AI search optimisation is the work of making your business easy for AI systems to find, understand and quote. When someone asks Google, ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini or Copilot a question about your field, the answer they get is assembled from web pages. AI search optimisation makes it more likely that your pages are among them, and that your business is the one named when the answer recommends someone.
It is not a separate discipline from SEO. Almost everything that helps AI systems choose you also helps you rank in normal search. What changes is the emphasis: clear answers, specific facts, consistent information about your business and pages that machines can access. This guide covers how AI answers pick their sources, what the 2026 data says about clicks, the on-site changes that help, how to measure AI visibility and what is not worth your time.
Key takeaways
- AI answers are built from pages the systems can crawl and trust. Good SEO is the foundation of AI visibility.
- 2026 studies show sharply lower click-through when AI Overviews appear, so being named in the answer matters more than ever.
- Answer-first writing, specific facts, visible expertise and consistent business details make pages easier to quote.
- Check that your robots.txt, firewall and CDN are not blocking the crawlers that feed AI search tools.
- Measure AI visibility with referral data, regular prompt checks and asking new customers how they found you.
How AI answers pick sources
Each AI search tool works slightly differently, but they share a pattern. When a question arrives, the system searches an index of web pages, pulls out passages that look relevant and trustworthy, and writes an answer from them, usually with links to the sources.
Google AI Overviews and AI Mode
Google's AI features draw on Google's own index and ranking systems. Google's guidance on AI features and your website says there is no special markup required. A page needs to be indexed and eligible to appear as a snippet in normal search. AI Mode goes further by running several related searches behind the scenes for one question, then combining the results. That means a page answering a narrow sub-question can be cited even if it does not rank for the main query. Our guides to Google AI Overviews and Google AI Mode explain each one.
ChatGPT, Perplexity and other assistants
ChatGPT search and Perplexity run their own crawlers and also draw on third-party search indexes, including Bing for some tools. They favour pages that answer directly, cite evidence and come from sources that appear credible. Our guide on how to get cited by ChatGPT and Perplexity covers what those systems look for.
What they have in common
- Access. A page that cannot be crawled cannot be cited.
- Relevance at passage level. Systems pick paragraphs, not whole pages, so each section needs to make sense on its own.
- Trust signals. Clear authorship, a real business behind the page, consistent facts and mentions elsewhere on the web.
- Specificity. Concrete numbers, steps, prices and examples are easier to quote than general statements.
What the 2026 data says about clicks
The research published in 2026 points one way: when an AI answer appears, fewer people click through to websites.
- A SparkToro study reported by Search Engine Land found about 68% of Google searches end without a click, with AI Overviews appearing on more than 20% of searches.
- Ahrefs reported in February 2026 that the click-through rate for the top-ranking result fell by around 58% when an AI Overview was present.
- Seer Interactive has tracked organic click-through falling by roughly 61% on queries that show AI Overviews.
- Pew Research Center found that users clicked a traditional result 8% of the time when an AI summary appeared, compared with 15% when it did not.
- Coverage estimates vary by sample. BrightEdge put AI Overviews on roughly 48% of the queries it tracked in February 2026.
What this means for different businesses
- Local service firms are least exposed. People searching for a plumber, clinic or garage still need to call or book, and AI answers for local queries lean on business profiles and reviews.
- Ecommerce stores see AI answers on research queries ("best running shoes for flat feet") but still win clicks on product and brand searches.
- B2B and professional services lose traffic on educational content, but a citation in an AI answer puts their name in front of buyers early in the research stage.
- Publishers and affiliate sites are hit hardest, because their model depends on clicks for informational queries.
Two conclusions follow. First, informational content that simply answers a question is losing traffic, so it needs to earn the citation instead. Second, the clicks that remain are more valuable, because people who click through from an AI answer have usually already decided they want what you offer. Our guide to zero-click searches explains how to adjust your content mix.
On-site changes that help
Most of the work is about writing and structure. These changes help your pages get quoted in AI answers and rank in normal results.
Answer first
Start every page and every major section with a direct answer in one or two sentences, then add detail. If a section is headed "How much does a boiler service cost?", its first sentence should give a price range. Our guide to answer engine optimisation shows the patterns that AI systems quote most readily.
Use question-style headings
Headings that match how people ask questions make it easy for systems to match a passage to a query. Use them where they read naturally, not on every heading.
Be specific
Replace vague claims with facts: prices or price ranges, timescales, areas covered, accreditations, the number of projects completed, named tools and standards. "Most installations take one to two days" is more quotable than "we work quickly".
Show real experience
AI systems and Google's ranking systems both favour content that shows first-hand knowledge. Use your own photos, describe real jobs and name the author with relevant credentials. Google's helpful content guidance describes this well.
Keep pages current
Update key pages when prices, services or regulations change, and show a last-updated date on guides. Stale facts are a reason for a system to prefer a competitor.
Cover the follow-up questions
AI tools often answer a main question and then several related ones in the same response. A page about kitchen fitting that also covers timescales, disruption, typical costs and what happens if the walls are uneven gives a system more to work with than a page that only lists services. Think about the next three questions a customer asks after the first one, and answer them on the same page.
Use tables and lists where they fit
Comparisons, specifications and step-by-step processes are easier to extract from tables and numbered lists. Good AI search optimisation is often just good information design.
Entity and brand clarity
AI systems do not only read pages. They build a picture of your business as an entity: a named organisation with a location, services, people and a reputation. The clearer and more consistent that picture is, the more confidently a system can recommend you.
- Use one exact business name everywhere, matching your Companies House registration or trading name.
- Keep your address and phone number identical across your website, Google Business Profile and directories.
- Build a proper about page with the people behind the business, their experience and your history.
- Link your official profiles from your website, and your website from them.
- Earn mentions from trade bodies, suppliers, local press and industry sites.
Where AI tools look for local recommendations
When someone asks an assistant for a recommended local business, the answer is often built from business profiles, review platforms, local directories, trade association listings and discussion forums, as well as business websites. Make sure your listings on the platforms relevant to your trade are complete and consistent, and that your reviews are recent. A business that looks active across several independent sources is an easier recommendation to make.
Reviews matter here too. Local recommendations from AI tools lean heavily on review platforms and business profiles. Our guides to entity SEO and AI search for local businesses go into detail.
Structured data and crawl access
Structured data
Schema markup describes your business, services, articles and authors in a format machines read reliably. Organization or LocalBusiness, Service, Article and Person markup are the most useful for most businesses. Structured data supports understanding and eligibility for some features, but it does not guarantee a citation. Our guide to structured data for AI search explains what is worth adding.
Crawl access
This is the most overlooked part of AI search optimisation. Check that:
- Googlebot can reach your pages. AI Overviews use Google's normal crawling, so anything that blocks Googlebot blocks you from AI Overviews too.
- Your robots.txt does not block search-focused AI crawlers such as OpenAI's OAI-SearchBot or PerplexityBot, unless you have decided to.
- Your firewall or CDN is not blocking bots by default. Some CDNs now offer, or default to, blocking AI crawlers. On one client site, a firewall rule meant to stop bad bots was returning errors to legitimate crawlers and tools from data centre IP ranges.
- Important content is in the HTML, not loaded only by JavaScript after the page renders, where some crawlers may miss it.
Blocking AI training crawlers and blocking AI search crawlers are different decisions. You can allow one and block the other. If you are unsure, start by making sure the search-focused crawlers can reach your public pages.
Measuring AI visibility
AI visibility is harder to measure than rankings, but you can build a reasonable picture from a few sources.
Referral traffic
In GA4, visits from AI assistants show up as referrals from domains such as chatgpt.com, perplexity.ai, gemini.google.com and copilot.microsoft.com. Group them into a custom channel so you can see the trend. Volumes are usually small, but conversion rates are often higher than average.
Search Console
Clicks and impressions from AI Overviews and AI Mode are included in Search Console's web search totals rather than reported separately. Watch for pages whose impressions rise while clicks fall, which often signals an AI answer taking the click.
Prompt checks
Once a month, ask the main AI tools the questions your customers ask: "best [service] in [town]", "how much does [service] cost", "who should I use for [problem]". Record whether you are mentioned, whether you are linked and who is recommended instead.
Bing Webmaster Tools
Bing's index feeds Microsoft Copilot and is one of the sources behind some other assistants. Verify your site in Bing Webmaster Tools, submit your sitemap and fix any crawl errors it reports. It takes ten minutes and many businesses have never done it.
Ask your customers
Add "AI assistant such as ChatGPT" to the "how did you hear about us" options on your enquiry form, and ask on the phone. It is the simplest way to catch AI-driven enquiries that analytics cannot attribute.
What not to waste time on
AI search has attracted plenty of tactics that sound clever and do little.
- llms.txt files. The proposed standard is interesting, but major AI search tools have not confirmed they use it. It is cheap to add, but do not expect results. See llms.txt explained.
- Hidden instructions for AI. Text aimed at manipulating AI systems is treated as spam and can damage your normal rankings.
- Mass-produced AI content. Google's 2026 updates targeted scaled, thin content. Publishing hundreds of generic pages is more likely to hurt than help.
- Expensive AI visibility dashboards before the basics. Measurement tools are useful once your pages, entity and crawl access are in order, not instead of them.
- FAQ markup for rich results. Google no longer shows FAQ rich results, so add FAQs for readers, not for a search feature.
Checklist
Use this checklist to review your own site. Start with access and entity clarity, because content improvements cannot help if systems cannot reach or identify you.
- Googlebot, Bingbot and search-focused AI crawlers can reach your public pages.
- Firewall and CDN settings are not silently blocking legitimate crawlers.
- Key content is present in the page HTML.
- Your business name, address and phone number match everywhere.
- Your about page names real people and explains your experience.
- Organization or LocalBusiness schema is present and accurate.
- Each service page opens with a direct answer and includes specific facts.
- Guides use question headings where natural, plus tables and lists where helpful.
- Key pages show a last-updated date and are reviewed regularly.
- Reviews are requested steadily and answered.
- AI referrals are grouped in GA4 and checked monthly.
- Your enquiry form asks whether people found you through an AI assistant.
AI visibility sits on top of the SEO basics covered in our small business SEO guide. If you want help, our SEO services include AI visibility checks, and our web development team can fix crawl access, schema and page structure.
Frequently asked questions
What is AI search optimisation?
AI search optimisation is the process of making your business and content easy for AI tools such as Google AI Overviews, ChatGPT and Perplexity to find, understand and cite. It builds on SEO, with extra focus on answer-first writing, specific facts, consistent business information, structured data and making sure AI crawlers can access your pages.
How do I get my business into AI Overviews?
Make sure your pages are indexed and eligible for snippets in normal Google search, because AI Overviews draw on Google's index. Then answer common questions directly at the start of each section, include specific facts, show real expertise and keep business details consistent. Google says no special markup is needed, and nobody can guarantee inclusion.
Is GEO different from SEO?
Generative engine optimisation (GEO) is best treated as part of SEO rather than a separate discipline. Both rely on crawlable, trustworthy, useful pages. GEO puts more weight on how quotable individual passages are, on brand mentions and on crawl access for AI tools, and it is measured differently, through citations and AI referrals rather than rankings alone.
Check your AI visibility
Want to know whether AI assistants recommend you or your competitors? Request an AI search visibility check and we will show you where you appear, where you do not and what to fix first.