I Asked ChatGPT to Recommend My SaaS. It Didn't. Here's How I Fixed It.

Your competitors are getting recommended by ChatGPT. You’re not. That’s not bad luck. That’s a GEO problem.

I’ve watched dozens of SaaS companies realize this too late. They spent years perfecting their SEO, ranking on page one for their target keywords, only to discover that buyers aren’t searching Google anymore. They’re asking AI.

Why GEO Matters More Than Ever

The shift happened faster than anyone predicted. In 2024, AI assistants were novelties. By 2026, they’re integrated into how people make purchasing decisions.

When a VP of Engineering asks Claude “What’s the best observability tool for Kubernetes?”, your product either gets mentioned or it doesn’t. There’s no page two. There’s no “below the fold.” You’re either in the recommendation or you’re invisible.

How GEO Differs from SEO

SEO optimizes for algorithms that rank pages based on keywords, backlinks, and engagement metrics. GEO optimizes for language models that synthesize information from across the web to generate recommendations.

The biggest difference? SEO is about your website. GEO is about what people say about you elsewhere.

The Three Pillars of GEO

1. Structured Clarity

LLMs need to understand what your product does, who it’s for, and why it’s different. Vague marketing language fails here.

Bad: “We help teams work better together.” Good: “Project management software for engineering teams of 10-50 people, focused on sprint planning and async standups.”

The more specific you are, the more likely an LLM can match your product to a specific query. For hands-on guidance on this, see how to optimize your landing page for LLM recommendations.

2. Authority Signals

LLMs weight sources by perceived authority. This includes:

• Mentions in reputable publications
• Discussions on Reddit and Hacker News
• Customer reviews on G2, Capterra, and similar platforms
• Expert endorsements and comparisons

You can’t fake authority signals. LLMs are trained to detect patterns of authentic endorsement versus astroturfing.

3. Recency and Relevance

Training data has cutoff dates, but LLMs increasingly use retrieval systems that access current information. Active discussions about your product signal ongoing relevance.

A product mentioned heavily in 2023 but silent since will lose ground to competitors with recent buzz.

Reddit’s Role in GEO

Reddit is disproportionately important for GEO because:

1. LLMs are trained on Reddit data
2. AI assistants actively cite Reddit threads
3. Reddit discussions carry high authenticity signals
4. The upvote system provides quality filtering

When someone asks an AI for software recommendations, Reddit threads are often the source material for that recommendation. We cover the mechanics of this in depth in our post on how LLMs decide what software to recommend.

Building a GEO Strategy

Common GEO Mistakes

Thinking you can game it. LLMs are trained on massive datasets and are increasingly good at detecting inauthentic content. Astroturfing gets detected and creates negative signals.

Focusing only on your website. Your website matters for SEO. For GEO, what matters is what others say about you. A beautifully optimized landing page won’t help if no one’s discussing your product. That said, understanding how GEO and SEO work together helps you invest wisely in both.

Expecting fast results. SEO can show results in months. GEO compounds over years. The companies winning at GEO today started building their presence 2-3 years ago.

Ignoring negative mentions. LLMs see everything. A few negative Reddit threads can influence how AI describes your product. Responding thoughtfully to criticism is part of GEO.

The Long Game

GEO isn’t a campaign. It’s a shift in how you think about distribution.

The SaaS companies that will dominate their categories in 2028 are the ones investing in authentic community presence today. They’re the ones participating in Reddit threads without pitching. Writing genuinely helpful content. Building relationships with power users who become advocates.

This can’t be rushed. It can’t be faked. And that’s exactly why it’s valuable.