Search is no longer confined to a list of blue links. People now ask ChatGPT, Google’s AI features, Claude and other answer engines to compare suppliers, explain services and suggest who to contact. Sometimes the answer includes a citation. Sometimes it gives the business name, telephone number or a summary without requiring the user to visit the website first.
That changes the journey, but it does not make established SEO obsolete. The job is still to make your business easy to crawl, understand and trust. The difference is that your content may now be used to assemble an answer, not merely to rank a page.
What “AI-ready SEO” really means
AI-ready SEO is the work of making a website technically accessible, factually clear and genuinely useful so that search engines and AI-assisted search products can retrieve it, understand the business behind it, and confidently use or cite it when it answers a user’s question.
It is not a new set of magic tags. Google explicitly says there are no additional technical requirements, special schema types or AI text files needed to appear in its AI search features. Its existing crawling, indexing, quality and snippet systems remain the foundation. OpenAI and Anthropic use their own search crawlers and user-directed retrieval systems, so crawler access also matters outside Google.
How AI Search Finds and Chooses Information
A simplified journey looks like this:
1. Discovery
A crawler or search index finds a public page through links, sitemaps and other discovery routes.
2. Access
The site’s robots.txt, server rules, firewall and page controls determine whether the content can be fetched.
3. Understanding
Clear headings, descriptive copy, structured data and consistent business details help systems identify the organisation, service, location and answer.
4. Retrieval
When a user asks a question, the search product retrieves pages or passages that appear relevant.
5. Selection and Presentation
The product may quote, summarise, cite or link to sources. No optimisation can guarantee inclusion, wording or position.
This is why a technically perfect page with thin, generic copy can still fail, while a useful page that is blocked from crawling may never get considered. Visibility depends on both access and quality.
The Eight Changes Worth Making Now
1. Make the site crawlable and indexable
Start with the basics: use HTTPS, submit an XML sitemap, repair broken internal links, remove accidental noindex directives, and check that important content is available in the rendered HTML. Review robots.txt and security tools so they are not blocking the search systems you actually want.
- For Google AI features, normal Googlebot controls apply.
- For ChatGPT search, allow OAI-SearchBot if you want pages to be eligible for search summaries and snippets.
- For Claude, review access for Claude-SearchBot and Claude-User separately from ClaudeBot, which is associated with model training.
Crawler policies change. Recheck the providers’ official documentation rather than copying an old robots.txt template from a blog.
2. State exactly who you are and what you do
Do not make a machine or a potential customer piece the business together from vague slogans. The homepage and core service pages should plainly identify the trading name, principal services, locations served, ideal customer and the next action.
- Use one consistent business name, address and main telephone number across the website and trusted profiles.
- Create a strong About page with real people, experience, credentials and geographic relevance.
- Give every important service its own useful page rather than hiding everything in one paragraph.
- Use natural language that matches the questions customers actually ask.
3. Put important contact details where people can act
A visible phone number and clear call to action near the top of the page are good conversion practice. Repeat the details in the footer and contact page, use clickable telephone and email links, and keep the information as text rather than embedding it only in an image.
This does not guarantee that an AI answer will reproduce the number or place it “above the fold”. It does reduce ambiguity and gives both visitors and retrieval systems a clear, consistent source.
4. Answer specific questions with first-hand evidence
Generic content is easy to produce and easy to ignore. Strong pages demonstrate real experience. Explain the problem, the method, the trade-offs, the location and the result. Add useful measurements, original photographs, examples, case studies and named expertise where appropriate.
- Replace “we provide a quality service” with details of how the work is carried out.
- Publish case studies that name the challenge, solution and outcome, subject to customer permission.
- Use FAQs because they help the reader, not because an FAQ schema tag is expected to force an AI result.
- Keep advice current with a visible reviewed or updated date.
5. Structure each page for fast understanding
Write a descriptive title and opening paragraph that answer the page’s main question quickly. Use a logical heading hierarchy, short sections, descriptive links and lists where they improve scanning. Put supporting detail below the concise answer instead of burying the point.
The aim is not to write for robots. It is to remove ambiguity. A page that is easy for a busy customer to understand is normally easier for retrieval systems to interpret too.
6. Use structured data accurately
Relevant schema markup can help search engines understand the entities and attributes on a page and can support eligibility for certain rich results. Use the most appropriate supported types—such as Organisation, LocalBusiness, Article, Breadcrumb and genuine product or service-related markup—only when the markup matches visible content.
Structured data is not a secret AI ranking switch. Google says no special AI schema is required. Never mark up invented reviews, hidden FAQs or claims that a visitor cannot verify on the page.
7. Strengthen the business entity beyond your own site
AI-assisted search compares information from multiple sources. Maintain an accurate Google Business Profile where relevant, along with appropriate industry directories, professional profiles and social accounts. Earn genuine mentions and links from customers, partners, trade bodies, local organisations and reputable publications.
Consistency matters more than being listed everywhere. Correct conflicting phone numbers, names and addresses. A smaller set of accurate, relevant references is more useful than hundreds of low-quality directory entries.
8. Measure leads, not just clicks
AI answers can create a ‘zero-click’ enquiry: the prospect discovers the company in an answer and calls without visiting the site. That means website traffic alone will not show the whole result.
- Continue monitoring Google Search Console for visibility and landing-page performance.
- Track ChatGPT referrals; OpenAI states that ChatGPT search referrals include utm_source=chatgpt.com.
- Ask new prospects how they found the business and include AI assistants as an option.
- Record branded searches, qualified calls, form completions and conversion rate alongside visits.
- If using call tracking, preserve consistent public business details and configure tracking carefully.
What Not To Waste Time On
- Do not buy an ‘AI schema’ package that promises guaranteed recommendations.
- Do not publish hundreds of near-identical AI-written pages with no original value.
- Do not add an llms.txt file and assume the job is done;Google says it is not required for its AI features.
- Do not block important crawlers accidentally while trying to block model-training bots.
- Do not hide key facts inside PDFs, images or scripts when they should also be clear on the page.
- Do not measure success only by rankings for a short list of keywords.
A Practical 30-day AI Visibility Plan
Week 1: Access and Measurement
Audit robots.txt, indexing, sitemaps, page rendering, analytics, Search Console and referral tracking.
Week 2: Entity Clarity
Standardise the business name and contact details; improve the homepage, About page, contact page and business profiles.
Week 3: Answer Depth
Upgrade the most commercially important service pages and publish one evidence-rich case study or expert guide.
Week 4: Markup and Proof
Validate appropriate structured data, improve internal links, seek relevant third-party mentions, and establish a monthly review.
A Quick Readiness Checklist
Important pages can be crawled and indexed.
The site clearly states the business, services and locations.
Contact details are visible, text-based and consistent.
Each priority service has a substantial, useful page.
Content demonstrates real experience and is kept current.
Headings, links and page structure are descriptive.
Structured data matches the visible page.
Trusted profiles and citations confirm the same business facts.
Analytics capture referrals, enquiries and lead source.
The Real Opportunity
The opportunity is bigger than chasing a new ranking factor. Businesses can become the clearest, most credible answer in their market. That means better websites for people and better source material for AI-assisted search.
Begin with technical access, business clarity and genuinely useful content. Then strengthen the evidence around the business and measure whether the right enquiries arrive. Those improvements support conventional search, AI search and most importantly, the customer deciding who to contact.
Is your website ready to be found in AI-assisted search?
Andy Proctor can review your website’s crawlability, business signals, service content and conversion path, then prioritise the practical changes most likely to improve visibility and enquiries. Contact Andy to arrange an AI visibility and SEO review.