AI tools are becoming increasingly embedded in our daily lives. While platforms like ChatGPT don’t operate as traditional search engines, they depend heavily on publicly available web content to generate responses. This content is typically gathered through website crawlers or partnerships with search engines. By making your content accessible, well-structured, and relevant, you increase the likelihood of being referenced in responses to related user queries.
Why optimization matters
Similar to how brands want to appear on the first page of a Google Search result, when someone asks an AI tool about your industry, products, or services, you want to be part of the answer, the subject expert. Whether it’s pulling details from a blog post, summarizing a product feature, or recommending a best practice, these AI tool algorithms rely on well-written, descriptive online content to do their jobs. Apply traditional SEO principles with an AI twist to improve your odds of being included.
How to do it
-
Create content that directly answers your customers’ commonly asked questions
Start by identifying the questions your audience might ask. Try to put yourself in the audience’s shoes and consider the native language, not just keywords. Then, craft your website content to provide clear answers to those questions.
For example:
- How does [insert product] work?
- What are the benefits of [insert product]?
- Best tools for [insert product]?
- Ensure every image has descriptive alt text
Alt text plays a critical role in both accessibility and SEO, and it also helps AI crawlers understand what your visual content represents. Ensure every image on your website, blog, or social media includes meaningful descriptive alt text.
For example:
- Step-by-step diagram of [insert product] workflow
- Demonstration of [insert product] in use
- Optimize content like PDFs and videos
PDFs and videos are great for engagement, but often get overlooked in SEO. If you are using content like this, make sure you do the following to optimize it:
- Add meta tags and descriptions
- For video, include closed captions and transcripts
- Use clear headings (H1, H2)
- Incorporate natural language answers to the questions likely to be asked into the meta descriptions
These changes will help AI crawlers access and understand your content more effectively.
- Add an XML sitemap to your website
An XML sitemap provides a structured overview of your website’s pages, making it easier for crawlers to navigate and understand your content.
- Update your robots.txt file to allow for web crawlers
Your website’s robots.txt file controls what content web crawlers can access. You need to explicitly grant permission to allow web crawlers like OpenAI’s GPTBot (used by ChatGPT) to crawl your site. This simple code update ensures your content is accessible to AI tools like ChatGPT to train and learn from. Many website platforms or SEO plug-ins offer built-in tools to edit this file.
- Stay active on social media with content tailored to answering anticipated questions
AI tools learn from publicly available information, making platforms like LinkedIn, X, and Instagram instrumental in their development. You expand your digital footprint by using these channels to answer key industry questions that users might ask an AI tool. This approach strengthens your brand’s authority on these topics and increases your chances of being cited in AI-generated answers.
As conversational AI continues to shape how people find and engage with information online, optimizing your site only for traditional search engines is no longer enough. You must also make your content accessible, helpful, and visible to the AI systems powering tools like ChatGPT.
Need help making your site AI-ready? Our team can help boost your visibility and ensure your brand is part of the AI-powered future of search.
