What Is AI Search Optimisation? A Singapore Guide to What Google and ChatGPT Actually Say

Singapore ranks second of 173 countries for ChatGPT messages per head, by OpenAI's own count for the quarter from July 2026^[1]. Google also shows AI Overviews, an AI-written summary above the results, in Singapore^[2].

So when someone in Tampines asks which aircon servicing firm nearby is reliable, the answer may name only a few businesses. If yours is not one of them, you may never see that enquiry.

That is what AI search optimisation in Singapore is for. Your choice depends on where you stand:

• Already on Google's first page for what you sell? Ask your web person to confirm ChatGPT and Google can read your site, then check AI answers monthly to see if your rankings earn mentions.
• Not on Google at all? Fix ordinary search first. Google says its AI features retrieve pages by relying on its core ranking systems^[3], so one piece of work serves both.
• Comparing providers? Use the questions near the end to avoid paying for promises no one can keep.

We sell this service in Singapore ourselves, so weigh what follows with that in mind. Each claim links to its source.

AI search optimisation, GEO and AEO are one goal under several names

AI search optimisation is the work of getting your business named when ChatGPT, Gemini or Google's AI answers a customer's question. You will also see it sold as GEO (generative engine optimisation), AEO (answer engine optimisation), AI SEO or "ChatGPT SEO". For how it differs from ordinary SEO, see our comparison of AI SEO and traditional SEO.

If someone quotes you "up to 40%" more visibility, that figure most likely comes from the 2023 research paper that coined the term GEO^[4][5]. Read its small print before you pay for it:

• It measured how much of an AI answer each website was credited with, not whether anyone phoned or bought^[5].
• The main tests ran on a home-made AI search tool built on an older OpenAI model, GPT-3.5, not on ChatGPT or Google as your customers use them^[5].
• In those tests, the same trick helped lower-ranked sites and hurt the leader. Adding citations lifted sites ranked fifth in the underlying Google results by 115.1%^[5], but cut the top-ranked site's visibility by 30.3% on average^[5].
• The authors did not test the effect on search rankings, and said the methods may need to adapt over time^[5].

The search engines disagree on the label too. Microsoft calls its Bing reporting, launched in February 2026, "an early step toward Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) tooling"^[6]. Google's view is plainer: "optimizing for generative AI search is optimizing for the search experience, and thus still SEO"^[3]. Google adds that many suggested AEO or GEO "hacks" are not effective or supported^[3].

The rules the platforms do publish

No platform publishes how it picks which business to name. Each one does publish its conditions and controls. Taken together, Google and ChatGPT ask for a page their programs can reach and store in their search listings, and neither names anything extra you must buy or install^[7][8][9].

In practice that comes down to a few checks: Google can index your pages and show a snippet, the Search Console AI setting is still on, and neither your robots.txt file nor your host or CDN blocks OpenAI's search crawler. The rest of this section explains why.

Google AI Overviews and AI Mode

AI Overviews are the summary above ordinary results. AI Mode is Google's chat-style search tab.

• No extra steps. There are "no additional requirements to appear in AI Overviews or AI Mode, nor other special optimizations necessary"^[7].
• Your page must be in Google's index, its stored list of pages, and allowed to show a snippet, the short text under a search result^[7].
• One setting must stay on. Search Console is Google's free tool for site owners. Your site must be included in its "Search generative AI features" setting^[3]. That has been the default for all sites since 31 August 2026^[10], so the risk is someone switching it off.
• Normal ranking does the retrieving. Google's AI search retrieves pages "by relying on our core Search ranking systems"^[3].
• Many searches show no AI Overview. They "often don't trigger"^[7].

What helps: content people find "unique, compelling, and useful will likely influence" your presence over time^[3]. A generic "7 Tips for First-Time Homebuyers" post is Google's own example of what does not^[3].

What you can ignore for Google Search: cutting pages into small blocks for AI ("chunking"), unnecessary AI text files such as llms.txt, and "pursuing inauthentic mentions"^[3].

ChatGPT

A crawler is the program a search service sends to read websites. OpenAI's search crawler is called OAI-SearchBot.

• Let it in. Sites that block OAI-SearchBot "will not be shown in ChatGPT search answers", though they can still appear as plain links^[11]. Your web host or CDN, the network that delivers your site, must also let OpenAI's traffic through^[8].
• Search and training are separate choices. You can allow OAI-SearchBot and still block GPTBot, the crawler for model training^[11].
• No guarantees. ChatGPT ranks results on "multiple factors", and "Placement is not guaranteed"^[8].
• Other search providers are sometimes involved. ChatGPT search "sometimes partners with other search providers"^[8], unnamed in that sentence.
• Ads cannot buy answers. OpenAI says ads "do not influence ChatGPT's answers"^[9].

Gemini and Microsoft Copilot

Gemini "relies on external sources such as Google Search" for some answers^[12]. A page Google cannot find is unlikely to help you there.

In February 2026, Microsoft added a trial (public preview) report to Bing Webmaster Tools, its counterpart to Google Search Console, that shows how often Copilot and Bing's AI answers cite your pages^[6]. Microsoft notes the count reflects citations, "not page importance, ranking, or placement"^[6].

Three things that are different in Singapore

Google lists Singapore for AI Overviews, and Chinese, Malay and Tamil among its languages. Its availability page names Singapore, and Chinese (Simplified), Malay and Tamil among supported languages^[2].

If many customers search in Mandarin, give your main service pages a Chinese version. In the 2020 Census, 29.9% of residents aged 5 and over spoke Mandarin most often at home^[13]. An English-only page gives Google less to work with for those searches. That is our reading, not a Google rule.

Fake mentions are a tactic Google says you can ignore, and they may carry legal risk. Google says seeking inauthentic mentions "isn't as helpful as it might seem"^[3].

Singapore's enhanced TR 76 e-commerce guidelines, announced by the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore in September 2025, cover fake reviews^[14]; TR 76 is an industry guideline, not law. The Consumer Protection (Fair Trading) Act treats false or misleading claims by a business as an unfair practice, online or offline^[15]. Ask a lawyer before acting on either.

Check grant support before you assume it. The Productivity Solutions Grant (PSG), whose Digital Marketing Packages category included SEO^[16], ceased on 29 September 2026. Business grant support now runs under the EDGE Grant^[17]. Our guide to what replaced PSG covers what EDGE does and does not name.

A good monthly plan covers four jobs

1. Access. Check that Google's crawler, OpenAI's OAI-SearchBot and Microsoft's Bingbot can reach your site^[11][18]. Two things can block them: robots.txt, a small file telling crawlers what they may read, and your host or CDN^[8][7]. Confirm the Search Console AI setting is still on^[3].
2. Pages worth citing. Write what only you can say: the services you offer, the parts of Singapore you cover, how you price, real project details. Google says unique, useful content will likely matter more in the long run than any other suggestion in its guide^[3]. Using AI to generate many pages without adding value for readers can break Google's spam rules on scaled content abuse^[19].
3. Measurement. ChatGPT tags the links it sends from its search results, so those visits show up in Google Analytics with the source "chatgpt.com"^[20]. Search Console's generative AI report counts impressions, meaning how often your pages were shown, in AI Overviews and AI Mode^[21]. Clicks from an AI Overview are counted in Search Console's main Performance report^[22].
4. A fixed question check. Each month, ask the same customer questions in ChatGPT and Gemini, search them on Google from Singapore, and record who is named. Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools count your own impressions and citations^[6][21]. In our experience neither shows which other businesses were named, so someone has to check by hand or with a tool.

Our monthly AI SEO service for Singapore businesses covers these four jobs, from checking that OAI-SearchBot can reach your site to measuring Google and AI answers separately each month. If you would rather do it yourself, our step-by-step guide to getting recommended by ChatGPT and Google walks through each one.

Questions to ask before you hire anyone for AI search

Google publishes questions to ask an SEO, and they apply here^[23]. The first three below come from Google's list; the last two are ours.

• Can they show examples of previous work? Ask for dated screenshots of AI answers that name a client, with the question asked.
• What results do they expect, by when, and how will they measure them? Listen for the reports above, not a promised position.
• What experience do they have in Singapore? Google's list asks about "my country/city"^[23].
• Which crawlers and settings will they check in the first month? You should hear OAI-SearchBot and the Search Console AI setting named.
• Will anything about your business go live without your approval? The answer should be no.

Walk away if you hear any of these:

• A guaranteed mention or ranking. Google says "No one can guarantee a #1 ranking on Google"^[23], and OpenAI says of ChatGPT search, "Placement is not guaranteed"^[8].
• Paid placement inside ChatGPT's answers, or a paid-for better local ranking on Google. OpenAI says ads do not influence ChatGPT's answers^[9]. Google says there is no way to request or pay for a better local ranking on Google^[24].
• llms.txt or special schema sold as the fix for Google. Schema is hidden code that labels a page for search engines. Google says AI Overviews need no special optimisation^[7], and that for Google Search you can ignore unnecessary AI text files^[3].
• Reviews or mentions that are not genuine. See the Singapore section above^[14][15].
• Vague answers about the work. Google warns: "Be careful if a company is secretive or won't clearly explain what they intend to do"^[23].

What we do, and when we are not the right fit

We offer AI SEO for Singapore businesses. Each month we put your customers' questions to ChatGPT, Gemini and Google AI Overviews and report who gets named, and nothing new about your business goes live without your approval. We do not guarantee rankings or mentions in AI answers.

We are not the right fit if your website cannot be edited, or if you need results within weeks. Google's AI features retrieve pages through its core ranking systems^[3], and in our experience earning those rankings takes months. If you only want a one-off check, the free AI visibility check below is enough.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

1. OpenAI Signals, country data download
2. Google Search Help, AI Overviews availability
3. Google Search Central, AI optimisation guide
4. Aggarwal et al., GEO: Generative Engine Optimization (arXiv)
5. Aggarwal et al., GEO: Generative Engine Optimization (arXiv, full text)
6. Bing Webmaster Blog, AI Performance in Bing Webmaster Tools
7. Google Search Central, AI features and your website
8. OpenAI Help, ChatGPT search
9. OpenAI Help, ads in ChatGPT
10. Search Console Help, Search generative AI features setting
11. OpenAI, overview of OpenAI crawlers
12. Google, Gemini overview
13. SingStat, Census of Population 2020
14. CCCS, enhanced e-commerce guidelines (TR 76)
15. MTI, written reply on the CPFTA
16. IMDA, PSG Digital Marketing Packages
17. Enterprise Singapore, Productivity Solutions Grant
18. Bing Webmaster Blog, bingbot user agent
19. Google Search Central, spam policies
20. OpenAI Help, publishers and developers FAQ
21. Search Console Help, generative AI performance report
22. Search Console Help, Performance report data
23. Google Search Central, Do you need an SEO?
24. Google Business Profile Help, local ranking

Related reading: how to get recommended by ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews, what replaced PSG for SEO, and Anchor Sprint in Singapore.