Getting ready for AI search: a practical guide for brands that want to be found
AI has stopped being a sideshow in search. Between Google’s AI Overviews and AI Mode, plus chatbots like ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity, more people are getting answers without ever clicking a traditional result. That is brilliant for users and a headache for anyone who relies on organic traffic. The fix is not mystical. It is the same combination Honest London bangs on about daily, reputation and structure, just applied to a new interface.
Below is a clear, non-fluffy guide that keeps all the important details the Squarespace team surfaced, adjusted for how real brands actually work.
What AI SEO (AIO) is, in plain English
AI SEO is the practice of getting your brand and content included in AI-generated answers. You will see it labelled AIO (AI optimisation), GEO (generative engine optimisation), AEO (answer engine optimisation) and LLMO (large language model optimisation). The labels are less important than the aim, which is simple, when someone asks an AI a question you should appear in the response or in the cited sources.
Two things to note:
This is not only about long text answers. AI results also surface product cards, shopping suggestions and local lists.
AI responses vary. Ask the same thing twice and you can get different answers. That means more opportunities to appear, and more noise to cut through.
Why it matters now
Squarespace reports that 46% of entrepreneurs think AI could make or break their business within five years. At the same time, up to 80% of new site owners do not touch SEO settings in the first 90 days. That is a lot of missed visibility. Elsewhere, ChatGPT handles tens of millions of search-like prompts per day, and Adobe found more than half of shoppers plan to use generative AI for shopping research. If your content is not structured for machines and credible for humans, you will be quietly excluded while a competitor is name-checked above you.
There is also a nuance many miss. Visibility in an AI answer does not always equal a click. Sometimes it does, and early reports suggest AI-referred visitors can convert well, but you must plan for both outcomes. Optimise for mentions and citations, not only for click-through.
AIO vs traditional SEO
AI systems crawl and index the web like search engines always have, but they assemble responses rather than lists of links. The overlap with classic SEO is helpful. These fundamentals still matter and travel well into AIO:
Valuable, original informational content, written to answer real questions.
Clean technicals, including fast pages, clear internal linking and sitemaps.
Structured headings that make the hierarchy obvious.
Strong local listings via Google Business Profile.
Permission for crawlers in your settings and robots files.
Structured data on product pages.
Credible off-site signals such as reviews and quality press mentions.
Where AI differs is the weighting and the variability. You will not hold a single static position. You are competing to be quoted, summarised or listed.
How AI chooses what to show
Think like an editor and a parser.
Authority and brand. Are you recognised, referenced and consistent across the web, or are you a stranger shouting into the void.
Clarity and structure. Can a machine lift a sentence from your page that directly answers the question.
Relevance and recency. Are you obviously the right page for the task, and have you updated anything since last year.
Reputation cues. Reviews, testimonials, credible third-party coverage and accurate business details.
This is where PR and SEO finally admit they have been the same job all along.
What AI answers look like
Depending on the query and platform you can appear as:
Direct citations in an overview answer, with your site named as a source.
Conversational recommendations inside a chat thread, often with a short reason.
Product tiles showing price, availability and reviews.
Local lists or maps for location-based queries.
Your goal is to be quotable and listable.
Measuring AIO without losing your mind
Because AI results are nondeterministic you will not get a single clean ranking. So measure like a researcher.
Build a shortlist of target questions people genuinely ask before buying from you.
Test those questions across multiple AI tools.
Repeat the same question many times and log when you appear as a citation, recommendation or product.
Track AI visibility and classic SEO traffic separately. Hold realistic expectations, because you can gain a lot of visibility without a matching rise in clicks.
Review Google’s AI Overviews sources for your key terms monthly. They fluctuate more than standard results, but not as wildly as chatbots.
The ecommerce specifics you should not skip
If you sell products, your data quality decides whether you ever appear.
Structured data. Ensure product name, description, price, currency, stock status and review markup are present and accurate. Most platforms add basics, but check.
Conversational copy. Buyers ask full questions. Include natural phrases and FAQs, for example, “Best ceramic mug for gifting under £25”.
Off-site product signals. Encourage reviews on trusted platforms, secure coverage from credible reviewers and relevant publications, and keep business details consistent in directories.
Freshness. Update discontinued items, redirect sold-out pages to relevant alternatives and keep pricing current.
Experience signals. E-E-A-T still matters. Real photos, policies, contact details, awards and practical guides all help AI decide you are safe to recommend.
Performance. Faster pages, intuitive navigation and non-annoying UX help both people and parsers.
Six moves to improve AI visibility this quarter
Let crawlers in. Audit robots.txt and platform settings so search and AI bots can read your site.
Fix the hierarchy. One H1, logical H2s and H3s, and front-loaded answers. If a sentence cannot be lifted and dropped into an overview, rewrite it.
Ship helpful content. Write comparison guides, clear how-tos and concise FAQs that reflect lived experience, not filler.
Refresh monthly. Add a light cadence. Check facts, prices, product availability and key pages once a month.
Build brand signals. Collect testimonials, encourage reviews, secure relevant press and partner with reputable names. AI mirrors the web’s consensus. Give it something good to mirror.
Tidy your local presence. Google Business Profile, hours, categories, photos and recent posts. Local queries are often the easiest AI wins.
Reputation, then ranking
As AI search becomes more transactional, it still cannot convey your intangibles. That is your brand’s job. A clear identity, a trustworthy footprint and human proof points make people choose you once they arrive, and they make AI more comfortable citing you in the first place. A strong, regularly referenced brand is more likely to be pulled into summaries. It is also the part your competitors cannot copy overnight.
What to expect after you start
More mentions, not always more clicks. Plan for visibility and for traffic, and judge success on both.
Inconsistent day-to-day results. Look at trends across many tests, not single screenshots.
An evolving rulebook. Best practice will move. Keep your fundamentals tight and adapt the edges.
If this feels like extra work, remember that most brands will not bother. They will let settings block crawlers, leave product data half empty and hope for the best. You only need to be more helpful and more credible than that.
Quick checklist
Crawlers allowed, sitemaps submitted
One H1 per page, clean headings and scannable answers
Product schema complete and accurate
FAQs added to key pages, written in natural language
Google Business Profile fully populated
Reviews, testimonials and third-party mentions in place
Monthly content and data hygiene habit
Page speed and mobile UX checked and improved
Need help?
Honest London blends crisis PR, search and social. We clean up the footprint, build authority and structure your site so that both people and machines understand you. If you want a practical AIO plan that fits your brand and your backlog, ask and we will map it.