Google optimisation and AI visibility: how your customers find you in 2026

“Is Google optimisation still worth it when everyone asks ChatGPT?” We hear this question in almost every conversation about websites. The short answer: more than ever. AI assistants get most of what they know about businesses from the same sources that Google evaluates. If you are well set up on Google, you have already done half the work for the AI platforms.

How important is Google optimisation in 2026?

Very important. In Switzerland, Google is by far the most used search engine, and local searches such as “electrician near me” almost always end up in Google Maps. On top of that come the AI Overviews that Google shows above the results. According to Google, more than two billion people see them every month, and they draw on pages from the Google index. If you do not rank well there, you miss out twice.

Where your customers search today

Search no longer happens in one place. Anyone who needs a service reaches you or your competitors by one of these routes:

What Google and AI platforms have in common

All these channels ask a website the same questions: Can it be read technically? Does it answer a question clearly? Is it clear who is behind it, where the business is based and what it offers? And do other sources confirm this information? AI Overviews and Gemini draw directly on the Google index, while ChatGPT uses the Bing index, among others, for web search. Good rankings in search engines are therefore the entry ticket to AI answers.

The basics of Google optimisation

What AI platforms need on top

AI assistants do not read advertising language; they look for passages they can quote. That is why we add a few points to classic SEO:

Our article Visibility in AI answers shows in detail how this works.

What we see in our own Search Console

We optimise imagemedia.ch by the same rules and see the change in our own data. Search queries are getting longer and increasingly sound like full questions: no longer “TV lifespan” but “how many years does a TV last”. Now and then, queries even appear that clearly come from AI assistants, with complete sentences and instructions in them. Pages that pick up such questions directly in a subheading and answer them in the first sentence are shown more often than pages that only circle around a topic. This is exactly the work we do continuously on our guide pages.

How long does Google optimisation take?

Technical fixes often take effect within days to a few weeks, once Google has read the pages again. New content usually needs three to six months to rank steadily. A well maintained Business Profile often shows more views and calls after just a few weeks. In AI answers we usually see the first movement after four to eight weeks, because the models keep reading their sources again.

Can you guarantee first place on Google or a mention in ChatGPT?

No. Google and the AI providers decide for themselves whom they show, and anyone who promises a guarantee is not being honest. What can be guaranteed is careful work following Google’s guidelines, ongoing maintenance and an honest report that shows where you stand and what is moving.

Checklist: ten points for your business

1. Is your website registered in Google Search Console and indexed without errors? 2. Does it load on a phone within a few seconds? 3. Does every service have its own page with a clear title? 4. Does each of these pages answer the most important question right at the start? 5. Is your Business Profile complete, with categories, services, photos and opening hours? 6. Do you reply to every review, including the critical ones? 7. Do your name, address and phone number match everywhere? 8. Are your company, location and services marked up as structured data? 9. Does your robots.txt allow the AI providers’ crawlers? 10. Do you know whether ChatGPT and Perplexity mention your business when someone asks for your service in your region?

If you answer no three times or more, that is where the greatest potential lies. Our free AI check gives you a first impression of points 8 to 10.

How we work

We combine Google optimisation and AI visibility into one process. First we measure the starting point: Search Console, Business Profile, technology and the answers the major assistants give to your customers’ questions. Then we rework the pages, add structured data and maintain the profile and the directories. Every month we measure again and show you in black and white what has changed. More on the pages Google optimisation, SEO and Google Ads and AI visibility.