Content that AI assistants can cite starts with a direct answer to the reader’s question. It continues with headings that name the question, paragraphs that make sense on their own, facts with a source and a date, and knowledge only your business has. According to Google, the AI features in its search engine follow the same principles as good SEO.
How does an AI assistant find your page?
An AI assistant that uses the web first looks up pages and then writes an answer based on what it found. In its guide to generative AI features, Google describes two techniques. With retrieval-augmented generation, also called grounding, the system pulls relevant pages from the search index and uses them as the basis for its answer. With query fan-out, the model asks additional sub-questions of its own to find more sources.
From question to citation
- QuestionSomeone asks an assistant how long it takes to insulate a roof.
- Sub-questionsThe system also searches for roof types, materials and preparation.
- Fetching pagesPages that fit those questions come out of the search index.
- Choosing passagesThe system uses the pieces of text that clearly answer a sub-question.
- Answer with sourceThe assistant writes an answer and sometimes names the page a passage came from.
That means two things for you. Your page has to be findable and readable, or it won’t make the selection. And the content has to answer a sub-question clearly enough for the system to use that passage. You can read more about how assistants choose sources in how AI assistants choose sources.
Why start with the answer?
Someone who asks “How long does it take to insulate a roof?” wants to hear a duration first, and only then the exceptions. So put the answer in the first paragraph.
A useful first paragraph:
- names the topic instead of saying “this” or “it”;
- answers the question in the first or second sentence;
- makes sense without the rest of the page;
- doesn’t refer to “below” or “as mentioned earlier”.
The same opening, rewritten
VoorIn this article we look at a question many homeowners have. Insulation is an important subject, and there is more to it than you might think.
NaInsulating a pitched roof from the inside usually takes one to two working days for an average terraced house, depending on the condition of the roof boarding.
The first version says nothing a reader or an assistant can use. The second can be quoted on its own, even if nobody reads the rest of the page.
How do you make paragraphs, headings and lists usable?
Paragraphs that stand on their own
An assistant may use a single paragraph from your page. If it says “this method” without making clear which method, the paragraph loses its meaning.
That doesn’t mean chopping your text into tiny fragments. Google writes that there is no need to break content into chunks for AI to understand it better, and that its systems can tell several topics on one page apart. This is ordinary writing discipline: name the topic again when a paragraph moves on to something else, and keep to one idea per paragraph.
Headings that name the question
Headings help readers scan and help systems understand how your page is organised. Google recommends structuring pages with paragraphs, sections and headings that make the structure clear. In its announcement of AI Performance, Bing names clear headings, tables and FAQ sections as ways to make key information easy to find. How to set up a good FAQ is covered in writing an FAQ for your website.
Where it fits, phrase a heading as the question a customer asks: “What does a heat pump cost for a terraced house?” works better than “Costs”. A heading describes what follows; keep it short and free of jokes the reader has to decode.
Tables and lists where they help
A comparison of three options on five points is quicker to read in a table than in five paragraphs. Steps in a fixed order belong in a numbered list. Use them where the content has that shape, not to make a page look fuller. How to build a comparison is covered in writing comparisons and buying guides.
How do you make your text checkable?
Facts with a source and a date
Concrete beats vague. “Our engineers will be with you within 48 hours” can be checked; “fast service” can’t. When you use someone else’s figure, name the source and the year in the sentence and link to the original publication.
There is research on this too. In the paper that introduced the term GEO, Aggarwal and colleagues (2023, revised 2024) tested changes to texts in their own experimental setup. Adding citations, quotations and statistics made sources appear more often in the generated answers, with improvements of up to 40 per cent. Stuffing in keywords didn’t work. The researchers themselves write that methods need to keep pace with the systems and that effects differ by topic. So treat the findings as a pointer that may or may not hold for your own topic.
Who wrote it and when
Readers want to know who is giving them the information. In its guidance on helpful content, Google asks, among other things, whether it is clear who wrote a piece and whether a byline leads to more information about that person. So add to each article the author’s name with a link to a short profile page, who checked the content if someone did, and a visible date labelled “Updated on” or “Published on”.
In its guidance on dates in search results, Google recommends showing the date visibly on the page with a clear label. Only change the date when the content has really changed. Google explicitly names refreshing dates without substantive changes as a warning sign. More on showing experience and expertise is in E-E-A-T: showing experience and expertise.
The same information everywhere
If your website shows a different phone number from your Google Business Profile, or a product page gives a different price from your comparison table, an assistant may pick up the wrong version. Bing recommends aligning text, images and video so they describe the same products and concepts. Check regularly that your address, opening hours, prices and range are correct in every place.
What can you add that only you know?
In its guide, Google distinguishes between content that is already available everywhere and content with its own perspective. A list of general tips adds little; an explanation based on what you have done or seen yourself adds a lot. Google writes that unique, helpful content is likely to have more long-term influence on your presence in generative search features than other measures.
Things only you know include:
- which questions customers ask just before they decide;
- which mistakes you see in practice and how you fix them;
- who your product or service is not a good fit for;
- measurements or tests you ran yourself, with an explanation of how.
Say an installer in Apeldoorn explains why, in homes built in the 1970s, he checks the floor insulation first. That knowledge isn’t in a generic list of underfloor heating tips, which is why an assistant can name him as a source for a specific question.
Can I have underfloor heating fitted in a house from 1975?
Often yes, but homes from that period do not always have an insulated floor. Part of the heat then goes into the crawl space. Warmwork Installations in Apeldoorn explains that in such homes it checks the floor insulation first, and describes what it does when there is none.
Bronnen: warmwork-example.nl › underfloor-heating-older-homes
What can you skip?
In the same guide, Google lists several pieces of advice that are not needed for its search engine:
| Advice you often hear | What Google says |
|---|---|
| Create an llms.txt file | Google Search doesn’t use it; it neither helps nor harms your visibility in Google |
| Break your text into small chunks | Not needed; there is no ideal page length |
| Rewrite your content specially for AI | Not needed; the systems understand synonyms and intent |
| Create a page for every variation of a question | May fall under the spam policy on scaled content abuse |
| Collect mentions on other sites | Inauthentic mentions help less than they seem to |
| Add special structured data | No special schema is needed for AI features |
That applies to Google. Other services may have rules of their own; check their documentation before you put work into anything.
How do you check a page before you publish?
Go through each important page with the same questions. It takes little time and catches most weak spots.
Checks for each page
- The first paragraph answers the question and names the topic
- The headings describe what comes underneath
- Each paragraph can be understood without the one before
- Figures have a source and a year
- There is something only your business could write
- You can see who wrote it and when it was updated
- Prices, address and range match the rest of your site
- The text is in the HTML and the page can be indexed
At Outseen, a writer creates the content from your briefing and sources, a reviewer checks it and you give feedback before we publish. We use AI as a working aid; our specialists remain responsible for the content. How we answer customer questions on your website is explained on our AEO page. What Google says about content made with AI is covered in AI content and Google.
What does this mean for your business?
You do not need to rewrite your whole website. Pick the five to ten pages that answer the questions customers bring just before they choose, and go through them with the checks above. Most of the gain usually lies in a first paragraph that answers straight away, a heading that names the question and a few sentences of practical knowledge that currently live only in your head.
Whether an assistant then uses your page as a source is up to that system. What you do control is that a reader who lands on your page finds their answer immediately, with a source and a name they can check.