Google repeatedly has said (over the last 2 decades, I think) to always write for your audience, rather than for search engines.

And with the advent of AI-driven answers at the top of search results, Google’s answer is still the same: don’t try to game the AI. Write useful, relevant content for your audience.

But there are at least 7 steps you can take to help get your content mentioned in AI answers ─ and ensure your brand and product/service benefits are clear.

How to tailor your content to appear in AI answers – and be reader-friendly

Your existing (including old) blog posts can help with your SEO/GEO (generative engine optimization) efforts if they are “tweaked” a little. And you’ll want to structure new pages and posts to maximize their value during the reign of AI answers in search.

These GEO tactics will serve to enhance your current SEO efforts:

Content structure tweaks to improve AI visibility

  1. Be sure your H1 main headline is clear about what readers will learn from your page or post. Longer headlines can be more specific, and specificity is more likely to attract eyeballs, AI-bots, and a qualified audience.
    1. Longer headlines also tend to win over shorter headlines in tests of web pages, blog posts, and direct mail. (Email tends to be the only exception where shorter can be better, because longer Subject Lines can be truncated by email programs and most cell phones)
  2. Consider structuring your main headline as a question your audience is likely to ask.
  3. Structure your posts with H2 and H3 subheads, again the more specific the better. Break the content into logical sections, so it’s clear to the scanning reader (and to AI bots) what each section is about
    1. Your headline and subheads should form an outline of your page or post, so it’s clear to visitors exactly what they’ll find there
  4. Structure your subheads as questions where it makes sense for the content and your reader.

Message elements to add for GEO or Generative AI friendliness

  1. Include a 1-3 sentence summary with key takeaways at the top of each page and post.
  2. Especially if you’re updating older blog posts, add links to newer related articles on your site.
  3. Consider adding a FAQ section. Not only do AI-bots love the question-and-answer format, but readers also favor it. Readers tend to read more when the content is broken up into clear questions and answers.

But don’t forget writing ─ and designing your content ─ for your audience in pursuit of AI answers

Some suggest we need to write “self-contained paragraphs” that completely answer a question for AI.

That may be attractive to AI when the answer to the question is relatively simple. But your audience does not want to read long paragraphs.

So always write for your audience first. Answer the question – but break up the answer into multiple paragraphs if it helps with comprehension, or it just makes the answer look friendlier.

Once prospects get to your page or post, you want them to find what they’re looking for. You don’t want them to get bogged down by an unfriendly-looking page of long paragraphs (the fastest way to cause visitors to leave).

So just because someone told you AI wanted “self-contained paragraphs” does not mean you forget writing for your audience. “Writing” includes the way the content looks in terms of ease of reading. Don’t forget your conversion best practices in pursuit of increased AI visibility.

So you’re mentioned in AI answers. Is your GEO job done?

Because Google Gemini is real-time search, are you regularly checking the AI results for various queries? I want to see the AI results where my client’s brand or product/service is mentioned ─ and identify any problems with the answer.

For example, during key seasonal selling, I asked Google Gemini which company offered the better value between my client and their key competitor. I had noticed the competitor hadn’t updated their pricing for the 2026 renewal period, but Gemini did not. Unfortunately, it was comparing the competitor’s pricing for service from 1/1/25 to 12/31/25 to my client’s 2026 pricing. So, I revised all of the client’s product pages involved in the seasonal sale to mention “2026” and “effective 1/1/2026” to make our pricing clear (and try to encourage the AI-bot to pay attention to the competitor’s “2025” mentions for pricing.)

In another case, I noticed the AI cited my client’s content in most of the answer ─ until it got to “features to look for.” The AI cited 2 features my client’s service absolutely offered, but the AI didn’t say my client’s service included them. So, I mentioned those 2 features higher up and more prominently on the client’s product pages.

You can also compare your product to a competitor’s product. I had the AI answer telling our audience my client’s product was “just a better value” than the competitor’s product, because that’s what the content on the product page said.

Remember when we’d assume results of our SEO efforts would kick in after a few weeks (or maybe even a few months)? Now, you can see how your pages are being interpreted by the AI-bot, make changes, and re-query to see the results today. Now that’s real-time marketing.

Contact Us to Help with Your SEO and GEO Marketing Efforts

Call 760-479-0010 (USA) or email us to talk about how we can improve your visibility in AI answers.

Our BEST-SELLING book, “The Results Obsession: ROI-Focused Digital Strategies to Transform Your Marketing” is available on Amazon, now in its second edition!

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Learn more about The Results Obsession and see the Table of Contents

The Results Obsession has an entire chapter devoted to SEO, including Video SEO.

Plus multiple chapters on copywriting for websites and email.

Includes a chapter on marketing math and budgeting (as well as a chapter devoted to analyzing Google Analytics 4, email, and social media results).