Google recently received only a slap on the wrist in the landmark antitrust case against them. The reason? AI is proving to be a real threat to Google's long-standing dominance in search, and the judge could not foresee all that was going to shake out in the future. While an increasing number of people are turning to AI-first tools such as ChatGPT and Perplexity for everything from content creation to where to find those shoes, Google search still accounts for 94% of searches. However, the volume of referral traffic coming from GenAI is growing at exponential rates, making it hard to ignore in today's web context.
AI optimization (AIO) is still in its infancy, which is clear once a user digs into content sources only to come up with broken links and outdated sources. However, it also serves as a huge opportunity for companies to optimize their websites for AI and position themselves as first movers today, reaping the benefits in the coming years. AI is introducing whole new use cases that search previously could not account for – largely under the category of practical guidance. Users can now chat with AI to give them tips, recommendations, step-by-step instructions and more, which search engines previously could not do. This is a massive category of knowledge that businesses and/or marketers can leverage to their advantage and influence AI results directly on.
Understanding that AI reads content a lot like how people do, for example pulling their data from blogs, news, and wikipedia entries, also provides another competitive edge. There are additional, simple ways companies can update their content for AIO.
Use clear, specific language
LLMs rely on clarity first and foremost. Avoid using too many pronouns or any other vague, undefined references. Don't be afraid to be a little redundant, particularly in different sections. The more you hammer a point home, the more likely an LLM is to reference it accurately.
Organize your content in a predictable way
Another way to increase clarity is to break your content up into sections. Use headings, like H2 and H3, to organize the unique ideas central to your article's thesis. Similar to traditional SEO practices, headings should be placed in a descending and logical order, with H1 superseding H2, and so on. It's not that the technical specifics of H1 and H2 matter – it's the fact that one paragraph is clearly summarized by the heading, and references clear points that LLMs can easily reference.
Avoid long chunks of content
LLMs have something called "token limits" that restrict the amount of content they can intake at once. Segmenting your article makes the content more digestible. Clear, fluidly written transitions between these topics have been shown in research to improve the likelihood of AI search tools to reference your content. As an added bonus, this is how humans read, too.
Write fluidly and fluently
In fact, fluid and fluent writing has been shown in research to improve AI performance, as well. That means avoiding typographical errors, awkward language, and harsh transitions between ideas.
Include quotes and citations
The most impactful thing to make your content noticeable to AI is to write very authoritative content. Avoid passive language, include clear authorship for the content when possible, date your content, and cite your sources. Quotations and citations both make content more trustworthy to AI and human readers alike.
Follow technical SEO best practices
All of these writing tips are in addition to the age-old SEO practices everyone is familiar with. Things like writing descriptive alt-text for images, embedding as much schema markup as possible, and using meaningful anchor text for links. Many Retrieval Augmented Generation systems still rely on search indexes for the "retrieval" part of the search.
Experts agree that AIO is not a replacement for SEO but an evolution. The most effective strategy is a blend of traditional SEO fundamentals (technical SEO, indexing, performance, etc.) with AIO-specific tactics to ensure your content is both discoverable by search engines and understandable by AI models. SEO gets your content in front of LLMs, while AIO convinces LLMs to pick that content.
As AI-generated search and content consumption continue to accelerate, optimizing your website for AI is no longer optional; it is essential. By blending tried-and-true SEO techniques with AIO-specific approaches, you position your content to thrive in a rapidly evolving digital landscape where both humans and machines are your audience.
