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SEO for AI search
AI SEO
AI SEO is used for two different jobs: using AI tools to do search engine optimisation faster, and optimising a site so that AI search features and assistants find, use and cite it.
Most confusion in proposals and job adverts comes from mixing the two. This guide separates them, sets out what Google's published policies say about AI-generated content, and explains what holds up in practice. The service side is our AI SEO agency page; the wider assistant-visibility work is led from GEO agency.
Tell the two meanings apart in any proposal, use AI in SEO work without breaching Google's spam policies, and judge optimisation-for-AI claims against what the platforms actually document.
Scaled content abuse is many pages generated mainly to manipulate rankings and not help users, no matter how created; examples include using generative AI to generate many pages without adding value. Google Search Central: spam policies for Google web search ↗
Generative AI can help research and structure original content, but generating many pages without value may violate scaled content abuse policy; AI output, including metadata, should be manually fact-checked. Google Search Central: guidance on using generative AI content on your website ↗
New to the topic? Read the background on artificial intelligence.
SEO for AI search
what does AI SEO mean?
Either AI as the tool doing SEO, or AI search as the target of SEO; they need different checks.
In the first meaning, AI is a production tool: drafting briefs, clustering keywords, summarising Search Console exports, writing first drafts or generating schema. The target is still ordinary search rankings.
In the second meaning, AI is the destination: getting pages linked in Google's AI Overviews and AI Mode, cited in ChatGPT search or Perplexity, and described accurately by assistants. That is the territory of generative engine optimisation.
The risks differ. Using AI as a tool risks low-quality or inaccurate pages at scale. Optimising for AI risks chasing undocumented tricks instead of the fundamentals the platforms say they use.
When a supplier pitches AI SEO, ask which of the two they mean, and if both, how the deliverables and reporting are separated.
Meaning one: AI does the SEO work.
Meaning two: SEO for AI search.
Ask which one is being sold.
SEO for AI search
does Google penalise AI-generated content?
Not for being AI-generated; it targets pages made mainly to manipulate rankings, however they were produced.
Google's spam policies define scaled content abuse as many pages generated for the primary purpose of manipulating search rankings and not helping users, 'no matter how it's created'.
Its listed examples include using generative AI tools to generate many pages without adding value for users, scraping or synonymising content into many pages, and stitching content together from other pages without adding value.
Google's separate guidance on using generative AI content says AI can be useful for research and for adding structure to original content, but that generative models predict likely words rather than retrieve facts, so all AI-generated content should be manually fact-checked before publishing, including titles, meta descriptions, structured data and alt text.
So the test for AI SEO in the first sense is not 'was AI used?' but 'would this page exist, and be worth reading, if search engines did not?'
SEO for AI search
where does AI genuinely help SEO work?
In analysis and first drafts that a person with subject knowledge then checks and improves.
The strongest uses are analytical: grouping thousands of queries by intent, spotting cannibalisation between pages, comparing a draft against the questions it is meant to answer, and checking titles and descriptions against length rules.
Drafting is useful when it starts from your own material, such as call notes, a subject expert's answers or a delivery write-up, and when an editor adds sources, removes generic filler and keeps a point of view.
Google's helpful content guidance suggests asking 'Who, How and Why' about content, including whether the use of automation would be self-evident or worth disclosing to readers and why automation was seen as useful.
This is a people skill as much as a tooling choice. Teams that use AI for content work benefit from training on verification and editing, which we cover in ChatGPT training and AI training for marketing teams.
| Check | What to establish |
|---|---|
| 1 | Query clustering and gap analysis. |
| 2 | Drafts from your own material. |
| 3 | Human editing and sourcing. |
SEO for AI search
what does AI SEO for AI search involve?
Crawler access, indexable pages that answer specific questions, and facts an assistant can attribute.
Google states that pages must be indexed and snippet-eligible to appear as links in its AI features and that there are no additional technical requirements; the detail is on our AI Overviews page.
OpenAI's crawler overview documents OAI-SearchBot as the crawler that surfaces sites in ChatGPT search, separate from GPTBot for training; access and tracking are covered on our ChatGPT search page.
Beyond access, the page changes with some evidence behind them are modest: a direct answer early, specific claims with sources, consistent details about the organisation and structured data that matches visible content. Google's structured data introduction is explicit that markup should describe content visible on the page.
None of that is a separate channel. In this second sense AI SEO is mostly good SEO with crawler policy and attribution taken more seriously, as argued in GEO vs SEO.
SEO for AI search
which AI SEO claims should we doubt?
Guaranteed citations, secret files or markup, and volumes of AI pages sold as a strategy.
AI SEO proposals that guarantee placements in AI Overviews or ChatGPT search are not being honest: neither Google nor OpenAI publishes a selection formula, and answers vary between runs.
Be wary of claims that a particular file or tag 'unlocks' AI visibility unless the platform's own documentation says so. Google's guide to AI features and your website states no special optimisation is required.
Be most wary of proposals to publish hundreds of AI-written pages targeting keyword variants. That is very close to the examples Google gives of scaled content abuse, and it can harm the pages you already have.
A credible proposal names the pages it will change, the queries and prompts it will track and what it will not promise.
No one can guarantee AI citations.
Check claims against platform docs.
Avoid mass-produced variant pages.
SEO for AI search
how should a B2B firm start with AI SEO?
Decide which meaning you need, baseline current performance and change a small set of owner pages first.
If your problem is content throughput, start with a written AI content policy and an editorial checklist, then train the team that will use it. Our AI policy template is a starting point.
If your problem is visibility in AI answers, start with a dated baseline: Search Console trends for your key queries, ChatGPT referrals in analytics and a fixed list of buyer questions checked by hand.
In both cases work on a small number of pages that should own your most valuable questions before producing anything new, and record what changed and when.
When you want an outside view, our AI SEO agency service runs both halves with separate reporting, and the GEO agency page sets out the assistant-visibility method. Neither comes with guaranteed rankings or citations.
Pick the meaning you need.
Baseline before changing.
Fix owner pages first.
Make the decision concrete
What does the current task cost in time?
Choose a task connected to ai seo and enter its current workload. This gives you a baseline to discuss before buying training or commissioning a build.
A baseline is useful even if you decide to keep the process manual. Measure the work that matters, then compare quality and review effort as well as time.
Assess the workflow before changing it, or plan business AI training if the gap is how people use existing tools.
Your current workload
Estimate how much time the existing task takes before discussing ai seo.
16 hours per week
People × minutes × weekly tasks ÷ 60. A workload baseline from your inputs, not a prediction of AI time savings. Include review and support time when comparing a proposed workflow.
A useful AI investment leaves your team able to do the work and judge the result.
Continue with the right question
Where should you go next?
Use the overview for context, then follow the pages that match your delivery decision.
See our ai powered gtm service or read the geo and ai search visibility overview.
FAQ
Questions, answered
Evidence and further reading
Which sources support the guidance?
Source links support the specific background described here. The practical checklists and illustrative examples are predeploy’s guidance.
Scaled content abuse is many pages generated mainly to manipulate rankings and not help users, no matter how created; examples include using generative AI to generate many pages without adding value. Google Search Central: spam policies for Google web search ↗
Generative AI can help research and structure original content, but generating many pages without value may violate scaled content abuse policy; AI output, including metadata, should be manually fact-checked. Google Search Central: guidance on using generative AI content on your website ↗
Google prioritises helpful, reliable content created to benefit people; using automation mainly to manipulate rankings violates its spam policies. Google Search Central: creating helpful, reliable, people-first content ↗
Structured data gives Google explicit clues about page meaning; correct markup makes rich results possible but not guaranteed. Google Search Central: introduction to structured data ↗
Google states there are no additional requirements or special optimisations to appear in AI Overviews or AI Mode; supporting links must be indexed and eligible for a snippet. Google Search Central: AI features and your website ↗
OpenAI documents OAI-SearchBot for ChatGPT search and GPTBot for training, and states each robots.txt setting is independent. OpenAI: overview of OpenAI crawlers ↗
Background reading on the broader field of artificial intelligence. Wikipedia: artificial intelligence ↗
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GEO and AI search visibility
Be found, described and cited in AI answers as well as search.
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