Consumer product search is changing. ChatGPT and other AI assistants are becoming the go-to tools for asking questions and getting product recommendations, particularly in beauty. ChatGPT is now in the top 10 most visited sites in the world and usage is growing fast. However, it still lags someway behind Google and other traditional search engines. With the latest figures for July 2025 showing Google received 41.91% of all web traffic, whereas ChatGPT saw 0.19%, Perplexity saw 0.02% and Copilot 0.01%. So, don’t take your eye off the Google ball, but as we will show, if you’re doing SEO well, then you’re enhancing your GEO also.
Looking at beauty specifically, Google’s traffic share was 39.3%, Bing 0.5%, ChatGPT 0.1%, with Perplexity and Copilot barely registering.
These AI models allow users to ask natural questions like “What’s a good paraben-free shampoo for color-treated hair?” and get a conversational answer with suggestions. OpenAI’s ChatGPT can even return product recommendations with descriptions, images and shopping links for certain search queries.
For beauty brand owners and marketing teams, this means a new era of optimising for AI search or as starting to become known as GEO (Generative Engine Optimisation). Instead of just relying on Google rankings you now have to think about how to get your brand and products mentioned by AI assistants. Optimising for ChatGPT (and similar models like Perplexity, Copilot and Gemini) means making sure the AI has access to your content and recognises your brand as trustworthy, relevant and authoritative when answering questions.
How AI search (ChatGPT) differs from traditional search
Optimising for ChatGPT isn’t identical to traditional SEO, because the user experience and AI’s approach to information are very different:
- Conversational Q&A vs. link lists: Traditional search gives a list of links for the user to choose from; ChatGPT delivers a single, synthesised answer in a conversational tone. This means if your content is used, it might be paraphrased or summarised rather than quoted directly.
- AI chooses on credibility, not just keywords: ChatGPT doesn’t have an index of the latest web pages (especially if working off its trained data), but it does use signals of credibility and relevance learned from training or via live browsing. Factors like content quality, brand mentions, and authority influence what it “knows” or finds worthy to mention.
Unlike Google’s algorithm, which heavily weights backlinks and structured data, ChatGPT’s answers are shaped by overall knowledge and consensus from its training data, plus any live search results it checks for up-to-date info. In essence, ChatGPT is like a well-read expert; it will recommend brands and products it has “seen” frequently praised or described positively.
- Context and follow-up: Users can ask follow-up questions to ChatGPT. For example, after “What’s a good moisturiser for oily skin?” they might say “Can I buy it on sale somewhere?”. The AI needs to handle that continuity.
This means having content that covers various angles (product details, pricing, where to buy, etc.) can be beneficial, so the AI has more ammo to continue the conversation.
Understanding these differences, the challenge is clear, how do you become one of the “go-to” sources that AI references or bases its answers on? The following tips will help you align your SEO and content efforts with the way AI models like ChatGPT operate, otherwise known as GEO.
Create high-quality content with E-E-A-T principles
ChatGPT doesn’t “rank” sites, but it absolutely differentiates between high-quality content and fluff. When asked for recommendations or information, the AI is more likely to pull from content that it deems credible, relevant, and comprehensive. To meet that bar, your site’s content strategy should double down on E-E-A-T: Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness.
- Write comprehensive, solution-oriented content: Cover topics in depth. If a user asks the AI “How do I reduce redness in my skin?”, a superficial 300-word article on your blog won’t cut it. But a 1500-word guide on calming redness, covering causes, ingredients to look for (and avoid), routine tips, and product recommendations (including yours), positions you as a thorough resource. Don’t create thin, “scanty” articles; be as comprehensive as possible while staying on-topic.
- Organise content for easy digestibility: Use clear headings (with keywords and questions), bullet points, and concise paragraphs. A well-structured article helps ChatGPT scan your content faster and extract useful information. For example, an article titled “The Ultimate Guide to Anti-Aging Skincare” could have H2s like “What Causes Premature Skin Aging?”, “Top 5 Anti-Aging Ingredients and How They Work”. If a user asks ChatGPT about ingredients, it might pull from that clearly marked section. Good formatting = easier for AI to find relevant chunks.
- Fact-check and cite sources: Ensure everything you claim can be backed up. While your page might not show citations to the user, by citing authoritative sources (scientific studies, reputable industry stats) in your content can indirectly boost your credibility and help improve the chances that your website appears in AI searches.
- Keep content up-to-date: Regularly update blog posts or guides, especially if they contain time-sensitive info (like “Top 2024 Beauty Trends” should be updated for 2025, etc.). A recent AHREFs study showed AI assistants prefer to cite “fresher” content.
Write in a conversational, question-focused style
One of the keys to “AI optimisation” or GEO is to align your content with the conversational nature of queries. People using ChatGPT or other LLMs often phrase searches as questions or requests, like they’re talking to a human expert. You want your content to anticipate and directly answer those questions in a natural tone.
- Use question-based headings and content: Identify the common questions your customers have and make those the headings or subheadings on your pages. For example, on a product page for a facial oil, you might have an FAQ section with questions like “Will this oil cause breakouts?” or “How should I layer this with other products?” By phrasing content as Q&A, you match the format ChatGPT often uses to provide answers, making it easy for the AI to extract and reuse your text.
- Incorporate user intent and context in answers: When you answer a question in your content, consider the intent behind it. If someone asks “best foundation for flash photography,” they really care about no flashback and long wear. So your answer should directly address that: “For flash photography, you want a foundation with no SPF (to avoid white flashback) and a long-wearing matte finish so you don’t get shiny.”
Addressing these nuances makes your content more likely to be deemed relevant when ChatGPT parses it for an answer.
- Include FAQ sections site-wide: Beyond product pages, consider an FAQ page or knowledge base for your brand. Questions like “Is your packaging recyclable?”, “Do you test on animals?”, or “How long does shipping take?”, these are all potential user queries. If ChatGPT is asked about your brand’s policies or practical info, it might just pull from your FAQ page. Mark this page up with FAQ schema too.
Basically, shape your content like the answers to the questions people ask. Not only does this improve your chances with ChatGPT, but it also enhances user experience on your site. If your content reads like a helpful answer, the AI can confidently use it as such.
Leverage customer reviews and mentions for credibility
In an AI-driven search world, your brand’s reputation and the “buzz” about your products significantly influence whether an AI recommends you. ChatGPT’s knowledge includes the collective voices of the internet, things like reviews, ratings, and blog mentions of your brand. You’ll want to create a positive UGC and external validation.
- Grow and highlight reviews on your site: Integrating reviews into product pages is important. For example, if a user asks, “What do people say about [Your Brand]’s moisturiser?” ChatGPT might summarise common sentiments from reviews (“Users frequently praise its lightweight feel and pleasant scent”). Encourage customers to leave detailed reviews, and consider questions in review forms like “What did you like most about this product?” to mention specific benefits (e.g. “absorbs quickly, no oily residue”). The language real customers use often aligns with how potential customers might inquire (someone else might ask the AI “Is it greasy or does it absorb quickly?” and the AI, recalling reviews, can answer).
- Off-site reviews and ratings: Don’t ignore platforms like Google Maps (if you have a physical store or spa), Yelp, Amazon (if you sell there), Sephora/Ulta reviews, etc. Happy customers should be gently nudged to share feedback on third-party sites. If ChatGPT has access to that information via its training, a strong overall rating and positive sentiment can tip the balance. ChatGPT cites Reddit 11.3% of the time according to a Profund study, so get people talking about your beauty brand there also.
Digital PR and brand mentions: Work on getting your brand featured in relevant contexts. For mid-size beauty brands, this could mean pitching to “best of” list roundups (e.g. an editor’s “Top 10 Organic Skincare Brands” blog) or collaborating with influencers whose content might be scraped or summarised by AI. If ChatGPT has seen “XYZ Brand’s cleanser” recommended in multiple articles, it adds to the AI’s confidence to suggest that brand. Essentially, the more your brand is talked about online in a positive light, the more it seeps into the AI’s knowledge. An Organic Labs study put brand mentions and digital PR, near the top of it’s list when it comes to confidence for LLM optimisation strategies.
To cultivate a strong, positive presence in user-generated content and third-party validations, ChatGPT strives to give recommendations that it “feels” are proven and safe. By making sure lots of real users vouch for you, you increase the likelihood that an AI will feel confident recommending your beauty products as well.
Optimise money pages, product & category pages
We’ve covered content and credibility broadly; now let’s zero in on how to fine-tune your product and category pages themselves for AI contexts, since these are the bread-and-butter of your e-commerce store.
- Product pages with AI-friendly summaries: Think of your product page as something that should still “make sense” to users, search engines and AI. Start with a concise, benefit-driven intro sentence or two at the top of each product description (before any “Read more” cut or accordion). For example: “Our BrightGlow Serum is a vitamin C treatment that fades dark spots and boosts radiance in just 2 weeks.” This acts like an executive summary. Should an AI scan the page, that line can serve as a quick answer to “What does this product do and who is it for?” Many AI models will grab the first relevant lines they see. By front-loading the key info (product purpose, key benefits, timeframes, skin types, etc.), you ensure the AI picks up the right context
- Include structured data (Product and FAQ schema): Schema isn’t just for Google, it helps any AI better comprehend page content. Use Product schema to mark up name, description, image, price, availability, brand, and reviews on each product page. This explicit metadata means that if an AI tool looks at your page’s code, it immediately knows the vital stats of the product. There is no evidence that schema improves your chances of being referenced by ChatGPT, but a recent study seemed to show that pages with schema markup had a 30% increase in the quality of data pulled through by ChatGPT.
- Category pages (or product listing pages) with context and UGC: Category pages are tricky for AI, they often have lists of products but not much descriptive text. To fix that, add a brief, helpful paragraph at the top of each category page describing what’s in the category and offering shopping tips. E.g., on a “Moisturisers” category, “Find our range of face moisturisers for all skin types, from lightweight gels for oily skin to rich creams for deep hydration. Learn how to pick the perfect moisturiser in our guide below.” Keep it natural and not just SEO keyword stuffing.
- Interlinking and context: Within product descriptions, you can subtly link to educational content (“Read our blog on how to layer serums and moisturisers”), which not only helps users but also shows the AI you have supporting content. Also, on blog pages or buying guides, link to the relevant products or categories. This helps create an internal knowledge graph for your site, which might be mirrored in how AI perceives associations.
Tuning your product and category pages in these ways makes them much more legible and appealing to AI systems. Essentially, you’re laying out the information such that if ChatGPT “scanned” your page, it would instantly grasp the key points a human would care about (and therefore it can relay those to a user). This increases the likelihood that your specific products are the ones the AI ends up recommending or at least mentioning in its answers.
Strengthen technical soundness
Behind the scenes of great content is a solid technical foundation. ChatGPT and similar AIs, when browsing, behave like supercharged web crawlers. They need to be able to find, crawl, and interpret your content quickly and accurately. That’s where technical SEO comes in.
- Ensure your site can be crawled: ChatGPT can only access content that’s publicly available and easily indexed. So make sure your website doesn’t have any technical barriers that would prevent AI from reading it. Check your robots.txt file and meta tags: Nothing should limit the crawlability of important content. Fast loading times and a clean HTML structure also make it easier for AI systems to process your pages.
- Get indexed on Bing: Since ChatGPT with browsing relies on Bing’s results, it’s critical that Bing has your latest content. Use Bing Webmaster Tools to submit your XML sitemap and monitor indexing Just as you would with Google, ensure Bing knows about new product pages, blog posts, etc. If your site is well-indexed on Bing, ChatGPT is more likely to “see” it when looking for an answer. However, there are now reports that ChatGPT is also using Google to train and power ChatGPT results.
- Monitor crawl activity: Check your server logs or use analytics to detect AI bot visits. You might see Mozilla/5.0 (compatible; OpenAI-GPTBot/1.0; +https://openai.com/gptbot) in your logs, that’s GPTBot. If you notice certain sections being crawled heavily, make sure those areas are well-optimised. If, say, your ingredients glossary is being hit often (maybe people ask ChatGPT about ingredient definitions), you’d want to ensure that the glossary is comprehensive and up-to-date.
- Static, crawlable content and avoid heavy scripts: Ensure that important info on product and category pages is in the HTML. Some e-commerce sites load descriptions or reviews in via JavaScript after the fact; this might be missed by crawlers. Use server-side rendering, or at least the initial content should contain the essentials. Also, avoid putting text in images. If you have a comparison chart or a table on a category page (“Our Vitamin C Serums Comparison”), also provide that info in text form or HTML table format. You want every fact and feature to be something an AI can read.
Treat AI crawlers with the same importance as search engine crawlers. By making your site fully accessible to them, you set the stage for your content to be consumed and learned by AI models. This is the foundational step to any further optimisation.
Conclusion
Remember, traditional SEO and AI optimisation go hand in hand. Think of AI search optimisation (or GEO) as building on what you already know about SEO, but with more emphasis on conversational language, E-E-A-T, and positive brand mentions across the internet. So you’re not throwing away what you know, you’re improving it.
At Foundation, a specialist beauty marketing agency, we tell clients the secret to SEO success is attacking all three areas, technical SEO, content and digital PR. The same three principles are also the same for the new age of AI search and GEO. Optimising your beauty website for ChatGPT and AI search is the next step in SEO and content marketing. It’s about meeting your customers where they’re asking the questions.
As AI search grows, those who get in early will have a strong presence in this space. You can get ahead of the competition by being the answer that consumers trust. So keep an eye on the landscape, keep your content fresh and user-focused and adapt fast to new developments.
Get in touch with a member of our team to find out how we can help your beauty brand appear in more AI search results and ensure your website is fully optimised for AI. Optimising for AI is no longer just a nice-to-have; it’s essential.
