How to Optimise Your Content for AI Search: Google AI Overviews, ChatGPT & Perplexit

Google's AI Overviews now appear in roughly 30% of searches. ChatGPT has a search function. Perplexity is growing fast. The way people find information is changing, and your content strategy needs to change with it.

This isn't about abandoning traditional SEO. Everything that works for Google still matters. But there's now an additional layer: making your content easy for AI systems to understand, extract, and cite.

Here's what's actually different and what you need to do about it.

What's Changed About Search

Traditional SEO focused on getting your page to rank in the blue links. You optimised for keywords, built backlinks, and hoped people clicked through to your site.

AI search works differently. Instead of showing ten blue links, these systems:

• Read and synthesise content from multiple sources
• Generate direct answers in the search interface
• Sometimes cite sources, sometimes don't
• Prioritise content they can confidently extract facts from

The goal is no longer just ranking. It's becoming the source that AI systems trust enough to quote.

How Each Platform Works

Google AI Overviews

AI Overviews appear at the top of Google results for many queries, pulling information from web pages to create summarised answers.

What Google looks for:

• Direct answers in the first paragraph (don't bury the lead)
• Factual accuracy that matches consensus
• Clear structure with descriptive headings
• Demonstrated expertise and authority
• Content that actually answers the specific query

What gets you excluded:

• Vague or hedging language
• Answers buried deep in the content
• Information that conflicts with other authoritative sources
• Thin content without supporting detail

We've seen pages jump into AI Overviews simply by restructuring content to put the core answer first, then expanding with detail below.

ChatGPT Search

ChatGPT now browses the web in real-time for certain queries. It's looking for content it can use to give comprehensive, accurate answers.

What ChatGPT favours:

• Plain language explanations (not jargon-heavy)
• Comprehensive coverage of topics
• Consistent information across your site
• Content structured for easy extraction (lists, steps, clear sections)

What hurts visibility:

• Contradicting yourself across different pages
• Complex or abstract language when simple would work
• Content that talks around topics without concrete information

Perplexity

Perplexity is interesting because it actually cites sources prominently. When it quotes you, users see where the information came from and can click through.

What Perplexity rewards:

• Precise, factual statements (not vague generalisations)
• Well-organised, scannable content
• Depth across a topic (multiple related pages)
• Clear authorship and business information
• Technical foundations (clean URLs, proper heading structure, schema)

Perplexity is probably the biggest opportunity right now because citations drive actual traffic, unlike AI Overviews which often answer queries without sending clicks.

What Actually Needs to Change

Here's the practical part. What do you actually do differently?

1. Answer First, Expand Second

Old approach: Build up to your point with context and background.

New approach: State the answer immediately, then provide supporting detail.

Before:

"When considering website costs, there are many factors to take into account. The complexity of your project, the features you need, and the agency you choose all play a role. Generally speaking, costs can vary significantly based on these considerations..."

After:

"A professional business website in New Zealand typically costs $4,000-$12,000. Basic brochure sites sit at the lower end, while e-commerce or custom functionality pushes costs higher. Here's what affects pricing..."

The second version gives AI something concrete to extract. The first version says nothing useful in the first 50 words.

2. Use Clear, Consistent Definitions

AI systems work with entities and relationships. If you define something inconsistently, you create confusion.

Pick your terminology and stick with it. If you call it "search engine optimisation" on one page and "SEO services" on another, that's fine. But if you describe what SEO actually involves differently across pages, that's a problem.

Create clear definitions for your key services and concepts. Use them consistently.

3. Structure for Extraction

AI systems extract information more easily when content is clearly organised.

Use descriptive headings: "How Much Does a Website Cost in NZ" is better than "Pricing Information"

Break up information: Short paragraphs, bullet points for lists, numbered steps for processes

One topic per section: Don't blend multiple concepts together

Use the heading hierarchy properly: H2 for main sections, H3 for subsections, not random heading choices for visual styling

4. Be Specific and Factual

Vague content doesn't get cited. Specific content does.

Vague: "We offer competitive pricing for quality web design services."

Specific: "Our web design packages start at $4,500 for a 5-page business site, with most projects falling between $6,000-$15,000 depending on complexity."

Vague: "SEO takes time to show results."

Specific: "Most SEO campaigns take 4-6 months to show significant ranking improvements, with full results typically visible at 9-12 months."

AI systems are looking for facts they can confidently repeat. Give them facts.

5. Demonstrate Expertise

AI platforms are trying to identify trustworthy sources. Help them by making your expertise visible:

• Author information on articles
• About page with real credentials and experience
• Case studies with specific results
• Clear business information (location, contact details, company registration)
• Industry-specific knowledge that generic content wouldn't have

6. Add Schema Markup

Schema helps AI understand what your content is about. For most business sites, implement:

• LocalBusiness schema (who you are, where you're located)
• Service schema (what you offer)
• FAQPage schema (for FAQ sections)
• Article schema (for blog posts)
• Review schema (for testimonials)

This doesn't guarantee AI inclusion, but it removes ambiguity about what your pages contain.

7. Build Topical Depth

Single pages on random topics don't establish authority. Clusters of related content do.

If you want to be cited for web design topics, you need multiple pages covering different aspects: pricing, process, platforms, industries you serve, common mistakes, etc.

This signals to AI systems that you have genuine depth on the topic, not just one page targeting a keyword.

What This Looks Like in Practice

Here's how we approach this for clients:

Audit existing content: Identify pages that could rank in AI results with restructuring. Often the information is there but buried or poorly organised.

Restructure key pages: Move core answers to the top, improve heading structure, add specific facts and figures.

Fill content gaps: Identify topics where you should have depth but don't. Build out content clusters.

Add schema: Implement appropriate markup across the site.

Update regularly: AI systems favour current information. Dated content gets deprioritised.

Monitor what's being cited: Track when your content appears in AI results and what pages are being referenced.

The Relationship With Traditional SEO

Here's the good news: almost everything that helps with AI search also helps with traditional SEO.

• Clear, well-structured content ranks better
• Specific, factual information attracts backlinks
• Topical depth builds domain authority
• Schema helps Google understand your pages

You're not choosing between AI optimisation and traditional SEO. You're doing better SEO that also works for AI.

The only real addition is thinking about how your content reads to an extraction system. Can an AI pull a clear, accurate answer from your page? If not, restructure until it can.

What Not to Do

Don't stuff content with AI-related keywords. Writing "AI Overviews optimisation" seventeen times won't help. Write naturally.

Don't sacrifice user experience. If your content is great for AI but unreadable for humans, you've failed. Users still need to convert.

Don't ignore traditional SEO. You still need to rank before AI can find you. Technical foundations, backlinks, and content quality still matter.

Don't expect immediate results. AI systems take time to recrawl and reevaluate content. This is a long game.

Getting Started

If you want to start optimising for AI search:

• Pick your 5-10 most important pages
• Check if answers appear in the first paragraph
• Ensure headings are descriptive and logical
• Add specific facts and figures where you're currently vague
• Implement basic schema markup
• Plan content to build depth around key topics

This gets you 80% of the benefit. The remaining 20% is ongoing refinement based on what's actually getting cited.

Need help making your content AI-ready? Get in touch and we'll audit your current content and show you exactly what needs to change.