How to Optimise Your Website for AI Visibility (and GEO)

Step 1: Audit & Restructure Your Content

To make your website AI-friendly, start with a content audit that improves readability and structure. This ensures AI engines can scan, understand, and cite your pages accurately.

Think of this as housekeeping for AI: tidy up your site so it’s easy to scan, segment, and cite.

• Headings and hierarchy: Use clear H1–H3 structures. Generative engines break content into chunks; headings tell them what belongs where.

• Conciseness and depth: Pair short, scannable summaries with deeper context. For example:
  
  • Start an article with: “Butter prices have nearly doubled in the past year with 450g now costing about NZ$8.60. This isn’t just inflation; it's a symptom of export driven pricing and cost of living pressures.”
  • Then expand with a full analysis exploring why global demand and commodity pricing are pushing domestic prices higher, how families are reacting and the broader implications for affordability in Aotearoa.

• Content clusters: Group related content into hubs or pillar pages so AI engines see you as authoritative on a subject.
• Schema markup: Add structured data like FAQ, How-To, and Article schema. This boosts your chance of being cited in AI-generated answers.

Wait. What is Article Schema and How Do I Do it?

Article schema is a type of structured data or 'guide' that tells search engines (and now AI systems) key details about your content, including things like the headline, author, date published, and description.

By marking up your articles with schema, you make it easier for AI to recognise your content as authoritative and pull it into summaries.  

The simplest way to add schema is by using JSON-LD (a script you paste into your page’s code) or a plugin if you’re on WordPress. For this article, we simply asked ChatGPT to generate the schema below:

Step 2: Optimise for AI Readability

AI isn’t scanning for keywords — it’s mapping meaning. To help it along:

• Lead with definitions: Start sections with plain-language explanations that could be lifted word-for-word into an AI overview.

• Contextual linking: Use internal links that reinforce relationships between topics. This helps engines map your expertise.

• Entity-focused language: Mention recognised terms, brands, and categories. For example, instead of just saying “rugby,” specify All Blacks, Black Ferns, Super Rugby Pacific. These entities are widely referenced and well-indexed, which makes it easier for AI tools to map your content to authoritative sources and surface it in summaries.

(In fact, we have hilarious proof of this. A few years ago Sue sat beside Scott Robertson on the plane. They had a great yarn and Sue wrote up a tale about it. That story is still our top-ranking SEO story and is now getting another round thanks to GEO!)

Step 3: Build Authoritativeness and Trust

Trust signals matter more than ever. Generative engines want content that looks credible.

• E-E-A-T signals (Expertise, Experience, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness): Include author bios, credentials, and dates. Make it clear your content is written by real experts.

• Citations and references: Use reputable external sources. AI systems are more likely to cite content that cites others.

• Freshness: Keep pages updated. Generative search often prioritises more recent content when choosing answers.

Step 4: Create AI-Friendly Content Formats

Generative engines prefer content they can structure easily. That means:

• FAQs: Write in direct Q&A format. For example: “What is the Tongariro Alpine Crossing?” → “It’s a one-day hike across volcanic terrain in Tongariro National Park, often called the best day walk in New Zealand.”

• Lists & tables: Perfect for comparisons or steps. For example: Great Walks comparison: Milford Track vs Routeburn Track vs Kepler Track.”  

• Conversational tone: Write like you’re answering a question in ChatGPT. This mirrors how users query AI systems. For example: “Thinking about hiking the Milford Track? Here’s what you need to know: it’s a 4-day, 53.5 km tramp through Fiordland, often called the ‘finest walk in the world.’

Step 5: Don’t Forget the Technical Basics

Well-written content is an important part of GEO but technical housekeeping still matters. Check for:

• Site speed and crawlability: If AI crawlers can’t access your pages quickly, they won’t use them.

• Robots.txt and indexing: Make sure your best pages aren’t blocked.

• Structured data: Again, schema markup is one of the easiest technical wins for GEO.

Tools to Test and Tune for GEO

Once your content is restructured, test how it performs in the new AI landscape. The GEO tools are evolving so fast and it depends on what you are looking for.  As writers, bluntly, we want tools that score our work and suggest improvements, although sometimes we disagree!

Here are some of our favourite tools:

Content Optimisation

• SEMrush: Use the Content Template and Writing Assistant to check readability, coverage, and semantic richness. Their SERP Features report shows if you’re surfacing in formats AI often cites such as snippets and FAQs.

• Clearscope / SurferSEO: Both push you to cover relevant entities and semantic fields, boosting LLM comprehension.

Field Testing

• Perplexity.ai and ChatGPT: Run live queries and see if your content appears (or if competitors are being cited instead).

• Google SGE Labs (if available): Preview how your site is summarised in AI-driven search.

Technical and Trust Signals

• Schema Validators (Google Rich Results Test, Schema.org): Check your markup is working.

• Originality.ai / Copyleaks: Ensure your content is original, AI is less likely to cite duplicate or scraped copy.

• Analytics and Heatmaps (GA4, Hotjar, Clarity): See how humans interact with your content. Engagement still influences GEO.

What tools are you using? Let us know, and tell us why you like them.