As a B2B marketing manager, you can no longer avoid the question of whether, and how, future customers can find you in ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google. You can run a few initial tests yourself. If you want to improve your visibility over the longer term, you will often need professional help. But where do you start?
Bringing someone in to help with GEO
First, record a few searches and their results so you can show others concretely what you want to achieve. Most browsers can save a page as a PDF; a screenshot works too. Run the same search a few more times and save those results as well. Each time, open a new chat window so an earlier conversation does not influence the answer. You may also have chat memory switched on without realising it. That can affect your search results too, and you need to know before measuring.
Next, call your current website developer or media agency. Do not call a director who promises that they already do extensive generative engine optimisation for many clients. Call your regular point of contact: the person operationally responsible for the day-to-day work. Ask these questions:
- Are you currently measuring how visible your clients are in ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google?
- If so, how do you do it, what do you charge and what does the report look like?
- Can you send me an example report, anonymised of course?
- Can you share a GEO case study? What did you do, how did you approach it and what was the result?
- How visible are we in ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google? If you do not know, will you offer this soon?
The answers show how seriously your website developer or media agency takes GEO. It is a good sign if they treat generative engine optimisation as a discipline in its own right, with designated contacts. “GEO is just an expensive new word for SEO” is not a good answer. SEO and GEO are related, but they are not the same.
Choosing a GEO specialist or small agency
Find two or three providers on LinkedIn or through the AI search tools you use, then compare them. This overview of ten independent Dutch GEO providers shows which AI systems they measure, how often, what work they perform themselves and which prices they publish. Prefer someone with demonstrable online marketing experience, ideally from before AI tools appeared everywhere. They understand the synergy between AI visibility, Google Ads, SEO and content marketing. That matters because AI visibility is only one objective in your online marketing mix. For example, send a message like this:
Hello,
I have questions about my visibility in ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google. I think I am currently less visible to prospects than my competitors, and I want to change that. Could we have a call to see whether you can help?
Be wary of people promising you a high position in ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews or Perplexity. Nobody can guarantee a result in advance. Ask each provider which buying questions they measure, how they select those questions, how often they repeat each one and how they present the results (some offer a personal dashboard). Ask for a repeat measurement using the same questions and conditions. That way, you compare not just the price or dashboard but the quality of the measurement. And once you know how well or badly you are doing, remember that you will also need content that can improve your visibility.
GEO specialist, freelancer or agency?
Choose a small GEO specialist if you first want to know where your opportunities and problems lie. They can investigate whether AI systems can read your website, whether your content answers buyers’ questions, and whether other websites and sources mention or recommend your company. Expect hourly rates from around €120. That may seem high, but a thorough measurement repeated periodically over a longer period, followed by professional interpretation, takes time and requires specialist software.
Choose a freelancer if you already know what needs to be done, such as rewriting pages or making a technical improvement to your website. According to Knab research from 2026, a self-employed marketer charges an average of €82 per hour, excluding VAT. Technical, strategic or highly specialised work may cost more.
If you want to work on content, technology, measurement and visibility beyond your website at the same time, choose an agency. That is also a better fit when several websites, countries or departments are involved. In Q3 2025, the average hourly rate at Dutch creative, digital and marketing agencies was €105 excluding VAT, according to the Simplicate Agencies Benchmark Report. This is generally an average across junior, medior and senior hours.
If it is not yet clear what you need, start with a baseline measurement or AI competitor scan. It shows whether the work is mainly about content, technology or mentions beyond your own website. Then always ask who will do the work, how many hours it will take and whether you can agree on a fixed price.
Becoming visible in ChatGPT and AI search engines
There is no form you can use to put your company on a recommended list in ChatGPT. Since 24 August 2026, ChatGPT ads have been available in the Netherlands. They are separate from the answers and do not influence their content. You can buy advertising, but not an organic recommendation. OpenAI explains the distinction in its announcement of ChatGPT Ads.
Your first AI competitor measurement will show what kind of help you need. If your brand appears nowhere, even in a question that names it, first investigate whether search engines and AI systems can read and find your site technically. If your brand appears in branded questions but not in general comparisons, first investigate whether your content clearly explains what makes you different and whether independent sources provide information about that. The first measurement alone cannot explain these two situations. More research is needed.
Doing GEO yourself
You can carry out some GEO optimisations yourself. The question is how much time you want to spend and whether you can establish which changes are having an effect. Without software, the process takes a lot of time: you need to ask dozens of customer questions several times across different AI systems, record the answers consistently and then compare them.
For a quick first impression, a small manual sample is enough. Take the five most important questions from potential customers, ask them once in two relevant AI systems and review the ten answers. This usually takes no more than an hour. Check whether your brand or product is mentioned and which competitors, trade publications or comparison sites appear as sources. This sample offers an initial clue, but it is not a reliable baseline measurement.
For a fuller picture, you need to ask the same questions repeatedly. With 30 questions, five repetitions and three systems, you would record 450 answers and often hundreds of source links per round. Doing this manually can quickly take two or three working days. Software can help retrieve, store and compare the answers and sources. A specialist can design the measurement, interpret the findings and determine whether the next step concerns your content, technology or visibility beyond your site.
Start with the questions you hear yourself or that come up in sales, account management and support, if your organisation has those functions. Also note the objections customers raise and the alternatives they compare you with. Without that input, you risk measuring generic questions that reveal little about your customers’ choices.
After the measurement, you can do parts of the work yourself if you have the right knowledge and time. That might mean adding content or clarifying answers to frequently asked customer questions. You will usually need your web developer for technical improvements. For a consistent measurement method, interpretation of the results and external mentions, a GEO specialist can save you time and prevent mistakes.
This translation was made by AI.