Search
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7 min
What “AI search” work actually involves
Mostly the fundamentals, done properly. There are no secret files or tricks, and Google has said as much in public.
By Umar
AI search has produced a small industry of consultants selling optimisation for systems whose owners say need no special optimisation.
Google has been explicit
Google’s documentation on its AI features says there are no additional requirements to appear in AI Overviews or AI Mode, and no special files or markup. The same fundamentals that make a page eligible for normal search results make it eligible for AI answers.
So what is there to do?
Make the site crawlable and fast. Write content that answers the questions clients actually ask, in the words they use. Keep structured data consistent with what a human sees on the page. Keep your name, address, opening hours and services identical everywhere they appear, because inconsistency is what makes a model hedge.
The part that is genuinely new
Measurement. We fix a list of twenty questions your clients really ask, then check each month what ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and Google’s AI results say in response, and whether you appear. It will not always be flattering, but it is the only honest way to see whether the work is landing.