The differences between ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity concern how they integrate web search, how they present references and how they change over time. That is why, for a company in Como or Brianza, it makes little sense to think about a single platform: it is better to work on clear content and a recognisable brand, useful to every assistant.
The models are updated often, so we avoid basing a strategy on the details of a single product. NewVisibility's AIO work, from Cantù, stays general and solid: understandable content, consistent information, a website accessible to the crawlers of the main AI assistants.
Retrieval is the step in which an AI assistant fetches information from external sources, such as web pages, to build its answer. It matters for AIO because it is the moment when the content of a company in Cantù or Como can be read and evaluated, with no guarantee of being chosen.
AI tends to cite websites with clear content, consistent information and a recognisable reputation on the topic. Why AI cites some websites and not others does not depend on a single factor and is not always predictable, even for companies in Como and Brianza that look after their content well.
Web search in ChatGPT lets it add information found online to its answer, on top of what the model has learned. It is not always active and depends on the question. For companies in Como and Cantù it means clear, accessible content can be found, with no guarantee of appearing.
The comparison with competitors in AI is done by putting the same questions to several assistants and noting who is cited, how they are described and from which sources. For companies between Como, Brianza and Milan it should be done on your own territory and sector; the results are indications, not rankings.
You need demonstrable expertise and original data because content identical to a thousand others gives AI no reason to cite that particular source. There is no guarantee of citation, but real experience and your own information make texts more useful, including for companies in Como and Brianza.