How people find information, including your site’s content, is changing—fast. AI search tools like Google’s AI Overviews, Perplexity AI’s Deep Research, and Grok DeepSearch are redefining the way we search, summarize, and discover content.
Being a “power searcher” used to mean knowing your Boolean operators. Now, it means knowing how to ask an AI to dig deep on your behalf. These tools scan dozens of sources, synthesize information, and cite references, all in the time it takes for you to think about making your espresso.
To ensure your content remains visible in this new search landscape, your content must not only be optimized for people and search engines, but for AI crawlers as well.
1. Update Your Sites’s Older Content for AI Readability
Remember the days of endlessly scrolling through a long-winded blog post just to find the actual recipe? That era is fading. To ensure your content remains discoverable, you need to cut to the chase much faster. That’s because AI tools prioritize clarity and structure. They don’t want fluff (and neither do readers).
To make your content AI-friendly, focus on scannability. That means using:
- Clear, hierarchical headings
- Bullet points and numbered lists
- Short paragraphs
- Tables to present data
- Q&A sections for common queries
- A summary at the top
This structure improves user experience and helps content surface in AI-generated summaries, like Google’s AI Overviews.
AI also favors recently updated content. Remove dates from URLs and update the publish date when you make substantial edits.
2. Write for Search Intent—Not Just Keywords
Search intent is the why behind the user’s motivation. Are they trying to learn, navigate, compare, or buy?
SEO tools often categorize intent as:
- Informational. This refers to a person seeking more knowledge or an answer to a question. For example, “What is AI search?” These searches often include the five Ws— who, what, when, where, or why.
- Navigational. Here a user is looking for something specific that they know. They might enter the name of a website or business such as “Chicago Sun-Times” or “Alley Digital Agency.”
- Commercial. In this scenario, the individual is planning to take action soon. Let’s imagine someone wanted to donate after a devastating California wildfire. They might search “Nonprofits accepting donations for fire victims.” Or if someone wants to read more local news in Boston, they might Google “Local news sources Boston.”
- Transactional. At this point, a person is ready to take some form of action– “Hire WordPress agency” or “Donate to fire victims.”
When creating or updating content, pick one of these search intents and shape your post around it. That helps make your content more appealing to AI, as summarizing your content is likely to result in clearer, more accurate answers that align with user expectations and increase your chances of being featured in AI-generated summaries.
To get a handle on intent, search for keywords that are central to your post. What comes up in the search results? Do they mirror what you have written? If not, adjust your content to reflect how real people are searching the topic.
Gone are the days of single keyword focus. Instead, enrich your content with long-tail phrases and comprehensive answers. Anticipate the questions your audience is asking, and answer them clearly. Write from multiple angles. You can Google something and look at the “People also ask” results. You can structure your pages in a Q&A format where appropriate as this seems to rank well with AI overview features.
3. Build Trust Through EEAT
To feature your content, AI needs to trust it. That means demonstrating EEAT:
- Experience
- Expertise
- Authoritativeness
- Trustworthiness
Google first introduced this concept as “EAT” in 2018, then added the second “E” (for Experience) in 2022. These days, Authoritativeness is especially critical to capturing AI search attention. Recent algorithm updates favor content with credible authors with robust bios.
To boost your EEAT signals:
- Include author bylines that link to detailed bio pages and include an archive of the author’s content
- Link to high-quality external sources
- Showcase firsthand experience
- Keep content up-to-date and relevant
Your site should clearly convey why you are the best source to answer that question, both for AI and readers.
4. Use Structured Data and Prioritize Performance
Structured data is metadata embedded in your site’s code—designed specifically for machines. Google uses it to enhance results with rich snippets (like FAQs, reviews, or product listings), and AI crawlers now use them, too.
Structured data helps AI understand your content faster and more accurately. And because speed = cost for AI tools, they’re incentivized to prioritize fast, parseable pages.
Add structured data for:
- Articles
- Events
- Products
- Recipes
- Videos
- Jobs
- FAQs
- Breadcrumbs
- Courses
- Local businesses
- And more (see Google’s full list)
Make sure the structured data matches the search intent. For live events, include real-time updates. For product pages, keep pricing and availability current. This precision helps content rise to the top in AI search results.
Site performance continues to be a critical factor in ranking at the top of organic search results, and AI overviews often reference the top-ranking pages. Improving Core Web Vitals is a solid strategy for both users and bots.
5. Optimize for AI Without Forgetting Humans
AI isn’t replacing human readers—it’s filtering and amplifying content for them. That means the best strategy is still the same: create helpful, clear, and valuable content. But now, give AI a hand by:
- Structuring your content for fast parsing
- Aligning with search intent
- Demonstrating credibility through EEAT
- Using structured data to enhance visibility
- Prioritizing performance and freshness
At Alley, we’re always adapting to stay ahead of the curve, and we’re here to help you do the same. As the internet evolves, your content strategy should evolve with it.Want to talk more about making your site future-ready? Let’s chat!