HIVE CONSULTING Launches 'AIO/LLMO Support' to Assist Companies with AI-Era Recommendations, Citations, and Mentions

HIVE CONSULTING (Headquarters: Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo; CEO: Shinichi Furusawa) has launched 'AIO/LLMO Support,' a service dedicated to helping companies navigate the changing search, comparison, and decision-making environment driven by the adoption of generative AI and Google AI Overviews.

The service is designed primarily for B2B marketing executives, business leaders, web managers, PR professionals, and brand managers.

In conjunction with the service launch, the company also published an analysis article on Note featuring real-world companies, as part of its initiative to share insights on information architecture in the generative AI era.

## Background: The Shift from Search Results to AI Answers

In recent years, with the proliferation of ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews, user information-gathering behavior has shifted from traditional searches comparing multiple results to 'conversational searches' where users ask AI directly and make decisions based on its summaries and recommendations.

According to a Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications survey in Japan, the usage rate of generative AI has risen significantly to 26.7%, up from 9.1% the previous year.

AI usage in search contexts is also expanding. A survey by CyberAgent's GEO Lab revealed that 21.3% of respondents use generative AI in their daily search activities. Furthermore, 30.1% of those currently using AI as a search engine alternative responded that 'more than half of their searches have switched to AI.'

Additionally, cases where answers are concluded directly on the search results screen, such as with AI Overview, are increasing. CyberAgent's GEO Lab found that 63.2% of search behavior ends with AI Overview information, a phenomenon known as zero-click search. A survey by the NTT Docomo Mobile Society Research Institute also confirmed that 64% of generative AI users are satisfied with the AI summary and finish their search without clicking any links.

The primary battlefield for search behavior has already begun to shift from 'viewing search results' to 'receiving AI answers.' For companies, the priority is no longer just search rankings, but how they are understood, summarized, and cited by AI as a reliable source.

## About 'AIO/LLMO Support'

'AIO/LLMO Support' provided by HIVE CONSULTING is a service aimed at building a status where a company's brand is 'recommended,' 'cited,' and 'mentioned' in generative AI and AI Overviews.

This service goes beyond improving search rankings to help companies build new customer acquisition channels and strengthen their brand position by increasing their mention, recommendation, and citation rates within AI responses.

In the AI era, simply increasing presence is insufficient. We believe that being accurately understood and maintaining trust are directly linked to acquiring inquiries and creating business opportunities. Therefore, we approach AIO/LLMO as a dual-track strategy: 'offensive' measures aiming to secure recommendations, and 'defensive' measures to suppress misunderstandings and misinformation.

## Target Enterprises

We recommend this service particularly for companies facing the following challenges:
- Companies that have organized their website and service information but do not know how they appear on generative AI platforms.
- Companies that have engaged in SEO but are unsure of what to prioritize for improvement in the age of ChatGPT and AI Overviews.
- Companies that feel their strengths are not sufficiently conveyed in AI answers when compared to competitors.

Furthermore, this service is expected to be particularly effective in industries where accuracy and reliability are directly linked to decision-making, such as finance, real estate, healthcare, SaaS, and consulting.