseline in the first few weeks, and carry on from there. No starting from zero, no quiet ranking gap.
Three-month minimum, then rolling monthly on 30 days’ notice. No long lock-in, no exit fees.
Who does the work, and how?
BrisTechTonic is the trading name of Bryley Ltd. GEO is run by experienced people with years of experience between them. The work is deliberately unglamorous and led by evidence: we improve the things the AI tools actually use and we report the result against your own questions, up or down, rather than pointing at a screen full of view counts.
Experienced practitioners only
The person who checks how your business is understood and writes your reference material is the person you speak to. Nobody in between you and the work.
Inputs we can influence, measured honestly
We improve the behind-the-scenes details, the content, and the outside mentions the AI tools rely on, and we track how often you get named, question by question. We never guarantee a mention, because no one can.
Foundation-first standards
If there is nothing worth quoting yet, we say so and start with SEO. GEO only earns its place once a clearly defined business, the content, and the reputation are there to build on.
How much does Generative engine optimisation cost?
All + VAT · 3-month minimum, then 30-day rolling| What's included | Lite £299 + VAT / month | Max Most chosen £449 + VAT / month | XL £849 + VAT / month | Custom Contact us |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Technical & on-page SEO | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| AEO / AI-search layer (found in ChatGPT, AI Overviews) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Local map-pack optimisation | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Page creation | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Blog posts / month | Add-on | Add-on | 2 | Tailored |
| AI Authority building | — | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| Plain-English monthly report | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Best for | Getting the foundations right | Competing on your key terms | Going after it hard, incl. AI authority | Shaped around your goals |
Generative engine optimisation: common questions.
What is generative engine optimisation?
Generative engine optimisation, or GEO, is the work of becoming a source that AI tools like ChatGPT, Google's AI answers, Perplexity and Gemini pull together and name when they answer a question in your area. It builds on the same groundwork as good SEO, being a clearly understood business with the right behind-the-scenes details, but it aims for the quoted passage rather than the ranked link.
Is GEO the same as AEO or SEO?
They overlap and share the same groundwork. SEO is about getting found in the ranked list of links. AEO is about becoming the source named in an answer. GEO is the broad layer of AEO that works across all the AI tools and focuses specifically on the ones that write out an answer. In practice we run them together, because the same underlying work, being a clearly understood business with the right behind-the-scenes details, serves all three.
Can you guarantee we appear in ChatGPT or AI Overviews?
No, and anyone who promises it is not being honest with you. Nobody controls what an AI writes. What we can do is strengthen the signals these tools actually draw on, make you the most quotable option in your field, and track the movement against your real buying questions over time.
How do you measure GEO if there are no rankings?
We track a set list of your buying questions across the main AI tools and record, question by question, whether you get named, a competitor does, or nobody does. How often you get named, linked to the enquiries it helps bring, is the measure, reported monthly whether it moves up or down.
How long before it works?
Technical and layout improvements can show within a few weeks once an AI re-reads your pages. Being named more often, which depends on your reputation and outside mentions, usually builds over three to six months. We record a starting point first so any movement is measured against something real, not a guess.
Do our Google rankings help with generative engines?
Usually, yes, indirectly. Strong SEO tends to mean the readable, well laid-out, trusted content the AI tools favour. But the target is different, so content has to be written so it can be lifted and quoted, and some AI tools lean on sources that ordinary Google rankings do not fully cover.
How much does GEO cost?
It runs as part of a combined SEO and AI-answer fee, which starts from £299 per month. We rarely sell GEO on its own, because without an SEO and reputation foundation there is little for an AI to quote and it would be too early.
Which generative engines do you cover?
ChatGPT, Google's AI answers, Perplexity and Gemini as standard, with others such as Google's AI Mode or Copilot added where your buyers actually use them. We tune the shared groundwork to how each tool finds and names its sources.
Book the call, or see the evidence first