Search engine optimisation (SEO) is more important than ever for businesses to improve their online visibility.
With the rise of AI technologies, SEO strategies are evolving rapidly.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become a powerful tool that enhances how we approach SEO. Google’s share of the global search engine market fell below 90% for the first time in a decade. Emphasising the significant rise of AI-driven search.
This is where Artificial Intelligence Optimisation (AIO) comes in.
What is AI Optimisation?
AI Optimisation (AIO) or sometimes referred to as generative engine optimisation (GEO), is the process of adapting content to be easily understood by AI-driven search engines and tools.
This has appeared as a reaction to the introduction of AI-driven search engines. It is a tactic that concentrates on creating content that not only captivates human readers and follows traditional SEO practices but also strikes a chord with AI-driven search engines.
The benefits of AIO
As more people use AI for search instead of traditional methods, it’s important to be included in them.
Appearing in an AI search platform can help your business get more traffic to your website and ultimately more conversions.
The increased visibility you receive by appearing in AI searches can significantly boost your business’s ability to:
- Increase brand awareness
- Capture leads
- Increase sales
The challenge is figuring out how to be featured on and rank at the top of these AI platforms.
How to optimise content to be found on AI tools
AI-driven tools, like Perplexity, are becoming the key places for people to find your content. The first content and website link people see is crucial.
So how do you get your content there?
AI driven tools prioritise content that is easy to scan. This could include:
- Using structured, human friendly content: This helps maintain an easy-to-read format for humans. Think of it as a resource that can answer multiple related questions, rather than just focusing on SEO.
- Adopting a conversational style: Adopt question-based phrases that reflect how people speak and type.
- Providing expert answers: When citing statistics, mention the source. This boosts credibility and helps AI confirm the validity of your claims.
- Ensuring technical accessibility: This helps AI chatbots analyse your site accurately. Ensure you have proper HTML tagging and clean URL structures.
- Updating existing content for AI consumption: Many companies already have valuable content. Update existing content using AI to repurpose this content and gain deeper insights.
- Leveraging internal linking and topic clusters: Interlinking throughout your website can help AI understand how your content fits together. This will provide a better answer.
Optimising for different types of AI-driven search tools
Considering how different types of AI-driven searches require various optimisation strategies is important.
- Research based platforms: Platforms such as Perplexity are designed to provide fast, clear and verifiable answers to questions. It provides answers with citations from the sources it has used to generate the answer.
- Task based platforms: Platforms like ChatGPT are considered to be task based. It is a conversational based chatbot that can assist with a wide range of tasks. Including answering questions or generating content.
Choosing the type of AI platform you want to be found on can enhance your strategy. AI-driven tools that will cite your website will be most beneficial for driving traffic and in turn increasing conversions.
How does it impact your content strategy?
Evolving your content strategy to match the transition into an AI era is critical. Embracing AIO as part of your strategy will help your business appear in traditional search and on AI search platforms.
The more relevant and optimised your content is, the more likely it will appear on these AI search platforms, such as Perplexity or ChatGPT.
Meeting the shifting demands of search
As AI continues to integrate into search, user experience and expectations will evolve.
Users will expect and appreciate more direct answers, in addition to traditional responses. AI search driven platforms are already demonstrating this.
As consumers increasingly seek immediate, direct answers, the way we present content will need to evolve. SEO strategies will have to focus not just on ranking higher but on ensuring that content is concise, clear, and designed to be directly integrated into AI-driven search results.
This could involve focusing on optimising for:
- Featured snippets
- Answer boxes
- Other formats that provide instant value to users.
Businesses will need to create content that directly aligns with common search intents. Anticipating not just what users are asking but how they are asking it.
The future of AI Optimisation
We should embrace AIO in our SEO practices, not view it as a temporary disruption.
The integration of AI into search is fundamentally reshaping the user experience. Businesses must adapt to meet these shifting demands.
The ability to provide immediate, direct answers is becoming more essential, and SEO strategies must evolve accordingly.
As AI tools become more sophisticated and predictive, businesses will need to strike a balance between optimising for AI-driven systems and ensuring that they maintain a human touch in their content.
A measured, thoughtful approach to AI integration will ultimately produce the best results in this rapidly changing landscape.