Getting found in Gemini and Copilot, not just ChatGPT
Gemini searches the Google index, Copilot searches Bing. If you only think about ChatGPT, you miss two assistants built into Android, Windows and Office. Here is how to cover all three.
New to this topic? Start with What Is GEO? Generative Engine Optimization Explained
The short answer
Gemini takes its sources from the Google index, Copilot from the Bing index. To appear in those answers, you first need to be properly indexed in both: a sitemap submitted to Google and to Bing, pages that can be read without JavaScript, and a ping to Bing whenever you publish something new. After that, what counts for every AI search engine counts here too: one question per page, the answer at the top, facts that can be checked.
Why not just ChatGPT
When business owners talk about AI search, they usually mean ChatGPT. That makes sense, it is the best-known name. But a large share of the AI answers your customers see does not come from ChatGPT:
- Gemini is built into Google itself, in the AI answers above the search results, on every Android phone and in Gmail and Docs.
- Copilot is built into Windows, the Edge browser and Microsoft 365, the suite many offices work in all day.
A buyer who asks Copilot in Outlook which supplier to call gets an answer from the Bing index. If you are not in it, you are not mentioned, no matter how well you rank in Google.
Gemini: the Google index
For Gemini the basics are simple: what Google does not know, Gemini does not mention. The signals Google uses also weigh in on which sources Gemini picks. Your Google Business Profile, your reviews, the speed of your site and how clearly your pages answer a question.
What to check:
- Are your pages indexed? Search Console shows per page whether Google knows it.
- Is your text readable without JavaScript? A site that only builds its text in the browser is sometimes empty to crawlers.
- Is your Business Profile correct? For local questions Gemini relies heavily on that profile.
More on writing for the AI answers in Google in writing so AI cites you.
Copilot: the Bing index
Copilot is where it goes wrong more often, because hardly anyone thinks about Bing. Bing has its own index, its own crawlers and its own console: Bing Webmaster Tools.
Three things to do specifically for Bing:
- Add your site to Bing Webmaster Tools and submit your sitemap there too. You can import your Search Console data, it takes five minutes.
- Use IndexNow. It pings Bing as soon as you publish or change a page. Without that ping it can take weeks before a new page appears in Bing.
- Check that Bingbot may read your site. An overly strict setting at your host or in robots.txt sometimes shuts it out by accident.
What Gemini, Copilot and ChatGPT have in common
Apart from the index, all three look for the same kind of page:
| What | Why |
|---|---|
| One question as the topic | The assistant looks for a page that answers exactly its question |
| The answer in the first paragraph | That passage is what it quotes |
| Concrete facts | Amounts, timelines and steps get cited more often |
| Headings, lists, tables | Easy to read for people and machines |
| A question block at the end | Ready-made passages to cite |
How to get there with less time is covered in optimising for AI search engines.
How to measure whether it works
AI answers differ every time. One test says little. Work with fixed questions:
- Write down ten questions your customers ask, in their own words.
- Ask them every month to Gemini, Copilot and ChatGPT, the same way.
- Note whether you are mentioned and which other sources appear.
That last column is gold: the sources that do get mentioned show what kind of page the assistant is looking for.
How dGENIX helps
In dGENIX the GEO Engine does part of this work for you. It checks whether the crawlers of AI assistants may read your site, rates how citable your pages are and creates an llms.txt for your site. You simply ask GENI: "check whether my site is readable for AI search engines". What the engine does exactly is on the GEO Engine page.
For the Google side, connect Google Search Console to your assistant. Then ask "which pages got impressions but no clicks this month?" and you get a list to work with.
A real-world example
Take an installation company in Utrecht with a good site and a strong Business Profile. In Google it ranks at the top for "heat pump installer Utrecht", and Gemini mentions it regularly. But in Copilot it never appears. The cause turns out to be simple: the site was never added to Bing Webmaster Tools, and a security setting at the host was blocking Bingbot. After adding the site, submitting the sitemap and allowing the crawler, the pages are in Bing within a week. A month later Copilot mentions the company for part of the fixed questions.
The lesson: if you only look at Google, you never see this kind of problem. So check Bing too in every monthly review, and ask your fixed questions to all three assistants.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to do anything different for Gemini than for Google?
Mostly not. What works for Google is the basis for Gemini. The difference is in the form: pages that answer one question, short and verifiable.
How quickly will I appear in Copilot?
With a sitemap in Bing and IndexNow, a new page is often indexed within days. Whether Copilot mentions it depends on the question and on what else exists on the topic.
Can I pay to be mentioned?
Not in the answer itself. Ads are separate from the sources an assistant picks.
Can dGENIX track this for me every month?
Yes. With a scheduled task you have GENI run a GEO check every month and summarise the outcome. Read how in scheduled tasks explained.
