Advertising on AI Engines: ChatGPT, Gemini & Copilot
AI engines are the biggest change to search since Google itself. Millions of buying decisions now start as a conversation with ChatGPT, Gemini or Copilot — and there are two ways for your business to show up: paying for placements inside AI conversations and generative search summaries, and optimising your website’s organic content so AI engines reference and recommend your brand.
How businesses get visible in AI search
Paid placements, organic authority, and AI-powered creative — the complete playbook, explained in plain English.
Paid advertising in AI chats & AI Overviews
You can now place targeted ads directly inside the conversational interfaces of major AI search engines and chatbots. Because AI responses rely on understanding user intent rather than exact keyword matches, campaigns need to be highly automated and intent-driven — a different discipline from classic keyword bidding.
- Google AI Overviews & AI ModeAds can appear inside Google’s AI-generated answers. To qualify, businesses typically need Performance Max, AI-enhanced Search campaigns, or Dynamic Search Ads — the AI pulls Search and Shopping ads into overviews when it detects strong commercial intent.
- ChatGPT SearchOpenAI offers conversational advertising integrated into the ChatGPT interface, letting sponsored placements appear naturally while people research and make decisions.
- Microsoft CopilotPowered by the Bing Ads ecosystem, Copilot includes conversational ad placements that surface during AI-driven interactions.
Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO / AEO)
You cannot pay an AI engine to feature your business in standard organic chat responses. Instead, your website needs to be recognised by large language models as a trusted, authoritative source — that’s Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO), sometimes called Answer Engine Optimisation (AEO).
- Entity & concept SEOAI engines understand concepts, not just keywords. Your website should clearly explain who you are, what you offer, and why you’re a trusted authority — supported by structured data such as schema markup.
- Third-party citationsAI models place significant weight on trusted external sources. Positive reviews, forum mentions, citations and quality backlinks all strengthen your authority.
- Question-based contentContent that directly answers the common “how-to” and “why” questions in your industry is far more likely to be used as a source — or turned into a recommendation of your business.
AI advertising tools & generative creative
You no longer need a large production team to keep up with modern ad formats. AI-powered creative tools can generate ad copy, images and marketing assets quickly and cost-effectively — an AI ad generator can take a product or website URL and produce high-performing creative tailored for AI search, social media and digital advertising platforms.
AI search, answered
Can I pay ChatGPT or Gemini to recommend my business?
Not in organic answers — those recommendations can’t be bought. You can pay for clearly-labelled sponsored placements inside AI interfaces, but earning organic AI recommendations requires GEO: building genuine authority, reviews and well-structured content that AI engines trust.
Does AI search replace my Google Ads and SEO?
No — it layers on top. Google is still where most searches happen, and AI engines lean on many of the same authority signals as traditional SEO. The smart move is extending what works into the new channels, not abandoning what already generates leads.
How do I know if AI engines are already mentioning my business?
That’s part of our AI search audit — we check how ChatGPT, Gemini, Copilot and Google’s AI Overviews currently answer the questions your customers ask, and whether you (or your competitors) appear in those answers.
Is it too early to invest in this?
It’s early enough that most of your competitors haven’t started — which is exactly the window where visibility is cheapest to win. The businesses AI engines learn to trust now will be the ones they keep recommending.
Find out how AI engines see your business
Get a free AI search audit — how ChatGPT, Gemini and Google’s AI Overviews answer your customers’ questions today, and a plain-English plan to show up in them.