For over a decade, searching has meant opening Google, Bing, DuckDuckGo, or another search engine and entering a short phrase. For the last few years, a rapidly increasing number of people are using AI tools such as ChatGPT or Meta AI to search. One major difference with AI search is that it uses query fan-out. Let's see how it works.
When you prompt (ask a question of) an AI tool such as ChatGPT, Meta AI, Perplexity, Gemini, and Claude, it may query (search) the Web for info. However, it doesn't run a single search as you might do (e.g., "IT service providers Greenville South Carolina"). Instead, it runs multiple related queries to capture different aspects of the topic. Here's an example:
Prompt: "What IT service providers in Greenville, South Carolina support Macs, iPhones, Cisco routers, and Brother printers? I need on-site service and emergency support outside of business hours."
Queries run by Claude:
These are referred to as sub-queries. Notice that AI uses some phrases that I didn't use in my prompt, such as "after hours," "IT support," and "managed IT services."
In the past, SEO involved optimizing a page for a particular query (keyword) and maybe a few similar ones. Because AI casts a much wider net with a wider variety of queries, SEO needs to adapt. Rather than optimizing for a query (keyword), create detailed, authoritative content on the topic.
Because AI will search for details that users may not include in their search, you need to ensure your content has the details and authority to be found and chosen by AI. Google's E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) is a useful guide to creating content.
Rather than having a few pages with surface-level, generic info (Home, About, Services, Blog, Contact), create multiple pages (and/or blog posts) about your topic, and link them to each other.
Instead of a long, single page/post about a topic, create a single pillar (overview) page about the topic and multiple pages/posts about the various aspects of the topic (based on questions people commonly ask). Link all these pages/posts to each other.
Within each page/post, have standalone sections which are useful even when detached from the rest of the page/post. This makes it easier for AI to find and grab those sections. A few examples:
Publish new content frequently and update existing content often so you always have recent info.
For many more tips, see AI Search Optimization (GEO/AEO) vs. SEO & How to Appear in AI Search.
If your website isn't optimized for AI search (or you're not sure if it is), contact us.
