Two moments where this decides the outcome
- Someone asks about you by name. A recruiter, client or investor types your name into ChatGPT or Google before a call. What comes back either backs up your pitch or contradicts it.
- Someone asks AI to find people like you. "Find me a freelance brand designer in Berlin" or "recommend a career coach for tech workers" — increasingly answered from indexed pages, not directories.
What actually gets you cited
- Answer the question before it's asked. State plainly who you are, what you do, and who it's for — in the first two sentences. Models quote what is unambiguous.
- Use real, semantic HTML. A single clean page with a real <title>, one clear H1 and short paragraphs is far easier for a model to parse and quote than a PDF or a JS-heavy profile.
- Add structured data. Schema markup (Person, FAQ) gives models an unambiguous, machine-readable summary of you — reach adds this automatically.
- Get named, get linked. Models weight pages that other trusted pages point to. Link your site from LinkedIn, GitHub, X and any bio field you own.
This is Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) — SEO’s successor. Google still matters, but a growing share of searches now end inside an AI answer instead of a list of blue links. If that answer is built from your online presence, you want it built from your best source.
FAQ
Can I really influence what ChatGPT says about me?
Yes, indirectly. You cannot edit a model’s output directly, but you can control the sources it draws from. A clear, structured personal website with your name, positioning and FAQ schema gives it a strong, citable source instead of scraps.
What is GEO (Generative Engine Optimization)?
GEO is the practice of structuring content so AI answer engines like ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews can parse, trust and cite it — the same instinct as SEO, adapted for answers instead of rankings.
Does a personal website help more than a LinkedIn profile for this?
Usually yes. LinkedIn is one page among millions with an identical template; a personal website is a distinct, structured source with your name in the title and full control over the framing AI will quote.