Key Takeaways
- Definition: AI visibility refers to the frequency with which a brand or website is mentioned or cited in responses from ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Claude, Mistral, and Google's AI previews.
- The transition: ChatGPT will surpass 800 million weekly users by the end of 2025, AI snippets will appear in an increasing share of Google searches in France, and some purchasing decisions will begin with a question asked of an assistant.
- The challenge: A generated response cites 3 to 8 sources; a company that isn't listed has no second page to make up for it.
- The lever: GEO, which makes pages readable, accurate, and citable, with SEO as its foundation.
Until 2023, being visible online meant appearing in the top ten Google search results. Since then, a growing proportion of searches has been conducted through assistants that generate an answer and cite a few sources. The GEO, or Generative Engine Optimization, refers to the set of practices that enable a business to appear in these results. This article explains what visibility on AI platforms actually means, how usage patterns have changed, and why even a local business can no longer afford to ignore it.
What Is Known as AI Transparency
A user asks an assistant, “What software should I use to track my marketing campaigns?” or “Can you recommend a good plumber in Nantes?” The assistant queries a search index, reads about ten pages, and drafts a response that lists three to five solutions and cites its sources. AI visibility refers to the frequency with which your brand appears among these solutions and your website among these sources in response to questions asked by your prospects. It is measured like a ranking, but through sampling: the questions are asked multiple times across multiple search engines, and the results are tallied. This metric is described in GEO's KPIs.
Changes in usage between 2023 and 2026
| Engine | Situation in 2026 | What this means |
|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT | More than 800 million weekly users projected by the end of 2025; integrated web search with citations | Top assistant in France; requests for recommendations are common there |
| Google AI Insights | Deployed in France since 2025 for information retrieval; AI mode available | Decrease in clicks on traditional search results when a snippet is displayed; being listed in the snippet becomes the new “top result” |
| Perplexity | Several hundred million queries per month; sources displayed automatically | Used for professional research and comparisons |
| Gemini, Claude, Mistral, Copilot | Integrated web search; Gemini is available on Android, Chrome, and Workspace | Smaller but more targeted audiences, particularly in the corporate sector |
What these search engines have in common is that they narrow down a list of ten links to a single result and a few sources. Visibility becomes binary: either you’re in the result, or you don’t exist for that user. How each one works is detailed in Understanding AI Engines.
Why It's Important for a Business
- Recommendations are made without your involvement. For queries such as “which service provider,” “which tool,” or “which solution,” the assistant suggests three to five names. A prospect who receives this list rarely contacts a sixth company.
- Traffic from AI sources converts better. Visitors coming from ChatGPT or Perplexity have already read a summary and compared options; in 2026, on most B2B websites, their conversion rate is higher than that of organic traffic—often two to four times higher—even though the volume remains modest (0.5% to 5% of sessions).
- AI previews reduce the number of clicks typically required. A page ranked in position 3 under an AI preview that does not mention it loses a significant portion of its clicks compared to 2023.
- AI is talking about you, whether you're there or not. For brand queries, the assistant describes your business based on what it finds: your website, directories, reviews, and articles. If these sources are limited or out of date, the description will be as well.
Who is affected, and in what order?
| Profile | Exhibition | Queries to Monitor as a Priority |
|---|---|---|
| Software publisher, B2B services | Forte: Comparing tools is one of the most common uses of assistants | "What tool for...", "X or Y", "alternatives to Z" |
| E-commerce | Strong and growing, with shopping features built into virtual assistants | "Best [product] for [purpose]," "[product] reviews" |
| Regulated profession, consulting | Moderate to high: Information-related questions come before making contact | "How...," "Should we...," "How much does... cost?" |
| Local business or artisan | Average, rising along with local recommendations from ChatGPT and Gemini | "A good [business] in [city]," " [business] open on Sundays in [city]" |
What Transparency in AI Is Not
- This isn't a position: the responses vary with each execution; the measurement is a frequency.
- This is not unrelated to SEO: search engines crawl the pages indexed by Google and Bing; the relationship between the two is explained in The Difference Between Traditional SEO and GEO.
- It can't be bought: as of 2026, there is no advertising space that guarantees a mention in a generated response, even though sponsored formats appear in some assistants.
- This isn't limited to big brands: when it comes to specific questions, an SME that provides the most accurate answer is cited ahead of a major media outlet that remains vague.
Where to Start
Three steps, in order: assess the current situation using 10 to 20 questions across three search engines (protocol in audit its visibility on AI search engines); verify that AI bots are crawling the site; rewrite pages that already rank well so that they appear at the top of search results, with up-to-date facts. The rest (fact pages, comparisons, third-party sources) comes next, at the pace described in How much to invest and how often.
How GreenRed Can Help You
Instead of juggling multiple tools, the GEO module from GreenRed brings these metrics together in a single dashboard, compares them over time, and shows you which actions to prioritize. You can try it for free—no credit card required—on the page Rates.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is AI visibility relevant to a small local business?
Yes, more and more. ChatGPT and Gemini respond to requests for local recommendations by drawing on Google listings, reviews, and websites. A business with a complete listing, recent reviews, and a website that clearly describes its services and service area is mentioned; the others are left out of the response, with no second page to make up for it.
What percentage of traffic will come from AI in 2026?
For most websites, between 0.5% and 5% of sessions, a figure that has been growing rapidly since 2024. The share is higher on B2B websites, software providers, and news sites. The volume remains lower than organic traffic, but the conversion rate for visitors coming from voice assistants is often significantly higher.
Are Google's AI insights available in France?
Yes. AI snippets were rolled out in France in 2025 for informational searches, and Google's AI mode is available in French. They don't appear for every query, but their share is increasing, and they reduce clicks on traditional results when they are present.
Can you pay to appear in AI responses?
Not in the sense of a guaranteed mention. Some assistants are testing sponsored formats or shopping links, and Google displays ads around its AI previews, but the selection of sources cited in the response remains organic as of 2026. Inclusion in the responses is earned through content and third-party mentions.