Your competitors are already showing up in ChatGPT answers. When a potential customer types in a question about your industry, they get a recommendation that is not your business. That gap costs you leads every single day.
BrightEdge found that AI Overviews appeared in over 11% of Google queries, a 22% increase since launch, while Google search impressions increased by over 49% and click-through rates declined by nearly 30%.
This creates both a risk and an opportunity for SME businesses in Malaysia.
Here’s what drives AI citations, what Newnormz has observed working for businesses in Malaysia, and the practical steps you can take to start earning those mentions.
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What Does It Mean to Get Cited by ChatGPT?
AI citation happens when a large language model references your brand, website, or content as part of its answer to a user query.
The model is not using a live search database in all instances but it has been trained on vast amounts of web content, and platforms with browsing capability actively pull from indexed sources.
Getting cited could look like this: a user asks ChatGPT which SEO agency in Kuala Lumpur delivers measurable results, and Newnormz appears in the answer. That single mention can carry more trust than a paid ad, because the user perceives it as an objective recommendation.
The discipline that focuses on earning these citations is called Generative Engine Optimization, or GEO. Alongside traditional SEO, GEO is becoming a core pillar of digital marketing strategy for businesses serious about long-term AI visibility.
Learn more about what is AEO and detailed comparison of search for AI SEO in Malaysia.
Contact Newnormz today and get a practical action plan built around better visibility, stronger trust signals, and higher quality enquiries.
Why GEO Matters More Than Ever for Malaysian SMEs
Deloitte’s APAC GenAI research found that Southeast Asia ranked 2nd out of 9 locations for GenAI use, with students and employees leading adoption across markets including Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam.
The commercial implication is clear. When your target customers use ChatGPT to research a purchase decision, an agency to hire, or a service provider to compare, the businesses that appear in those answers earn qualified attention at zero ad spend.
| Signal | Traditional SEO | GEO / AEO | Priority |
| Keyword rankings | High | Medium | Both |
| Structured data | Medium | High | GEO |
| Brand mentions | Low | High | GEO |
| Citation in AI answers | None | High | GEO |
| Authoritative backlinks | High | High | Both |
The table above illustrates a core reality: GEO and SEO share many of the same foundations. Businesses that invest in both position themselves to capture traffic from search engines and citations from AI systems simultaneously.
6 Practical Steps to Get Cited by ChatGPT
Getting cited by ChatGPT starts with making your content easy for AI systems to understand, trust, and extract as a clear answer.
1. Build Content Around Clear Topic Clusters
ChatGPT is more likely to recognise brands that show consistent expertise in one subject area. Instead of publishing disconnected articles, group your content around topics your customers already search for.
For Newnormz, this could include content clusters around SEO, AI search visibility, Google AI Overviews, local SEO, technical SEO, and content strategy.
Action step: Choose 8 to 12 core topics in your niche and create supporting articles that link back to your main service or pillar pages.
2. Make Every Page Easy to Extract
AI tools favour content that gives direct, organised answers. A page should make the main point early, then support it with useful context.
Clear headings, short answer paragraphs, comparison tables, FAQs, and internal links can help AI systems understand what your page is about.
Action step: Review your key pages and check if each section answers one clear question.
3. Add Schema Markup Where It Matters
Schema markup gives AI search engines cleaner signals about your business, services, authors, articles, and FAQs. It does not guarantee AI citations, but it helps crawlers read your content more accurately.
Useful schema types include LocalBusiness, FAQPage, Article, Service, and Review Schema.
Action step: Start with your homepage, service pages, blog articles, and FAQ sections.
4. Strengthen Your Brand Signals Across the Web
AI systems also look beyond your website. Consistent brand mentions, quality backlinks, local review SEO in Malaysia, local citations in Malaysia, and media references help connect your brand to your area of expertise.
For Malaysian businesses, this can include Google Business Profile in Malaysia, business directories, industry websites, partner pages, media mentions, and credible guest articles.
Action step: Make sure your brand name, business details, website link, and service descriptions are consistent across major online profiles.
5. Answer High Intent Questions Directly
Content that gets cited often answers a specific question clearly. Instead of writing broad topics, focus on what your target customers ask before they choose a provider.
For example, a page that clearly explains “how to get cited by ChatGPT” is stronger than a general page about AI and SEO.
Action step: Turn customer questions into dedicated sections, FAQs, and supporting articles.
6. Show Real Expertise and Proof
AI search platforms are more likely to trust content that shows real business credibility. Generic content is easier to ignore, especially when many competitors are writing about the same topic.
Add named authors, professional bios, case studies, client results, portfolio links, updated dates, and a clear review process where relevant.
Action step: Add credibility signals to important articles and service pages, especially pages targeting SEO, AI search, and lead generation keywords.
Find out more on how to manage LLM SEO optimisation to ensure that your business is cited by ChatGPT.
Newnormz, your go-to GEO agency in Malaysia, has helped businesses across multiple industries build the digital authority needed to appear in AI-generated answers through out AI SEO services.
Book a free website audit call with the Newnormz team. We will assess your current AI citation potential, identify the highest-priority gaps, and give you a clear roadmap to start appearing where your customers are searching.
Measuring Your AI Citation Progress
AI citations do not have a single dashboard. Tracking your progress requires a combination of methods:
- Manual testing: regularly query ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews with your target questions and note which brands appear
- Brand monitoring: use tools like Brand24 or Mention to track where your brand name appears online, including AI-generated content
- Traffic analysis: monitor referral traffic sources in Google Analytics 4 for spikes from AI-adjacent platforms
- Backlink velocity: track new referring domains in Ahrefs or SEMrush as a proxy for growing brand authority
Timelines for Malaysian businesses starting from a low baseline range from 3 to 6 months before measurable citation improvements appear.
The businesses that see the fastest gains are those that combine technical SEO, structured content creation, and consistent brand-building activities simultaneously.
Show Up Where Your Customers Are Looking on ChatGPT
AI-powered search is already changing the way customers discover businesses. Before they click a website, send an enquiry, or compare service providers, many are already asking ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Perplexity, and other AI search tools for direction.
Your business should be part of those answers.
Newnormz helps Malaysian SMEs strengthen their website content, technical SEO, schema markup, brand signals, and authority building so they can improve visibility across search engines and AI-powered platforms.
Speak to Newnormz today and get a clearer view of what your website needs to become a source that AI tools can understand, trust, and recommend.
Frequently Asked Questions About Cited by ChatGPT
As the Core Strategists at Newnormz, we don’t just follow digital trends, we engineer them. Our team bridges the gap between technical precision and creative growth, ensuring that every SEO campaign, ad spend, and web interface serves a single purpose: scaling your business with measurable ROI. By blending data-driven insights with a deep understanding of market psychology, we transform digital presences into high-performance engines. At Newnormz, our strategy is simple: Think bigger, optimize faster, and lead the norm.
