ChatGPT:
How to Make Your B2B Offering Visible in ChatGPT & Co. – With Generative Engine Optimization
A customer is standing at the machine. A component is worn out. Now things have to move fast: identify the right spare part, place the order, and get production back up and running.
Instead of flipping through manuals or searching the website, they simply ask ChatGPT:
“Where can I get the right spare part for an XYZ industrial pump, model year 2018?”
And the AI delivers a concrete answer – including the part number, supplier, and sometimes even installation instructions.
Whether that answer is accurate – or even refers to your company – no longer depends on how well your website ranks on Google. It now depends on whether your content can be understood and used by generative AI systems like ChatGPT, Perplexity, or Gemini.
This is exactly where Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) comes into play.
This new form of digital visibility strategy ensures that your products, services, and support offerings appear where people are actually looking for solutions today: in AI-generated answers.
GEO Explained: The New Discipline for Visibility in AI-Powered Search
Generative Engine Optimization refers to the targeted optimization of content, structures, and digital sources to ensure that your products and services appear in the responses of generative AI systems like ChatGPT, Perplexity, or Gemini.
Information search is changing:
Instead of browsing through lengthy product catalogs, customers now simply ask an AI a question.
Whether your solution is part of the answer depends on how machine-readable, understandable, and publicly accessible your information is.
- Your potential buyers increasingly use generative AI to learn about products, applications, and spare parts.
- These systems pull information from publicly available sources such as documentation, FAQs, support pages, or developer portals.
- Only those who communicate in a structured, clear, and accessible way will be included in the answers.
And how does GEO differ from SEO?
Traditional SEO
- Visibility in search engines
- Goal: Clicks to your website
- Ranking through keywords & backlinks
- Focus on website traffic
Generative Engine Optimization
- Visibility in AI-generated answers
- Goal: Being mentioned in the response
- Relevance through context & data structure
- Focus on presence in the AI’s dialogue with the user
For B2B companies with complex products, a wide range of spare parts, or customized services, GEO is emerging as a new form of digital product presence. It’s no longer just about being found — it’s about being understood. By machines and by customers.
How Generative AI Systems Discover Content – and What B2B Companies Should Keep in Mind
When your potential customers ask ChatGPT, Perplexity, or Gemini where to buy a specific product, find a spare part, or get a particular solution, these systems don’t generate their answers out of thin air. They rely on various data sources – and the way your content appears in those sources determines your visibility.
How Generative Systems Find Information
Many B2B companies have extensive information – but it often suffers from the following issues:
- Hidden behind logins (e.g., spare parts catalogs)
- Not structured in a search engine- or AI-friendly way (e.g., as PDFs without semantic formatting)
- Written in a language that generative systems can’t clearly interpret
The result: The content exists – but it’s invisible to AI.
What Does This Mean in Practice for B2B Companies?
Many B2B companies have extensive information – but it often suffers from the following issues:
- Hidden behind logins (e.g., spare parts catalogs)
- Not structured in a search engine- or AI-friendly way (e.g., as PDFs without semantic formatting)
- Written in a language that generative systems can’t clearly interpret
The result: The content exists – but it’s invisible to AI.
What You Should Take Away from This:
- Your digital content must be understandable not only to humans – but also to machines.
- The better your product data, use cases, service descriptions, or application examples are structured and publicly accessible, the higher your chances of appearing in an AI-generated response.
- Those who act early will position themselves as solution providers in the world of generative search.
Use Cases for GEO: From Spare Parts to Quotation Processes
Generative Engine Optimization isn’t an abstract topic of the future – it’s already shaping your customers’ everyday experience. More and more people are turning to generative AI systems like ChatGPT to get answers to specific questions that would previously have been found in a manual, at a trade show, or through a sales representative.
Especially in the B2B space, where products often require explanation and services are highly customized, the value of GEO becomes clear across a wide range of scenarios.
Simplifying Spare Parts Procurement
“Which spare part fits the XYZ pump, model year 2018?”
“Where can I reorder sealing ring 405AB for our compressor?”
When generative systems answer questions like these, they rely on publicly available data, structured product information, or technical documentation.
Companies that provide their spare parts data in a clear, accessible, and easy-to-understand format gain a real competitive advantage – because they become part of the solution at the crucial moment.
Configurable Products & Digital Consultation
“Which supplier offers height-adjustable workbenches for production halls?”
“What should I consider when choosing an industrial LED for food production?”
AI systems process not only concrete product data but also application knowledge and industry-specific requirements.
Companies that share their expertise publicly – for example through structured FAQs, application examples, or technical whitepapers – increase their chances of being included in AI-generated answers to advisory queries.
Quotation & Procurement Processes
“Who offers EDI integration for supplier portals in mechanical engineering?”
“How can I automate recurring orders – without modifying my ERP system?”
Especially when it comes to complex services or process-related questions, generative systems piece together a complete picture from many small data points.
If your solution-related content is clear, context-rich, and publicly accessible, visibility is created – not through advertising, but through relevance.
These examples show:
GEO isn’t just a technology topic – it’s a matter of communication and structure. And that’s exactly where your opportunity lies:
With relatively simple measures, you can ensure that your products, solutions, and expertise become visible where your customers are looking for answers today.
What B2B Companies Can Do in Practice – GEO Strategies That Work
The good news: Generative Engine Optimization isn’t rocket science. Many companies already have the content needed to gain visibility – it’s just not prepared in a way that AI systems can access and understand. GEO doesn’t mean reinventing everything from scratch. It means making your existing knowledge purposefully accessible and machine-readable.
- Present product information, services, and use cases as clearly, contextually, and publicly as possible
- Avoid relying solely on PDF downloads, closed portals, or marketing phrases without substance
- Use semantically clear headings, lists, tables, and FAQs
- Turn common questions from consulting or support into structured FAQ pages
- Make product documentation, manuals, and interface information available online – not just internally, but in an accessible format
- Publish use cases and project examples publicly, even in simplified or generic form
- Publish content not only on your own website, but also on industry portals, developer platforms, or open documentation platforms
- Monitor where and how your content already appears in AI-generated responses
- Identify gaps in digital visibility: What do AI systems know about your company – and what do they (still) not?
- Raise awareness among marketing, sales, and service teams to prepare content not only for target audiences but also for AI systems
- Integrate GEO aspects into editorial processes: structure, language, accessibility, and context
GEO isn’t just another item on a long digitalization checklist – it’s a lever to make better use of existing investments in content, product data, and expertise. And all with one clear goal:
To be visible in the next answer when your customers ask a question.
Conclusion & Outlook: Visibility No Longer Starts with Google – It Starts with the Next Question
Whether it’s about spare parts procurement, product selection, or the quotation process – Generative Engine Optimization helps B2B companies become visible exactly where their customers are looking for solutions today: in generative AI systems.
The real challenge isn’t the technology – it’s communication:
Are your contents clear, accessible, and structured enough to be processed and referenced by AI systems?
If yes, you won’t just be found – you’ll be understood as part of the solution.
If not, your expertise may remain invisible – even though it already exists.
Your Next Step: Identify GEO Opportunities
As an agency specializing in e-commerce, SAP integration, and cloud technologies, we help B2B companies to:
- Identify relevant content
- Structure it in a machine-readable way
- And make it visible to AI systems
Curious how visible your company already is – and where untapped potential lies?