Decision engine optimization: how to be the business AI chooses

Who coined decision engine optimization, and what does it mean?

James Dooley says he coined decision engine optimization. A short e-book on it, credited to AI James Dooley, his digital avatar, was published on August 1, 2026. The Google Books listing for Decision Engine Optimisation: SEO Gets You Found. DEO Gets You Chosen says the term was "Coined by James Dooley" and defines it as "the practice of influencing what AI models recommend at the moment of decision." The earliest uses of the phrase we could find are from 2026, and much of what we found cites him.

Other writers define it differently. Malte Landwehr, writing on September 21, 2026, credits Dooley with the term but describes DEO as "the practice of improving how AI systems evaluate your offer." He adds that "DEO starts later, when the buyer already has a shortlist." One definition is about what the AI recommends. The other is about how it judges you once you're already in the running. We found no search engine or AI company that has published a definition of its own, so treat any precise one as one person's view.

The words "decision engine" also have older meanings. Microsoft unveiled Bing on May 28, 2009 as "a new Decision Engine and consumer brand." In finance and software, a decision engine is a system that applies models and business rules to make calls like scoring a card transaction, as Iterate.ai's glossary describes. Search for the term and you'll find all three.

How is decision engine optimization different from AEO and GEO?

Decision engine optimization is about the last step: being the business picked from an AI answer, after AEO and GEO got you into it.

That split is how the term's promoters frame it. Even Landwehr writes that whether DEO is a subset of AEO, part of GEO or something else "matters less than recognising the activity." We agree, because the work overlaps almost entirely. We won't repeat the definitions here: AEO vs SEO and GEO vs SEO covers what each term means and what the research measured.

Are AI assistants really choosing businesses for customers?

AI assistants are starting to choose and book for customers in a few places, and Google has documented its own. On August 21, 2025, Google announced agentic features in AI Mode that started with "finding restaurant reservations," with local service appointments and event tickets to follow. Its named partners include OpenTable, Resy and Booksy. It rolled out first to Google AI Ultra subscribers in the U.S., through Labs.

Google AI Mode can also phone a business. Google's help page on checking local availability and pricing says Google "can make calls on your behalf" when a business doesn't list a detail online, "such as the earliest available appointment." Its examples include haircuts, auto repair, electricians and tree cutting. Call results can take up to 30 minutes, and the feature is listed for signed-in users over 18, in English. The page names Canada only for dining reservations, so don't assume the calls reach Canadian businesses yet.

Gemini can act on websites too. Google's Gemini help page on tasks lists shopping, booking travel and "making dinner reservations" among the things it can do, and says it asks for your review and confirmation before actions like purchases and submitting forms. It needs a Google AI Pro or Ultra plan and isn't offered in the European Economic Area, Nigeria, Switzerland or the UK.

Customers are already asking AI who to pick. BrightLocal's Local Consumer Review Survey 2026, a survey of 1,002 U.S. adults published February 11, 2026, found that use of ChatGPT and other AI tools for local recommendations rose from 6% to 45% in a year. That made AI the third most used source of business recommendations. In the same survey, 40% said they trust AI platforms to recommend businesses, and 42% trust them as much as traditional reviews.

OpenAI and Microsoft have announced agent features too. This post covers Google's, which we could check at the source.

How do I get AI to recommend my business instead of a competitor?

To get AI to recommend your business, give it facts it can find, the same facts on every listing, and reviews behind them. That's our practice, and Google's own guidance points the same way. The work, in the order we do it:

• Make your details match on every source, starting with your Google Business Profile: name, address, phone, hours and categories. Then match your website and listings to it. Google's local ranking help says: "Businesses with complete and accurate info are more likely to show up in local search results." Its AI features guide tells site owners to check "that your Merchant Center and Business Profile information is up-to-date."
• Put prices, availability and booking on your site. Where the feature is live (so far Google only describes the U.S.), Google's AI Mode calls a business when those details aren't online, so the answer waits on whoever picks up the phone. Publish price ranges, what's included, your service area, your hours and how to book, in plain text on the page. Where a price really depends on the job, say what it depends on.
• Collect reviews and reply to them. Google's local ranking help says: "More reviews and positive ratings can help your business's local ranking." BrightLocal's 2026 survey found 82% of consumers read AI-generated review summaries, and a summary is only as good as the reviews under it. Our guide to getting more Google reviews covers how to ask.
• Be on the lists AI reads. In our own tracking of AI answers, "who's the best [trade] in [city]" questions are often answered from directories and roundup articles rather than from the businesses' own sites. Get listed on the directories your trade uses, starting with Google and Bing Places, and keep every listing matching your profile.
• Write pages a customer can compare. Landwehr's shortlist idea is the useful part of DEO: once a buyer asks which of three businesses to pick, the AI compares what each one says. A page that states who you're right for, what you include, how long it takes and what it costs gives it something to compare. A claim nobody can check, like "best in town", gives it nothing.
• Mark it up, and keep the markup true. Google says LocalBusiness structured data lets you "tell Google about business hours, different departments within a business" and more, and its AI features guide asks that structured data match the visible text on the page. Test yours with a schema markup checker.

Should I let Google's AI call my business?

Google's AI can call your business for a customer, and you choose which of those calls you accept in your Business Profile settings. Google's help page on automated calls says they can be for booking appointments, checking wait times, or confirming prices and availability. It also says Google "will never ask for payment, credit card information, or account passwords." The same page says these calls are "currently available only in select regions and languages," and the only country it names is the U.S.

To change the setting, go to your profile, select More, then Business Profile settings, then Advanced settings, and look under "Google automated calls and text messages." The three options are bookings and inquiries from customers, keeping your profile up to date, and posting to your profile on your behalf. You have to verify your business before you can opt out.

Our view: if your profile shows the setting and you take bookings by phone, leave customer bookings and inquiries on and treat those calls like any other lead. If they eat staff time, put the answers on your website and profile instead, so there's less to call about.

Should I hire someone for decision engine optimization?

Hire for the work, not the label: decision engine optimization describes jobs that good local SEO and AEO already include.

The label also has almost no search demand. When we checked DataForSEO on October 30, 2026, it estimated about 10 U.S. searches a month for "decision engine optimization" and too few in Canada to report. "What is generative engine optimization" drew about 1,300 a month in the U.S., and "generative engine optimization" about 590 a month in Canada. The questions we track for local businesses are in plain words, like "Who can get my business recommended by ChatGPT in Ottawa?"

Judge a provider by the checklist above and by measurement you can check yourself: which questions they ask the AI engines, how often, and what changed. We ask ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity and Google AI Mode a fixed set of buyer questions every two weeks and report who they name. That work is part of AI search optimization, one part of our one program at one published price. Google and each AI engine decide what they show, so what we promise is the work itself. If you want to see whether AI can read your site first, check your site free.

Questions people ask about decision engine optimization

Who coined the term decision engine optimization? James Dooley says he coined decision engine optimization, and a short e-book on it, credited to AI James Dooley, his digital avatar, was published on August 1, 2026. Malte Landwehr's September 2026 article also credits him. The earliest uses we found are from 2026, and we found no search engine or AI company with a published definition of its own.

Is decision engine optimization the same as AEO or GEO? Decision engine optimization mostly overlaps with AEO and GEO. AEO and GEO are about getting your business into an AI answer, and DEO, as its promoters use the term, is about being the business picked from that answer. The work overlaps: accurate facts, reviews, listings and pages with real detail. Malte Landwehr writes that the classification matters less than recognising the activity.

Can Google's AI book an appointment with my business? In some cases, and so far mostly in the U.S. Google announced in August 2025 that AI Mode would find restaurant reservations for U.S. AI Ultra subscribers, with local service appointments to follow. AI Mode can also call businesses to ask about availability and pricing when that information isn't online. Putting your availability and booking details on your site and profile gives it less to guess.

How do I stop Google's AI from calling my business? Go to your Business Profile, select More, then Business Profile settings, then Advanced settings, and turn off the options under Google automated calls and text messages. Google's help page says you must verify your business to opt out, and that you may still get occasional manual calls from Google to confirm your information.

Does Viziblty offer decision engine optimization? Viziblty doesn't sell anything under that name. The work the term describes, matching your facts on every listing, building reviews and writing pages an AI can compare, is part of AI search optimization in our one program at one published price. We don't promise that any AI will choose you. We promise the work, and a monthly report that shows what changed.