We have been testing a range of on-page and technical SEO solutions to rank in the AI search results in Google, ChatGBT, Gemini and Perplexity. After implementing these 5 steps, over the past 9 months, we found that most of our clients are receiving between 1%-5% increases in LLM referral traffic, and more importantly the time on site from these LLM referrals is often multiple minutes, which, compared to the world-wide average time on site is 54 seconds, is a huge improvement! Use the following steps for targeting LLM's and AI search. Getting a site displayed in the SERP's requires a multi-step process as follows: 1. Create and upload an LLMS.txt file to the root directory. This acts much like a Sitemap.xml file and puts the site content in a format that the LLM's can understand. This can be done with plugins like Yoast or with an LLMS.txt generator tool. 2. Create a series of FAQ's on an FAQ page, that answers common questions about your products or services, and implement the FAQ's Schema code on the page. This can also be done with Yoast. 3. When creating new content, try typing the title in Google search to test if there are any AI results displayed. If so, copy that content, rewrite at least 50% different and utilise that content in the first paragraph of the new content. 4. When creating new content, make sure to answer major questions with well researched and authoritative content. 5. Submit Product Lists, like the product feed for Merchant Center, with useful descriptions to the LLM's for indexing.
I have found that the secret to showing up in AI-generated answers is to use structured, question-first content backed by schema markup. I'm an SEO expert with over five years of experience in the skincare niche. I saw this strategy work great for my "Best dry shampoos 2026" guide. It was cited in Google AI Overviews three times more often after I added FAQ schema and focused on giving direct answers to specific user questions. The AI platforms like ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews do not look at traditional rankings only. They pull concise, authoritative responses from organised structures like your H2s and H3s and technical code called JSON-LD. A strong reputation is required to get chosen as a source. When you have a cluster of related topics, it proves that you are an expert. Target the People Also Ask questions with a natural tone.
Integrated Marketing Manager at HARDI - Heating, Air Conditioning & Refrigeration Distributors International
Answered 2 months ago
For those trying to increase visibility on AI-powered search engines, there's an increasing emphasis on a few tactics. Thorough and relevant schema metadata can lead LLMs to question-and-answer type responses within one's industry. This can be reinforced by clear and consistent semantic HTML and natural-language framing of questions and answers, mirroring how people tend to prompt LLMs. Additionally, knowing where LLMs get their data can inform strategy. Reddit has become a well-known source of training data, with some amusing and viral examples of incorrect answers being gleaned from its recesses. Bing is also used by some AI engines, meaning that it hasn't lost relevance next to Google and others despite still being seen by most as a less critical tool for marketers. This doesn't mean marketing teams should go charging off to Reddit to spam their brand, but thinking about how to add value to these platforms can be a useful consideration. Traditional trust signals such as backlinks and site or page authority can still help, particularly since the process by which some LLMs research topics isn't far off from traditional search patterns. Their relative importance has shifted, but they're far from unimportant. The other dirty secret here is that these strategies align quite well with traditional content marketing best practices, a lot of which were already being practiced by those working to get various pre-AI SERP rankings on Google, such as the featured snippet and "People Also Asked" entries. Many of these have been supplanted by AI responses, decreasing overall visibility. But in the shift to AI, some of the same best practices remain true. They've simply been weighted differently, and the ways in which marketers track visibility has had to change. The same is true of those looking to create engaging, valuable content on social media or a website by using tone and voice to connect with potential customers instead of talking down to them or being overly sanitized. This has become even more important with the prevalence of AI search engines, but has long been a good practice for building sustained trust.
AI-powered search has forced brands to confront an uncomfortable truth. You either sound credible in a single breath, or you disappear. When systems like Google AI Overviews or ChatGPT generate an answer, they are not ranking ten blue links. They are choosing who they trust enough to speak for the topic. That changes how visibility works. What I see working now is very unsexy. Brands that explain things clearly keep showing up. Not longer content. Clearer content. Straight answers near the top. Clean structure. Fewer words doing more work. If a human can understand it in thirty seconds, an AI can extract it. Depth matters more than spread. Brands that stay in one lane and talk about the same problem from multiple angles build a signal over time. AI picks up on that repetition. It reads as expertise, not output. Another quiet shift is brand presence outside your own site. Being mentioned in conversations, articles, interviews, and communities matters because it shows up as context, not optimisation. That context is what trust looks like to a machine. Consistency seals it. Same point of view. Same tone. Same clarity everywhere. Fragmented brands feel risky. Clear ones feel safe. AI search is less about being found and more about being chosen. The brands that win sound like they know what they are talking about, without trying to sound clever.
Long-tail keywords work right now because they are so specific. Target "how to increase attendance at your B2B conference in first quarter" as opposed to "event marketing". ChatGPT is able to utilize all of the content you've created that provides an answer to a user's very specific question. Find long-tail keywords using a tool such as SEMrush or Ahrefs, then create a 1500 word article that provides the most in-depth answer possible for a very specific question (as opposed to creating a 150-word overview of 10 different topics). If a brand is utilizing AI to cite their company, it is likely that they have produced a wealth of content that has a direct correlation to the user's query, and the content is exhaustive. It's no longer about how many times you can use a keyword within your content but about providing the most comprehensive answer to the user's specific question that they provide to an AI.
Love this question. AI-powered search is shaking things up big time. With tools like Google's AI Overviews and ChatGPT giving straight answers instead of a long list of links, brands can't just aim for traditional rankings anymore. We're seeing that the biggest wins come from building true topical authority. That means creating in-depth, natural-sounding content around key themes your audience actually cares about. Not just keywords. Brands that get cited in expert roundups, earn legit mentions on reputable sites, and have a clear footprint across the web are the ones showing up in these AI summaries. It's not just what you say on your site. It's how often others talk about you. AI wants trusted, well-structured answers, so the way you format your content matters too. Use schema markup, short and punchy answers, and cover the questions people are really asking. Off-site signals are huge right now. We've helped clients show up more often in AI-generated answers by leaning into digital PR, expert-level content, and solid local SEO. The old rules still count, but now you've got to prove you're the real deal to both people and machines. It's kinda like building your brand's reputation at scale.
International AI and SEO Expert | Founder & Chief Visionary Officer at Boulder SEO Marketing
Answered 2 months ago
The answer is simple: build your E-E-A-T score aggressively—Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. AI systems cite sources they can verify as legitimate experts. I rank first for "international AI and SEO expert" and appear in AI Overviews not because of on-page SEO, but because my expertise is verifiable across multiple sources: speaking engagements, a university teaching role in Strasbourg, SE Ranking Brand Ambassador status, podcasts, and publications on high-authority sites. The digital ecosystem confirms I'm a real expert. Here's what works right now: Digital PR through Featured.com: My team monitors journalist queries daily. When selected, I'm published on high-authority sites with backlinks and attribution. These citations are strong trust signals and the fastest way to build authority. Structured, direct-answer content: AI prefers clear question-and-answer formats. An H2 like "How long does SEO take?" followed by a concise 2-3 sentence answer performs far better than buried information. This structure helps win featured snippets and AI citations. Brand entity building: AI must understand who you are before citing you. This requires a strong LinkedIn profile, documented speaking engagements, podcast and video appearances, and visible personal branding. Knowledge Graph and entity systems feed AI platforms—without verification, you're invisible. Original data and research: AI favors unique information. We publish original research, anonymized case studies with metrics, and proprietary methods like Micro SEO Strategies. This gives AI something distinct to reference. Consistent cross-platform presence: Your expertise must appear everywhere: websites, LinkedIn, YouTube, conferences, and podcasts. This redundancy reinforces legitimacy. What doesn't work: Content optimization without authority, mass AI content without expertise, buying backlinks, and black-hat tactics. AI can detect artificial signals. The shift from ranking to citation is fundamental. Traditional SEO asks, "How do I rank?" GEO asks, "How do I become the expert AI cites?" These require entirely different strategies.
AI-powered search provides answers, not just pages. Therefore, visibility now hinges on being a trusted source rather than simply ranking for a keyword. Brands that succeed in AI-generated results concentrate less on SEO tactics and more on establishing themselves as the definitive authority on a subject. What proves most effective today begins with content structure and clarity. AI systems prefer content that directly addresses specific questions, employs clear headings, and showcases firsthand knowledge. Vague blog posts written solely to target keywords are seldom cited. Precise explanations, examples, and a clear point of view are more important than sheer volume. Topical authority is essential. Brands that consistently publish within a specific domain are more likely to be referenced than those covering numerous unrelated subjects. AI models seek patterns of expertise across multiple content pieces, not just a single outstanding article. Brand mentions are also more significant than traditional backlinks. Being referenced across reputable sites, podcasts, newsletters, and industry discussions helps models identify a brand as credible. This includes founder bylines, expert quotes, and earned media, not solely owned content. Trust signals form the final component. Clear authorship, current content, accurate company information, and consistency between a brand's claims and external mentions all influence whether an AI system includes that brand in its responses. The most significant change is a shift in perspective. Optimizing for AI search involves writing to be helpful, quotable, and supportable, rather than just attention-grabbing. Brands that view content as a long-term knowledge asset, rather than a short-term traffic strategy, are the ones appearing in AI-generated results.
I'm Steve Morris, Founder & CEO of NEWMEDIA.COM and creator of RankOStm. I have over 20 years of experience building brands from ground zero to digital glory. Today, my team and I focus on a major shift in how brands are found: the "Visibility Engine," or the fact that the AI system (not only the users) is actually what is being converted. Here is my take on building trust signals with AI. Verify your entity with "SameAs" When you show up on an AI Overview or ChatGPT, it's not about keywords anymore. It's about "entity identity." AI models are hyper-aggressive when it comes to verification: if your brand real estate is all over the place, the chances of you getting cited start narrowing. According to the Stanford AI Index Report 2025, users are 2.7x more likely to trust AI results that reference verifiable consistent sources. Perhaps the most effective "hack" we've found is implementing organization schema markup with a robust list of "sameAs" properties on your home page. It's like a passport, showing off your Wikipedia, LinkedIn, Crunchbase, G2 profiles, etc. Ensuring brand names, logos, and key service information are consistent across these sites gives LLMs a clear trail. Once the AI sees a unified story, it feels comfortable citing it as an expert and not a secondary source. Align your messaging to shorten the sales funnel It's not just about the crawl, it's also about the consistency of what we can prove. We recently worked with a legacy manufacturer, who was all over the place digitally. After simply unifying their messaging through their website, LinkedIn, and peer-to-peer communities like Reddit, their marketing efforts increased by almost 300%. More importantly, it changed how buyers approached the brand. Because the AI model scraped a consistent narrative of its social and technical sources, prospects began sales calls two to three times further into the funnel. Instead of, "Who are you," prospects started arriving convinced to buy from the brand because the AI-generated summaries they read during their research told a consistent story. To use this approach, look at what Gemini or ChatGPT say about you. If the story shifts from platform to platform, you have a trust gap that is harming your citations.
Brands boost visibility in AI search like Google AI Overviews and ChatGPT by focusing on authority content structure and trust. Build topical clusters with deep guides stats and internal links AI pulls these as direct answers. Use schema markup FAQ How-to for easy parsing saw 40% more citations for clients. Write conversational answers first then details no fluff. Get backlinks from Forbes Reddit PR AI favors E-E-A-T signals. Track overview impressions and test per platform. As SEO pro for B2B SaaS this drives our startup clients top mentions. Site: semitynjournal.com LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/mudasser-amanat-3001061a1/ contact@semitynjournal.com
AI search engines like Google AI Overviews and ChatGPT don't work like traditional search. Instead of ranking single websites, they generate answers by mentioning trusted sources. This means your strategy must shift from ranking to earning brand mentions. The Core Difference In traditional SEO, backlinks determined visibility. In AI search, brand mentions matter 3x more than links. When your brand is mentioned naturally within an AI-generated answer—even without a clickable link—you win visibility, awareness, and traffic. What Actually Works Build Topical Authority Create interconnected content around core topics. Websites with topic clusters (a main pillar page + 5-8 supporting pages) receive 3.2x more AI citations than competitors. Internal linking between related pages signals expertise to AI systems. Use Schema Markup Implement FAQ, Article, and HowTo schema. Pages with well-structured data appear in AI Overviews at significantly higher rates. FAQ schema shows the best results because it matches how AI systems present information. Earn Strategic Mentions Contribute to industry publications, participate in relevant communities, and create original research worth citing. When your brand appears naturally in authoritative third-party content, AI systems learn to trust and recommend you. Refresh Content Aggressively 76% of ChatGPT's most-cited pages were updated in the last 30 days. Stale content gets deprioritized. Audit your top pages monthly and refresh outdated statistics, examples, and data with current information. Optimize for E-E-A-T Clearly display author credentials, certifications, and experience. Ensure factual accuracy, transparency, and consistency. Trust is the primary trust signal AI systems evaluate. Write for Conversational Queries Users ask full questions ("How do I treat migraines?") rather than keywords. Start every page with a direct answer. Use question-based headings. Structure key information as lists and tables for easy extraction. AI visibility isn't about being the #1 ranked site anymore. It's about being mentioned as a trusted expert in AI-generated answers. Focus on depth, clarity, and authority—and your brand will appear where millions of users now discover information.
We've found that AI engines really just work like cautious academics. They will only quote brands that they can verify and cite. At 3WH, the best results we have seen so far are when clients do three things. The first is to create answer-ready snippets by starting each key page with a 40-word explainer and an H2 level Q&A block. It's the kind of thing large language models love to copy-paste and use. Next, tie your brand to an entity by adding schema.org, Wikidata IDs, and consistent naming so the AI can feel confident enough to link your name to the topic. And, lastly, feed AI engines some third-party proof of your authority on the topic, such as published proprietary stats, earned media interviews, and podcast transcripts. The more neutral domains that it can find referencing you, the safer you will look to an AI's algorithm. One of our client's share of Google AI Overviews mentions jumped from zero to 18% in eight weeks (across a 120-keyword basket) after combining these three moves.
Right now, showing up in Google AI Overviews requires strong SEO, and you can't build that fast. The foundation is reputation. Your brand needs to be mentioned by credible sources that Google already trusts. But Google is starting to test ads inside AI Overviews. That means SEO alone won't be enough. You also need to prepare your Google Ads strategy for this new placement. 1. Focus on High-Intent, Question-Based Keywords AI Overviews are most often triggered by informational and problem-solving queries, such as: "How does..." "Best way to..." "What is the difference between..." 2. Use Performance Max and Search Together Google increasingly favors Performance Max campaigns for AI-driven placements. To increase your chances: Run Search + Performance Max simultaneously Use strong conversion signals Optimize product feeds and landing pages Performance Max helps Google understand where your ads should appear across AI-influenced search experiences. 3. AI Max for Search AI Max for Search is a new campaign option that uses AI to enhance your Search ads. It dynamically broadens keyword targeting, automatically optimizes bids, and adapts ad copy to better match the context of each query. Together, these capabilities help your ads stay visible in a search landscape where user intent matters more than exact-match keywords. 4. Improve Landing Page Content for AI Relevance Even though ads don't appear inside AI Overviews, Google's AI evaluates landing page quality and relevance. Best practices: Answer questions clearly and concisely Use structured headings (H1, H2, H3) Include FAQs Provide expert, trustworthy content 5. Leverage Structured Data and Clear Messaging Structured content helps Google's AI understand context. Make sure your site includes: Clear product or service descriptions Schema markup where relevant Consistent messaging between ad copy and page content This is especially important for Shopping ads and local campaigns. Google AI Overviews are reshaping search, but they don't replace ads, they raise the bar for relevance and quality. While you can't place ads directly inside AI Overviews yet, you can still win visibility by optimizing for AI search intent, smart bidding, strong landing pages, and Performance Max campaigns. Advertisers who adapt early to AI-driven search behavior will gain a strong competitive advantage as Google continues to evolve its AI search experience.
AI-powered search engines prioritise trust, clarity, and real-world signals over traditional ranking tricks. What's working best for us is structuring content to answer specific questions clearly, backed by consistent brand mentions, strong local signals, and proof of expertise. Pages that include practical explanations, real examples, and clear author or business attribution are far more likely to be surfaced. In short, AI engines reward brands that look credible, experienced, and consistently referenced across the web, not those chasing keywords alone.
Brands must adapt their visibility strategies in AI-powered search engines, like Google AI and ChatGPT, which prioritize concise, relevant information from trusted sources over traditional SEO metrics. To enhance visibility, particularly in affiliate marketing, brands should focus on creating well-structured, high-quality content that delivers valuable insights and effectively answers user queries.
To enhance visibility in AI-driven search engines like Google and ChatGPT, brands should use structured data markup to improve content understanding, making them more likely to appear in rich snippets and knowledge panels. This approach, informed by SEO insights, helps e-commerce brands and others ensure their content is more discoverable in an evolving digital landscape.
Boost your brand's visibility in AI search such as Google AI Overviews and ChatGPT, I keep my focus on proven tactics from the SEO pros and marketers. Create topical authority: Go ahead with in depth, structured content around key topics, using clear headings, schema markup and FAQs that AI easily parse. This makes us a go to source for relevance. Gain trust through signals: I ensured mentions in the site with high authority, podcasts and analyst reports and focused on EEAT using author bios and citations. Ensuring mentions and optimise it: I keep track of AI citations and enhance brand search through PR, focusing on quoted in AI answers compared to competitors.
We see AI-powered search as a shift from ranking pages to earning inclusion in answers. Visibility now depends less on being "#1" and more on being trustworthy, extractable, and useful to an AI system. The first lever is clarity of expertise. Brands that publish content with a clear point of view, defined authorship, and consistent topical depth are easier for AI systems to trust and summarize. Vague, keyword-stuffed content gets ignored because it's hard to attribute or verify. Second is structured, answer-ready content. AI models favor sources that explain concepts cleanly, define terms, and present conclusions without fluff. Pages that answer specific questions, use logical headings, and include concise explanations are far more likely to be cited or paraphrased. Third is external validation. Mentions, citations, and links from credible third-party sources still matter—arguably more than before—because AI systems use them as trust signals when deciding which voices to surface. The mindset shift is critical: optimize for being quotable and reliable, not just crawlable. Brands that help AI confidently explain something to a user will win visibility, even if they never "rank" in the traditional sense.
The key to visibility in AI-powered search is demonstrating irreplaceable domain expertise. AI systems are powerful, but they lack genuine hands-on expertise in specialized fields like data recovery. Rather than chasing AI algorithms, focus on building deep topical authority: publish detailed technical insights, share real-world case studies, and document proven methodologies that AI cannot replicate through pattern matching alone. Our experience shows that when you provide genuinely authoritative content backed by decades of practical data recovery experience, AI systems naturally reference you as a trusted source—because they have no choice but to rely on established experts in specialized domains. The advantage established brands have is irreplaceable: accumulated expertise, verified track records, and real-world problem-solving experience that no AI can manufacture. Make that expertise transparent and accessible.
I've watched AI-powered search completely reshape how brands need to think about visibility, and the brands winning in this space are doing something fundamentally different - they're optimizing for being the authoritative answer, not just ranking for keywords. At Fulfill.com, we've had to adapt our entire content strategy because AI search engines don't just crawl pages, they synthesize information and cite sources they trust. The brands getting featured in AI Overviews and ChatGPT responses share three critical characteristics we've identified through our own experience and working with hundreds of e-commerce brands. First, they create content that directly answers specific questions with clear, structured information. I'm talking about content that starts with the answer in the first paragraph, then supports it with data and examples. AI models prioritize sources that provide immediate value. We restructured our entire knowledge base around this principle, leading with definitive statements backed by our operational data from thousands of fulfillment partnerships. Second, they build demonstrable expertise through consistent, interconnected content. AI engines evaluate topical authority differently than traditional SEO. They look for depth across related topics. When we publish about warehouse management, we connect it to inventory optimization, shipping strategies, and technology integration. This creates a web of expertise that AI models recognize and trust. Single standalone articles don't cut it anymore. Third, and this is where most brands miss the opportunity, they actively cultivate brand mentions across trusted platforms. AI models weight sources that are frequently cited and referenced by other authoritative sites. We've invested heavily in contributing expert insights to industry publications, participating in relevant discussions, and ensuring our brand appears in contexts where logistics expertise matters. Every podcast appearance, every guest article, every industry report citation builds the trust signals AI models use to determine credibility. The practical reality is that AI search rewards brands that act like true authorities in their space. You can't game this with keywords or backlinks alone. You need genuine expertise, clearly communicated, consistently reinforced, and externally validated.