How to Show Up in AI Search (Without Chasing Hacks)

Every week someone asks me how to show up in AI search — Google's AI Overviews, AI Mode, ChatGPT, all of it. And every week there's a new "AI SEO" product promising a secret.

Here's the uncomfortable truth, straight from Google: for its AI features, there isn't one.

What Google actually says

Google's documentation on AI features in Search is short and direct:

• "There are no additional requirements to appear in AI Overviews or AI Mode, nor other special optimizations necessary."
• "The best practices for SEO remain relevant for AI features in Google Search."
• "To be eligible to be shown as a supporting link in AI Overviews or AI Mode, a page must be indexed and eligible to be shown in Google Search with a snippet."

And one honest caveat: meeting all the requirements "doesn't mean that Google will crawl, index, or serve its content."

Source: Google Search Central — AI features and your website.

So the "AI SEO" playbook, for Google at least, is the SEO playbook. The businesses getting cited are mostly the ones who were already doing the fundamentals well.

The fundamentals that matter more now, not less

1. Be indexable. If Google can't crawl and index a page, no AI feature can cite it. Check Google Search Console for pages that aren't indexed and find out why.

2. Write for people first. Google's guidance defines it this way: "People-first content means content that's created primarily for people, and not to manipulate search engine rankings" — Google Search Central — Creating helpful, reliable, people-first content.

3. Show first-hand experience. One of Google's own self-assessment questions: "Does your content clearly demonstrate first-hand expertise and a depth of knowledge?" This is where local businesses have an unfair advantage. You've actually done the work. Say what you've seen, what it costs, what goes wrong, what you'd do differently.

4. Answer the actual question, early. If someone asks "how long does a crown take," the page should say so near the top — then explain. Clear answers are easy to quote.

5. Be the same business everywhere. Your name, services, location and contact details should match across your site, your Business Profile and your listings. Consistency makes you easy to understand.

What I'd skip

• Paying for "AI rankings." Google says no special optimizations are necessary. Be skeptical of anyone selling one.
• Mass-producing thin AI-written pages. Content made to manipulate rankings is the opposite of what Google's guidance asks for.
• Rewriting everything in a panic. Improve your most important pages first — your core services and your most common questions.

What to do this week

Pick the five questions customers ask you most. Make sure each one has a clear, honest, first-hand answer on your site, written the way you'd say it in person. That's good for customers, good for search, and good for whatever AI shows up next.

Want help figuring out which pages matter most? Book a call.