You're in an unusual spot compared to most businesses we audit: one AI engine already recommends you strongly, but the other doesn't mention you at all, and the technical basics that would lock in a win on both are largely missing. The good news is that's a much easier fix than starting from zero.
Before we start: what changed
For 20 years, "getting found online" meant Google. You optimized your website so it ranked in Google search and showed up on Google Maps - that's called SEO (Search Engine Optimization), and most businesses have at least done the basics.
But more and more people now ask AI assistants - ChatGPT, Grok, Gemini - instead of typing into Google. "Best guesthouse in Bloemfontein", "is this guesthouse legit", "how do I book a room with a view in Bloemfontein" - these questions used to go to Google. Now they increasingly go straight to an AI, which gives one direct answer instead of a list of links.
The problem: SEO doesn't automatically carry over. An AI reads your website completely differently to Google, and most businesses' sites - even ones that rank well on Google - are invisible or wrong when an AI is asked about them directly. This is called AEO/GEO (Answer Engine / Generative Engine Optimization): making sure AI assistants can find you, describe you correctly, and recommend you.
Below, we actually asked ChatGPT and Gemini about your business, live, today - so you can see exactly what your customers see when they ask AI instead of Google.
What the AI engines say about you right now
Try this yourself:
open ChatGPT or Gemini and type exactly this - it's the same natural, open question a real stranger who has never heard of this business would type, not a search for the business by name:
The exact question we asked
“best guesthouse in Bloemfontein”
You'll see the same result shown below. This isn't a claim to take on trust - it's repeatable.
ChatGPTYES
Yes - named 2nd of 4, with a specific callout: Dias Guest House (top pick), A Little Guesthouse, Abiento Guesthouse
GeminiNO
No - not mentioned at all: Juliet Rose Luxury Guesthouse, Orchard Guest House, De Akker Guest House, Loft Bella Vita, St Eve Lodge
ChatGPT's answer named Franklin View directly, described it as a "modern luxury guesthouse with panoramic city views" popular with "business travellers and couples seeking a more upscale experience," and closed with: "If you're looking for a romantic or luxury stay, Franklin View Guesthouse is probably the better option." That's a genuinely strong result - most businesses we audit get a flat no from both engines.
Gemini's answer to the exact same question listed five other guesthouses and didn't mention Franklin View once. Since Gemini powers the AI Overviews shown at the top of ordinary Google searches, this is real lost visibility on the search engine you're probably already relying on most.
Where the AI's information about you actually comes from.
As a follow-up in the same conversation, we asked each engine directly by name: "What can you tell me about Franklin View Guesthouse in Bloemfontein specifically? Where did you get that information from?" Both answers were accurate - no factual errors or invented details. Both correctly named your hosts Marietjie and Gustav Swanepoel, your location on Naval Hill overlooking Waverley, and your amenities (splash pool, fireplace lounge, breakfast, balconies). Notably, both engines said they partly drew on your own website, franklinview.co.za, alongside Tripadvisor, Booking.com, LekkeSlaap and SA-Venues.com. That's rare - in most audits we run, the business's own site isn't cited at all. It's a sign your site already has some real substance an AI can use; the fixes below are about giving it more to work with, and about closing the gap that's making Gemini skip you entirely in the open search.
Note: this reflects one live test, today. AI assistant answers can vary between sessions, accounts, and over time - so treat this as a real, current snapshot of what customers see, not a permanently fixed score. The underlying gaps found below are what actually need fixing, regardless of small variation in the exact wording an engine gives on a different day.
Scorecard
AI crawlers allowed10/10
robots.txt has no blocks at all and correctly points to your sitemap.
llms.txt (AI guide file)0/10
No llms.txt file exists. This is a short file that gives AI assistants a clean, direct summary of who you are - an easy, cheap win.
Schema markup (machine-readable facts)2/10
Your site only has the generic boilerplate your SEO plugin adds automatically (WebPage, WebSite, Organization). There's no guesthouse-specific schema at all - no address, phone, room types, or price range in a format AI can read directly, and no FAQ schema.
Answer-first content5/10
Your homepage does state what you are in plain text ("an up market Guesthouse situated on the Northern slopes of Naval Hill... over the suburb of Waverley") - but it never actually says the word "Bloemfontein." The city name only appears in a guest's review quote, not in your own description. Someone asking an AI about "Bloemfontein" specifically is relying on the AI to make that connection itself.
FAQ coverage0/10
No FAQ section anywhere on the site - not on the homepage, not on any of the 30 pages in your sitemap.
Essential facts on site4/10
Phone and email are consistent everywhere they appear. Your physical address is on the Contact and Directions pages, but not the homepage. There is no pricing or rate information anywhere as readable text - it's entirely hidden behind the external NightsBridge booking widget. No check-in/check-out times are published anywhere either.
Crawlability6/10
The site is real, readable HTML (not JavaScript-only), your sitemap correctly lists all 30 pages, and there's no cookie wall or age gate blocking content. One real gap: your homepage has zero H1 heading tags - the main heading AI and search engines look to first to understand what a page is about.
Off-site authority7/10
TripAdvisor and Booking.com badges are on your site, your Facebook page is live, and you have genuine guest reviews with real names shown on-site. Both ChatGPT and Gemini independently referenced strong third-party ratings when asked about you by name - a good sign of real off-site reputation feeding into what AI already knows.
Live AI test6/10
A strong, specific recommendation from ChatGPT in the open search, but a complete absence from Gemini's equivalent answer. Both by-name answers were accurate with no hallucinations.
Freshness & trust6/10
HTTPS works correctly, the site was last modified within the last few months, and there's a real story with named owners rather than a faceless template.
What we'll fix
1Build and publish an llms.txt file at your site root - a short, direct summary AI assistants can read instantly, with your key facts and a curated list of your real pages.
2Add proper LodgingBusiness schema markup (JSON-LD) with your name, address, phone, geo-coordinates and amenities - replacing the generic boilerplate currently there.
3Add FAQPage schema plus a real, visible FAQ section on the site itself - check-in/check-out times, price range, parking, breakfast, booking process, distance from the airport and city centre. (We'll need the actual check-in/check-out times and a price range from you to write this accurately - neither is published anywhere on the site right now.)
4Rewrite the homepage's opening paragraph so it explicitly names Bloemfontein, not just the Waverley suburb, and states a price range - so the single most important sentence on your site answers who, what, where and how much all at once.
5Add a proper H1 heading to the homepage.
6Publish at least a starting price ("from R___ per night") as real text on the accommodation page, rather than leaving pricing entirely behind the external booking widget.
7Add your check-in/check-out times as plain text somewhere on the site. _Note: AI assistants refresh their knowledge on their own schedule. Changes typically start showing in AI answers over the following weeks; the fix makes your site ready to be picked up._
Note: AI assistants refresh their knowledge on their own schedule. Changes typically start showing in AI answers over the following weeks; the fix makes your site ready to be picked up.
Need a hand with any of this?
If any of this feels like more than you want to take on yourself, or you don't have someone who can implement it, reach out and we'll handle it for you remotely, wherever you're based.