How I Got My Business Recommended by AI — A Real GEO Case Study
Everyone is talking about SEO. But very few people are talking about what happens when your potential customer stops typing into Google and starts asking an AI instead. That shift is already happening, and I wanted to see it for myself.
The Experiment
I tested a simple but highly specific query — “who is a halal consultant to get halal cert from Malaysia” — directly into an AI chat interface. This is exactly the kind of question a business owner would ask when they are trying to get JAKIM halal certification and do not know where to start. No brand names, no specific websites. Just a genuine, intent-driven question.
The AI gave a structured response. It listed trusted halal consultancy providers in Malaysia, explained what they do, and provided context around JAKIM’s official process. Three businesses made the cut. One of them was mine — GetHalalMalaysia / Cert Halal JAKIM Consultant, listed as providing end-to-end guidance including gap analysis, documentation support, and submission readiness.
Why This Matters
When someone asks an AI a question like this, they are not browsing. They are ready to act. They want a recommendation, and the AI gives them one. If your business is in that answer, you are essentially getting a warm referral from the most trusted source in the room. If you are not in that answer, you do not exist in that moment — even if you rank on page one of Google.
This is the core idea behind Generative Engine Optimisation, or GEO. It is the practice of structuring your content, your online presence, and your credibility signals in a way that makes AI models recognise your business as a reliable, relevant answer to specific queries.
What Made It Work
My listing appeared because the AI had enough structured, credible information about GetHalalMalaysia to associate it with this specific need. That comes down to a few things — clear service descriptions that match how people naturally phrase their problems, presence on platforms and directories that AI models trust as sources, and content that speaks to the full journey a client goes through, not just a generic “we offer halal consulting” statement.
The AI did not just list a name. It described what the business does in plain language. That means somewhere in the content it pulled from, the value proposition was clear enough to be summarised accurately and confidently.
The Bigger Point
GEO is not a replacement for SEO. It is the next layer. As more people shift their research behaviour toward AI-first queries, the businesses that show up in AI-generated answers will have a significant edge over those that do not. Getting recommended by an AI to a high-intent user is, arguably, more valuable than a top-three Google ranking — because the AI has already done the filtering for them.
If your business is not showing up when AI is asked about your industry, it is worth asking why. Chances are, the content and signals that AI models rely on simply have not been optimised for this kind of discovery yet.
That is exactly the gap GEO is designed to close.