SEO and AI search: a practical starting point

Search results are changing, but declaring SEO dead is not a useful starting point for a business website. Start with the information your customers need and whether they can find and use it.

Keep the foundations useful

Google says the usual SEO practices remain relevant to its AI search features. It does not require special AI files or special schema to appear, and inclusion is not guaranteed. See Google’s guidance for AI features.

For your own site, check that service descriptions explain what you actually deliver. Make contact details and service areas clear. Give each important topic a useful page and connect related pages with understandable links.

Use evidence you can stand behind

Describe real work and its scope. Get permission before publishing customer details or reviews. Remove statistics and claims you cannot substantiate. A clear account of how you solve a particular problem is more useful to a prospective customer than a promise to dominate every search engine.

Measure the whole enquiry path

Search visibility and business outcomes are different things. Review search traffic alongside accepted enquiries and follow-up. A form button click does not prove that a message reached the business or became a customer.

At MWeb, search and content improvements are scoped alongside the website and enquiry journey. We do not guarantee rankings or AI citations. Tell us what needs to improve.