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What are generative engine optimization services for small business?

Generative engine optimization (GEO) means improving how AI assistants describe and recommend you. For a local business, the work is mostly local SEO fundamentals aimed at the sources AI reads: service pages, listings, reviews and third-party mentions.

Agency GEO retainers are often priced for larger companies: a survey of 1,146 quotes put the small-business starter tier at $1,800–$4,200 per month (First Page Sage). Meanwhile, 43% of micro-businesses spend $100–$500 a month on local SEO (WebFX).

WhoWouldAIHire is built for that budget: automation does most of the work, and every engagement is measured before and after.

The fixes that matter most

  1. A page for every service you sell
    Plain-language pages that answer the questions customers actually ask. Topical relevance on your own site is the strongest measured correlate of being cited. Source
  2. Be listed where each assistant looks
    ChatGPT leans on directories such as BBB, Expertise.com and Angi plus Yelp data; Claude cites Yelp heavily; Google's AI leans on your Business Profile. Source
  3. Show up on 'best of' lists
    Expert-curated best-of lists ranked as the #1 AI visibility factor in Whitespark's 2026 expert survey. Source
  4. A complete Google Business Profile with steady reviews
    Profile completeness, review count and owner replies all correlate positively with being cited. Source
  5. Don't block AI crawlers
    If robots.txt blocks OpenAI, Anthropic or Perplexity's search bots, they can't read you. It's a one-line fix. Source

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Updated 2026-10-17. Figures link to their original sources.