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How To Optimise Your Content For AI Search
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- Outsourcing to a marketing agency is a more affordable solution for small businesses..
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The way people are searching for information is changing, and it’s changing fast. Where previously Google would’ve been the go-to gal for searching for restaurants, activities, directions, AI search is quickly becoming more commonplace than ever before. Suddenly, people are searching for recommendations on ChatGPT, or if they are using Google, they’re checking out the AI overview rather than clicking on a site from a search result.
With all these changes, we know what you’re thinking – what does this mean for SEO? And whilst it might seem like your years of SEO efforts are suddenly about to fall to the wayside, this simply isn’t the case. The introduction of AI search as the new norm doesn’t mean your SEO strategy is going to become completely useless, but it does mean that you may have to make a few pivots to keep up. This is where AI search optimisation comes in.
Get The Gist of How to Rank In AI Search Results
Basically, while traditional engines return a ranked list of links, AI search engines operate more like digital assistants. When a user asks a question, these tools generate a full, conversational response, citing or linking back to sources within the content they trust the most.
It’s a process known as generative search, and it relies on large language models (LLMs) that read and understand content in-depth. AI looks for clarity, topical authority, and structured data. For your business, this means content must be more than just keyword-optimised. It has to be actually valuable, clearly written, and logically structured to be recognised and quoted by AI tools.
Write this down, AI will prioritise content that:
- Answers real user questions directly
- Provides context-rich, well-organised information
- Reflects subject matter expertise and trustworthiness
So, How Can I Optimise My Content for AI Search?
Ah! The question on everybody’s lips in 2025 – how are you going to implement AI optimisation so that your content appears in the coveted AI overviews? Whilst there’s no secret sauce that’s going to get you there overnight (trust us, we wish there was!) These are some of the best ways you can optimise your content to appear in AI search.
Your Content Needs To Be Unique
There will be a few buzzwords in this article, and unique is number one! Search engines and AIs want to show people content that they actually want to see. Instead of just regurgitating the information that’s already out there online, you want to really try to find a unique angle that readers will genuinely find helpful.
Rather than offering simple, baseline content, focus on answering users’ longer questions and providing expert insight from your team. When your content is unique, it’s competing against other content less, and it’s far more likely to show up in AI search.
User Experience Is Everything
You need to ensure your page is easy to navigate, not just for search engines and AIs, but also for humans. Have clear, concise headings that summarise the information below, and try to create summaries or bullet point lists wherever possible for ease of finding information.
By doing this, users and AIs can easily distinguish sections of your content to find exactly what it is they’re looking for.
Your Content Has To Provide Value
Similarly to being unique, your content has to provide actual value for readers. By making sure you’re answering common questions and giving users the answers they’re searching for, you’re already on the right track to AI search optimisation best practices.
Valuable content means research. Carefully research what people are searching for, what they’re looking to find out from their searches and offer insight into their common queries and concerns.
AIs Have To Be Able To View Your Content
This is less about the actual content and more about the technical side of your website. Your pages need to be able to be crawled by search engines in order for them to showcase it in AI search or AI overviews.
Make sure your pages are all properly indexed and that they’re able to be crawled by search engines. If you’re not super confident when it comes to the technical side of things, working with an SEO agency in London is going to be your best bet. By working with the experts, they’re able to audit your site and fix any technical issues to give you the best chance at showing up in various AI searches.
It’s Not All About The Written Word
Oftentimes, when people think of content, they think of blogs or on-site text. Whilst they’re not wrong, you can also utilise images or videos in order to provide additional value and increase your chances of being discovered (and recommended) by AI.
Use high-quality images and videos (with transcripts) wherever possible to help bolster your content, make it more unique and provide more value to users.
Prioritise People, Not AI
It might seem like counterproductive advice, but when it boils down to it, you need to ensure your content and your site is built for people first. A well-built, genuinely valuable page is going to be prioritised by both humans and AI.
Similarly to people who try to implement black-hat SEO and end up being penalised by Google, it’s important to remember that if your site is built for AI and not for humans, even if you’re showing up in AI search, it’s very rarely going to lead to any conversions at all.
It’s All About Evolving
When it comes down to it, it really is all about evolving with AI, rather than working against it. It’s very obvious AI is here to stay, so rather than being afraid of AI or trying to “beat” it, you need to constantly change your strategy to grow with artificial intelligence.
There’s not one easy fix to suddenly get put in every AI overview out there, but by changing your tact and pivoting when you need to, you’re going to give yourself the best chance!
If you need some advice on how you can switch up your strategies to align with the AI movement of 2025, you can contact us today for guidance!