Short answer: AI SEO has two meanings. First, it means using artificial intelligence tools to help with SEO work, such as keyword research and writing. Second, and more importantly for most businesses, it means making your business easy for AI search tools, such as Google’s AI Overviews, ChatGPT and Perplexity, to find, trust and mention in their answers. This second meaning is also called generative engine optimization (GEO). Good AI SEO is built on good traditional SEO: clear, accurate, helpful pages on a website search engines can read.
More people now ask AI tools questions they used to type into Google. Instead of ten blue links, they get a written answer with a few sources. This guide explains how those answers are put together, how AI SEO differs from the SEO you already know and what you can do, step by step, to give your business the best chance of being included.
What is AI SEO?
AI SEO is a broad term, and people use it in two ways.
1. Using AI to do SEO
This means using AI tools to speed up SEO tasks, for example:
- grouping hundreds of keywords into topics,
- drafting outlines and first drafts of content,
- writing title tags and meta descriptions,
- spotting technical problems in website crawl data,
- summarizing what competitors cover.
These tools save time, but they do not replace judgement. A human still needs to check facts, add real experience and decide what matters for the business.
2. Optimizing for AI search
This means improving your website and your online reputation so that AI tools use your content and mention your business in their answers. This is the meaning most business owners care about, because it affects whether customers hear about you.
When people talk about GEO (generative engine optimization), AEO (answer engine optimization) or LLM optimization, they usually mean this second type.
AI SEO terms explained
| Term | What it means |
|---|---|
| AI Overview | A short AI-written summary at the top of some Google results, with links to sources |
| AI Mode | A Google search mode where you can ask longer questions and follow-ups, and get an AI-written answer with links |
| GEO (generative engine optimization) | Improving content so AI tools are more likely to use and cite it |
| AEO (answer engine optimization) | A similar term, focused on giving direct answers to questions |
| LLM (large language model) | The type of AI behind tools such as ChatGPT and Gemini |
| Citation | A link to your page shown alongside an AI answer |
| Brand mention | Your business named in an AI answer, with or without a link |
| E-E-A-T | Experience, expertise, authoritativeness and trust: qualities Google looks for in helpful content |
How AI search tools choose their sources
Each AI tool works differently, and none publishes a full recipe. But the official documentation gives some clear facts.
Google AI Overviews and AI Mode
Google’s guidance for site owners says AI Overviews and AI Mode show links to supporting web pages, and that a page must be indexed and eligible to appear in Google Search with a snippet to be used. It says there are no additional technical requirements, and that the same SEO best practices apply: allowing Google to crawl your site, making pages easy to find through internal links, and creating helpful, reliable, people-first content.
Google also explains that these features may run several related searches behind the scenes (it calls this “query fan-out”) to build an answer. That means a page that clearly answers one specific part of a bigger question can still be used.
ChatGPT search
OpenAI’s documentation says ChatGPT search uses a crawler called OAI-SearchBot. Websites that block OAI-SearchBot in their robots.txt file will not be shown in ChatGPT search answers, although they may still appear as a plain link. If you want to appear, make sure your website does not block it.
What this means in practice
AI tools mostly build answers from pages that search systems can already find and understand. So the basics still matter most: a website that can be crawled, pages that answer real questions clearly, accurate facts and a business that other trusted websites talk about.
AI SEO vs traditional SEO
| Traditional SEO | AI SEO (optimizing for AI answers) | |
|---|---|---|
| Goal | Rank high in the list of results | Be used, cited or mentioned in AI-written answers |
| What people see | A list of links | A written answer with a few sources |
| What helps | Relevant pages, technical health, links, local signals | All of the same, plus clear direct answers, accurate facts and mentions across the web |
| Content style | Pages built around keywords and topics | Pages that answer specific questions early and clearly, with facts that are easy to quote |
| Measuring success | Rankings, clicks and enquiries | Citations, brand mentions, and enquiries from people who saw you in AI answers |
| Where it happens | Google, Bing | Google AI Overviews and AI Mode, ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Copilot and others |
The key point is that AI SEO is not a replacement for traditional SEO. It is built on top of it. If your website is slow, hard to crawl or thin on useful content, it will struggle in both.
Where people search now
| Where | How results look | What helps you appear |
|---|---|---|
| Google classic results | Ads, map pack and organic links | Traditional SEO and local SEO |
| Google AI Overviews | A summary at the top with source links | Indexed pages with clear answers; normal SEO best practice |
| Google AI Mode | A conversation with links | The same as AI Overviews, plus depth on related questions |
| ChatGPT search | An answer with source links | Not blocking OAI-SearchBot; clear, crawlable pages; a strong reputation |
| Perplexity, Copilot, Gemini | Answers with sources | Crawlable, clear pages and mentions on trusted sites |
How to optimize for AI search: a seven-step plan
Step 1: Make sure AI and search crawlers can reach your site
Check your robots.txt file and any security or firewall settings. Googlebot must be allowed for AI Overviews. OAI-SearchBot must be allowed for ChatGPT search. Many websites block bots by accident through security plugins or hosting settings.
Step 2: Answer questions early and clearly
Start important pages with a short, direct answer of two or three sentences, then explain in more detail. Use headings that match the questions people ask. This article is an example: the short answer is at the top.
Step 3: Be specific and accurate
Use clear facts that are easy to check: what you do, where you work, your opening hours, your prices if you publish them, and how your service works. Avoid vague claims. Keep facts the same on every page and every profile.
Step 4: Show real experience
Add details only you can provide: examples of jobs, photos of your work, named team members and their qualifications, and honest advice. This supports E-E-A-T and gives AI tools something worth citing that is not on every other website.
Step 5: Use structured data
Schema markup tells search engines exactly what a page is about, such as your business details, services and FAQs. Our guide to how schema markup helps SEO explains how it works.
Step 6: Build your reputation beyond your website
AI tools learn about businesses from many places: reviews, directories, local news, industry websites and social media. Keep your Google Business Profile complete, ask happy customers for reviews and make sure your business details are correct everywhere they appear.
Step 7: Keep content fresh and connected
Review key pages regularly, update facts and link related pages together so both people and crawlers can find everything. Merging several thin pages into one strong guide, as we did with this article, can help too.
For a quick checklist version, read our eight things to do to get found in AI search. For Google specifically, see our guide to ranking in Google AI Overviews.
Using AI tools for SEO work
AI tools are useful helpers for SEO tasks. A sensible workflow looks like this:
- Research: use AI to group keywords and list the questions customers ask, then check the ideas against real search data.
- Plan: ask AI for an outline, then reorder and cut it to fit what your customers need.
- Draft: let AI write a first draft if it saves time, then rewrite it in your own voice with your own examples.
- Check: verify every fact, number and claim against a trusted source.
- Improve: use AI to suggest clearer headings, shorter sentences or missing questions.
Our guide to the best AI SEO tools for small businesses compares tools for each task.
Risks of using AI for SEO
- Made-up facts. AI tools can produce confident statements that are wrong. Always check.
- Generic content. If you publish what everyone else can generate, there is no reason for Google or an AI tool to choose you.
- Scaled low-value pages. Google’s spam policies target pages produced at scale mainly to rank, whether written by people or AI. Read our article on whether AI content is bad for SEO.
- Privacy. Do not paste customer details or confidential information into AI tools.
The UK Government’s AI Playbook was written for public sector teams, but its principles are a useful guide for any business, including keeping meaningful human control over what AI produces.
How to measure AI SEO
There is no single tool that shows every time AI mentions your business. Practical ways to keep track:
- Ask the tools yourself. Each month, ask ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google the questions your customers ask, such as “best electrician in Chelmsford”, and note whether you appear.
- Check referral traffic. In Google Analytics, look for visits from AI tools such as chatgpt.com and perplexity.ai.
- Watch Google Search Console. It shows clicks and impressions from Google Search, which include results pages that show AI Overviews.
- Ask new customers how they found you, and add “an AI tool such as ChatGPT” as an option on your enquiry form.
Is AI SEO worth it?
For most businesses, yes, because the work that helps you appear in AI answers is the same work that improves your normal SEO. You are not paying for a separate channel; you are making your existing website clearer, more accurate and easier to trust. The question of whether SEO still matters in the age of AI is covered in our article is SEO dead?
AI SEO is also different from advertising inside AI tools. If you want to pay to appear, our guide to ChatGPT ads, published on 27 October, explains what UK businesses can and cannot do today.
Getting help with AI SEO
If you would like an expert to check how visible your business is in AI search and what to fix first, see our AI SEO agency service. It is built on the same foundations as our SEO services in Essex and our SEO services in London.
Frequently asked questions
What is AI SEO in simple terms?
AI SEO means two things. It can mean using AI tools to help with SEO work, such as keyword research. More often, it means making your website and business easy for AI tools like Google’s AI Overviews and ChatGPT to find, trust and mention in their answers.
What is AI SEO called now?
You will see several names for the same idea: generative engine optimization (GEO), answer engine optimization (AEO), LLM optimization and AI search optimization. They all describe improving your content and reputation so AI tools use and cite you.
Can SEO be done by AI?
AI tools can do parts of SEO, such as grouping keywords, drafting content and spotting technical issues. They cannot replace the judgement, real experience and fact-checking that make content trustworthy. The best results come from people using AI tools carefully, not from AI working alone.
Is AI SEO different from traditional SEO?
It is built on traditional SEO rather than replacing it. Google says there are no extra technical requirements for its AI features and that normal SEO best practices apply. AI SEO adds extra focus on clear, direct answers, accurate facts and being mentioned on other trusted websites.
