Winning the LLM Personality Contest: Is Our Job Now Just to Get ChatGPT to like Us?

​​Remember that old SEO joke: the best place to hide a dead body is on the second page of Google? Now, thanks to the introduction of snappy little AI summaries, you’d struggle to notice one hidden past the top search search results.

And this is not just about Google, of course. People are now swapping their quick searches for long conversations with LLMs like ChatGPT, Claude and Perplexity at pace (ChatGPT has doubled its monthly search volume to 800 million since Feb 2025). Increasingly we’re working with our clients to refine their SEO and GEO strategy and ensure our content is optimised and in the right spaces. And those spaces aren’t just the usual suspects for views and volume.

So what should brands – who are already fighting hard just to stay visible – do to adapt to this strange new world? It’s the question I’ve been asked by clients more than any other in the past few months. And most of the discussions we’ve had has tended to revolve around three key areas:

Don’t forget your foundations - SEO and GEO have a lot of the same underlying best practices, so a big part of this evolution is about not chasing the new shiny toy and sacrificing what will still work wonders in making your brand visible online. Google’s EEAT principles are still a great baseline but now the ‘A’ for authority has become even more important in the AI era as people are asking multiple questions in a back-and-forth conversation.

Don’t get complacent – AI platforms are constantly changing the sources they cite, and each one has its own unique algorithm with different preferences. Just when you thought it was complicated enough to optimise for each individual LLM, the lines are being further blurred between things like social search (gen z now uses TikTok as a search engine) and community search (on platforms like Reddit). So, brands not only need to think about optimising individually, but also how they work together (certain LLMs prefer to cite social and community sources over more traditionally credible ones).

Don’t overcomplicate - LLMs are built for speed. They want to be able to create a fast, succinct summary, so content that is clear, credible and provides context will allow the LLM to more effectively summarise the content, not just produce a search result. Also not being afraid to widen the net. Perplexity (currently) cites Reddit and YouTube above all other sources, and Google AI overview lean into LinkedIn, so not being afraid to play in new spaces – but keep the message clear, confident and concise.

Oh, and one more thing. As comms practitioners, we work really hard to get top tier coverage for our clients. But what about when journalists are researching the same topics or brand or problem months later? Or when audiences are researching the category outside of campaign moments? That’s why I’m always banging on to our clients about the importance of Cultural Endurance – to always be mindful of creating work with staying power. Developing standout creative content that consistently ladders back to your place in culture. Building a brand that, no matter what the channel, remains relevant and authoritative well after the ‘moment’ or campaign has passed.

That’s why optimising is so crucial. Because you’re finally building the momentum that means each big moment doesn’t feel like starting from scratch. You’re building a brand through authority and trust. You’re top of your audiences’ minds and top of any search results, regardless of where they’re searching.