How to Boost Visibility in AI Search Results

Published on Fri, 29th Nov - 2024

Zach Jackson

Last updated on Fri, 2nd Oct - 2026

This is an outdated article!

The AI search landscape has shifted significantly since this article was drafted, and the information it contains may no longer be accurate or relevant. For updated guidance on AI-driven search, see the following articles:

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As AI-powered search tools like ChatGPT and Google Gemini grow in popularity, businesses need new strategies to stay visible. Unlike traditional search engines, AI models work in unique ways that impact how users discover websites, brands, and products.

In this guide, we introduce you to “SEO for AI” with practical steps to help your digital presence shine in AI-driven search results.

The three pillars of AI search visibility

To help your business gain visibility in AI search results, here are four key approaches to focus on:

Answer Engine Optimisation (AEO)
Artificial Intelligence Optimisation (AIO)
Share of Model Optimisation (SOMO)

Each of these pillars supports a different aspect of AI visibility, and together they create a strong foundation for boosting your presence in AI generated search results.

Answer engine optimisation: How to get your website cited by answer engines

Getting your website cited more frequently in answer engine results involves making targeted content optimisations that make it more trustworthy and fit-for-purpose to their information retrieval systems.

AI search tools rely heavily on a specific set of value indicators to assess the quality of content and its relevance to a search term. Incorporating these indicators into your content can enhance your citation rate, boosting both visibility and engaged traffic.

Here are four straightforward ways to start:

Add facts and figures: Reliable stats make your content trustworthy; a quality AI tools favour when choosing sources.
Use quotes and credible sources: Well-sourced quotes help position your brand as an authority.
Keep language clear and engaging: Well-written, readable content helps both readers and AI understand the material.
Stand out with unique terms: Using unique or original phrases can help differentiate your content. Technical terms that show expertise are also helpful when used sparingly — but be sure to add a simple definition or analogy to explain these terms to readers.

Pro tip: Test different combinations of these strategies to see which one best suits your niche. For instance, a law site may benefit more from stats and citations, while a science blog might gain from simplified, easy-to-understand language(1).

What kinds of websites benefit from AEO?

All websites can benefit from AEO, no matter how big or small. However, statistically, smaller, less authoritative websites see the most gains for their efforts(1).

This is because additional value indicators like backlinks - which are easier for sites already dominating the SERPs to achieve - don’t matter as much to answer engines.

Consequently, AEO is a great way to level the playing field and get your brand noticed ahead of the big players in your niche.

Artificial intelligence optimisation: How can you make your website more AI friendly?

To optimise content for artificial intelligence systems and improve its accessibility, it's crucial to focus on both technical and content strategies that enhance how AI interprets and ranks your pages.

AI systems rely on structured data, clear content hierarchy, and relevant and helpful, high-quality information.

Exploring this in more detail shows how these tactics not only make it easier for AI to crawl and understand your content but can also boost engagement and drive more targeted traffic.

Use structured data markup: Structured data (specific tags or codes on your website) helps AI understand what’s on each page. These data points provide context, making your content more accessible to AI.
Check site speed & mobile access: Fast-loading, mobile-friendly sites tend to rank better on both traditional and AI search. Compress images, use browser caching, and consider upgrading hosting if needed.
Use natural language: Write in a conversational tone that mirrors how people speak. Directly answering common questions or using question-based headers also helps.

Share of model optimisation: How to build brand visibility in AI search results

Building brand visibility in AI search results relies on targeted PR based on a strong SEO foundation to ensure that your brand is being talked about in the right online spaces.

AI systems are often trained on specific types of resources. Although they search external sources, AI crawlers prioritise high-quality, reliable information similar to that found in their training data. In other words, they’re more likely to look in certain places for information.

Understanding how to identify these places and the factors AI uses to select brands for generated results is key in building brand visibility in AI-driven search.

How does AI choose which brands to mention?

Brand visibility in AI generated search results, also known as “share of model”, is developed primarily through securing targeted, off-site brand mentions(2) using a combination of SEO and PR.

This helps because of the way large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT string language together.

They repeatedly ask themselves, “based on the text so far, what word should come next?”. And to answer this question, they check which words commonly follow the text so far in online content(3).

The LLM then ranks these words based on frequency. Those that appear the most have a higher chance of being mentioned.

For example, if Bosch is mentioned shortly after the keyword ‘dishwashers’ in the online content more often than Hotpoint, the LLM will prioritise Bosch when responding to queries related to dishwashers.

The PR aspect of SOMO centres on identifying and reaching out to authoritative online publications in your niche to form relationships and get your brand mentioned in their content, but SEO also plays a crucial role in building your brand's presence in AI search results.

AI models don't rank pages in the same way traditional search engines do, but they still assess content based on certain SEO criteria that can enhance your brand's visibility in their outputs. These criteria include:

Content relevance and context
Content depth and comprehensiveness
Use of structured data and markup
Natural language and readability
Authority and trustworthiness of sources
Semantic relevance
User engagement and signals
Freshness and timeliness of content

Furthermore, SEO can directly support your PR efforts...

When your content is optimised for SEO, it performs better on the SERPs and illustrates to potential publishers that your brand is a respected and reliable source of information with a lot of existing exposure.

It shows you have the means to make collaboration mutually beneficial. This makes it easier for you to secure mentions in industry publications and on influential websites, which are key for increasing your share of model.

How to get started with SOMO

Step 1: Identify relevant sites: Look for authoritative spaces where your industry or topic is discussed.

Step 2: Get your brand mentioned: Collaborate with industry publications, get included in online lists, and work with influencers if relevant to your audience.

Step 3: Build mentions over time: Mentions in well-respected online spaces can improve your visibility on both traditional and AI-driven platforms. So, although this can be quite a long-winded process, the results can be incredible.

Final thoughts

With AI search steadily influencing how users find content, it’s important to develop an adaptable and resilient digital strategy. For expert support in optimising your digital presence, contact TDMP today.