Over the years, there’s been some big changes in SEO, but the last years, even months, have seen some of the most interesting developments yet. Artificial intelligence (AI) is no longer just supporting SEO. It’s starting to define it.
All search engine optimisation specialists, ourselves included, have been investing significant time, research and experimentation into a new area of AI optimisation, which is known as LLM SEO. It’s all about how to optimise businesses for visibility in large language models, such as ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, etc, giving brands more opportunities than ever before.
However, it’s only early days of AI SEO and LLM SEO, and there’s many people out there already taking advantage of how little the non-SEO community knows about the topic. So, we thought we’d give you the basics so you know what to look for and what’s happening to help your business be ready for this new evolution of digital marketing.
So, what actually is LLM SEO?
LLM SEO is all about helping large language models (that’s the LLM part), like ChatGPT, Perplexity and Gemini, to recognise your brand. Instead of chasing search rankings (although this is still very important), you’re building enough digital authority that AI tools start referring to your business in their response.
Say someone searches for ‘who is a good SEO agency in Australia’ into ChatGPT, the tool isn’t actually doing a live search as such. It’s drawing on the patterns it already knows, so the brands connected to SEO expertise, and names that appear repeatedly across credible sources.
So, if the internet has been talking about you often and clearly enough, including your own website, you have a chance at being part of that answer, helping lead more people to your website. That’s what LLM SEO is all about.
How You Can Get Into LLM Responses
Once an AI model has absorbed information across the web, it starts connecting patterns about brands, industries and sentiment. The quality and consistency of that information shapes how confidently it can mention your business.
Let’s say you have a vet clinic that keeps appearing in articles, reviews and Q&A sites describing ‘gentle and reliable pet care’. Those signals start to stick. When someone later asks, “Who are the most trusted vets in Brisbane’, the model can reference that brand because it’s seen those words together so many times.
However, if the online conversation around a business is messy or conflicting, the model won’t know how to classify it. Worse still, ongoing negative chatter, or none at all, can start to outweigh positive mentions. AI tools don’t distinguish between platforms, but rather just learn what they see most often — or so we’ve seen at the moment anyway.
This is why visibility across multiple credible touchpoints — not just your own site — is now one of the strongest forms of brand protection.
The Problem Right Now With Measuring LLM SEO
Right now, there’s no ‘official’ way to measure how visible your brand is inside language models, although platforms like SEMrush are certainly starting to provide us with basic information. Two users can ask the same question and see different results, depending on their chat history or how recently the model updated. And that’s part of the problem, at least for us.
The systems themselves aren’t transparent. We can see what helps, like consistent mentions, strong backlinks and positive sentiment, but not the exact weight of each factor.
That means the brands experimenting with LLM SEO today are shaping what this measurement standard will look like in the future. And also anyone who claims they have ‘the secret sauce’ is not being completely honest, or likely isn’t as tuned in as they themselves may even think.
How We Can Measure the Success of LLM Optimisation For Now
While traditional ranking reports won’t tell us the full story just yet, there are signs that show you’re building visibility, such as through:
- Brand search volume with a growing number of people searching your business name after seeing you mentioned elsewhere.
- Conversion trends, where increases in leads or sales can show a rise in brand visibility.
- Traffic attribution, so we can see more sessions coming through direct or branded queries, suggesting users first discovered you in an AI tool.
- Website engagement, linked to people still using Google to verify AI answers due to potential inaccuracy, so organic site performance is still a massive indicator.
In the past month or two, we’ve also started to see LLM rank factors that monitor mentions across AI platforms, such as through SEMrush or Ahrefs. It’s clear from early experimentation that traditional SEO and AI SEO are working hand-in-hand, and are not in as much competition as many will lead you to believe.
Why ‘Traditional’ SEO Still Matters in an LLM World
The link between strong SEO and strong AI visibility is already so clear. The businesses who appear most confidently in LLM responses are often the same ones already ranking well on Google.
People mind finding you or an answer through an AI-generated answer, but they’ll still verify through search. That means your website, structure and credibility need to hold up. Backlinks, schema, content and clear user experience continue to build authority, and are the very same signals LLMs interpret when deciding which brands to reference.
Strategies That Are Already Building LLM Visibility
1. Lock in a clear brand message.
Be direct about what you’re known for and keep your language consistent. LLMs don’t handle subtlety. If you want to be recognised as a builder, vet, lawyer, accountant or whatever it is you do, say that openly and say it often. And say why and how you’re the best, not just that you’re the top business in your field.
2. Spread your message widely.
Publish across more than your website. Articles, podcasts, features and partnerships all help AI tools find your name in credible contexts. Consistency across multiple touchpoints strengthens your footprint, although is more time consuming.
3. Keep content active.
AI models evolve by reading what’s current. Regularly publishing content helps make sure your brand continues appearing in the data future versions train on. Digital PR will also be important for both spreading your messaging and keeping content active, using third parties to help spread the good word of your business.
4. Audit AI mentions.
Search yourself and what you do in ChatGPT, Gemini or Perplexity. See which brands appear for your niche and how they’re described. If you’re missing, create content that fills that space with clarity.
5. Prioritise reputation.
Reviews and tone matter, Positive sentiment reinforced credibility, but recurring negative commentary can dilute it quickly. Managing online reputation is no longer just PR — it’s an AI visibility strategy.
Where Google AI Mode Fit In
In September 2025, Google rolled out AI mode in Australia after success elsewhere in the world. AI mode is Google’s search generative experience (SGE), combining search with conversational answers. Instead of a list of links, users now see summaries that include sources Google considers credible.
To appear in those summaries, your content needs structure, authority and trust markers. That includes clear expertise, relevant backlinks and E-A-A-T signals (experience, expertise, authoritativeness and trustworthiness).
Optimising for SGE strengthens both your search visibility and your likelihood of being referenced by AI platforms. It’s all part of one big SEO eco-system.
The Bottom Line
LLM SEO represents the next evolution in digital visibility. It’s not about manipulating algorithms, but rather shaping how AI understands, trusts and repeats your story.
The fundamentals haven’t changed between traditional SEO and LLM and SGE SEO. Consistent messaging, quality backlinks and top-notch content still matter most. The difference is that these signals now influence not just how people find you, but how AI describes you.
At Digital Surfer, we’re already helping businesses prepare for that shift, building strategies that make sure when people ask AI for the best in your industry or about you, your name comes up naturally and exactly what you do.
