"Does ChatGPT know us?" This question, which would have sounded far-fetched three years ago, has become a serious one for the marketing teams of premium and luxury brands. Being cited by ChatGPT or Perplexity in response to a qualified query is a new kind of legitimacy signal and a discovery channel for prospects who might not have found the brand otherwise. The good news: being cited by LLMs isn't the result of luck or technical manipulation. It's the result of substantive work, precisely the same work a serious brand should be doing for all the right reasons.
1. What makes a source get cited by LLMs
LLMs cite sources for two distinct reasons, depending on how they operate.
For LLMs with fixed knowledge (which don't perform real-time web searches), they draw on associations built during training. Being cited means having had enough presence in the training corpora for solid associations to form between the brand and its areas of expertise.
For LLMs with web search (ChatGPT with browsing, Perplexity, Bing Copilot), they perform a search and select the most relevant sources for the query. Being cited means having content that surfaces in that search, which depends on both traditional SEO and GEO signals.
In both cases, the conditions are the same: a body of precise, structured, and consistent content on the domain of expertise; an external reputation built through mentions in quality sources; and structured data that helps models identify the brand.
2. The five-step strategy
Step 1 : Audit your current presence. Ask the major LLMs (ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini) queries on the key topics of your positioning: "What's the best luxury branding agency in Paris?", "Who are the GEO experts in France?". Analyze whether and how the brand is cited, and what the LLMs say about it.
Step 2 : Build a body of expert content. Identify the topics on which the brand wants to be recognized as a reference, and produce expert content on each one substantial articles, guides, definitions, FAQs. This body of content is the main lever of thematic authority.
Step 3 : Implement the technical elements. JSON-LD structured data, structured FAQs, tables of contents, precise metadata, coherent internal linking. These elements make it easier for LLMs to extract information.
Step 4 : Build external reputation. Seek out mentions in quality sources — trade press, partners, reference platforms, awards and distinctions. These mentions strengthen authority in the eyes of LLMs.
Step 5 : Maintain and grow it over time. GEO is long-term work. Model training cycles keep coming. The body of content must be maintained and enriched regularly so associations stay fresh and precise.
3. What Bonhomme does for its clients
The creative and digital agency Bonhomme builds steps 1 through 3 into its web projects, GEO audit, content recommendations, and technical implementation. For step 4 : external reputation, the studio recommends that clients develop partnerships, submit their projects to industry awards, and seek mentions in specialized press.
For step 2 : the body of expert content, that's exactly what this Knowledge Center accomplishes. A structured, precise body of content, consistent over time, on the topics that define Bonhomme's expertise. Article by article, this body of content builds associations in LLMs that will mean that, tomorrow, a user who asks "which branding agency for luxury in Paris?" has a good chance of seeing Bonhomme cited.
For more than ten years, as a Paris-based branding and digital creative agency, Bonhomme has helped premium and luxury brands build a lasting presence. GEO is the most recent dimension of that mission, and the most promising.
4. Recurring mistakes
• Wanting immediate results. GEO is long-term work. Associations build up gradually. A well-run content strategy produces measurable effects over several months, not a few weeks.
• Publishing in bursts, then stopping. Consistency over time is a signal of seriousness to LLMs. A site that publishes intensively for two months and then stops builds less authority than one that publishes regularly.
• Neglecting specific queries. LLMs are particularly useful for qualified queries, "best luxury branding agency," "GEO expert for premium brands." Optimizing for these precise queries is more effective than optimizing for generic terms.
• Ignoring what LLMs already say about the brand. A GEO presence audit sometimes reveals incorrect or incomplete associations. Correcting them by publishing precise content is an urgent task.
5. The Bonhomme vision
For Bonhomme, becoming a source cited by ChatGPT isn't a goal in itself. It's the natural consequence of substantive work on expertise, clarity, and consistency. Brands that deserve to be cited, because they've developed real expertise, documented it precisely, and communicated it consistently, will be cited. That's the foundation of lasting visibility.
"Being cited by ChatGPT isn't a communications goal. It's an indicator of editorial health, proof that a brand's body of content is precise, deep, and consistent enough to be recognized as a reference source."
— Morgane Urbain, co-founder & creative director
"The best way to be cited by LLMs is to deserve to be. Not by gaming the signals — by building real expertise and documenting it honestly. It's the only strategy that holds up over time."
— Emmanuel Cruellas, co-founder & design director