For more than 25 years, Google has been the place most of us go when we want to find something online.
I still do.
If I’m looking for a business, researching something or trying to find a particular website, my natural reaction is usually to open Google.
However, that’s starting to change for a lot of people.
More people are using ChatGPT and other AI tools to search for information. As these tools become better at searching the live web, that behaviour is likely to grow.
Instead of typing a few keywords into Google and working through a page of results, somebody can ask:
“What’s the best accounting software for a small UK business with three employees?”
Or:
“Find me an IT support company in Swansea that specialises in small businesses.”
They can then continue the conversation.
That creates an interesting question for any small business with a website:
How do you get found by ChatGPT and AI search?
The good news is that I don’t think we need to throw everything we’ve learned about SEO in the bin and start again.
In fact, many of the principles I’ve talked about with businesses for more than 20 years still apply.
The way people search is changing.
However, creating genuinely useful content for the people you want to reach is still a very good place to start.
Is traditional SEO dying?
No.
At least, I don’t think so.
There are now plenty of articles, webinars and SEO services telling businesses that traditional SEO is changing and that they need to optimise for AI.
You’ll hear terms such as:
AEO – Answer Engine Optimisation
and
GEO – Generative Engine Optimisation
These aren’t meaningless terms. Bing itself now uses Generative Engine Optimisation when discussing visibility within AI-generated answers.
However, I’d be careful about making this more complicated than it needs to be.
Google is still enormously important.
People still search on Google every day.
Meanwhile, younger audiences increasingly discover information through social platforms as well.
Now AI assistants are becoming another route.
Therefore, I wouldn’t think about replacing SEO with something completely new.
I’d think about expanding what we mean by being found online.
Your business might now be discovered through:
- ChatGPT
- Bing and Copilot
- Other AI assistants
- YouTube
- TikTok
- Maps and local search
The goal hasn’t really changed.
You want the right people to find your business when they need what you offer.
Can your website actually appear in ChatGPT?
Yes.
This is something I don’t think many small businesses realise yet.
OpenAI says that any public website can potentially appear in ChatGPT search.
ChatGPT can search the web, use information from websites to help answer questions and provide links back to its sources.
That means your website isn’t only being created for people arriving through Google anymore.
Potentially, information from your website could help answer somebody’s question inside ChatGPT.
However, appearing isn’t guaranteed.
Just as Google decides which pages are most useful for a search, AI search systems also have to decide which information is relevant and reliable enough to use.
So what can we do about it?
1. Write for your customer first
This has been my advice for years, and I don’t see AI changing it.
Write for the person you’re trying to help.
One of the mistakes businesses make with SEO is becoming so focused on keywords that their website starts sounding as though it was written for a search engine.
We’ve all seen pages like this:
“Looking for a Swansea accountant? Our Swansea accountants provide accounting services in Swansea for businesses looking for Swansea accounting services.”
Nobody wants to read that.
AI probably isn’t going to be particularly impressed either.
Instead, think about the questions your customers genuinely ask.
What are they confused about?
What do they need help with?
What do they compare before buying?
What stops them making a decision?
Then create useful content around those questions.
2. Make your content easy to understand
Most people don’t read websites word by word.
They scan them.
That’s something I’ve considered when creating websites for many years.
Clear headings help.
Shorter paragraphs help.
Lists can help.
A clear answer near the beginning helps too.
Interestingly, those same things can also make content easier for search engines and AI systems to understand.
For example, Bing recommends clear headings and well-structured information when creating content that could appear in AI-generated answers.
So don’t bury the answer halfway down a 3,000-word article because you’ve been told longer content ranks better.
If somebody asks a simple question, give them a simple answer.
Then provide more detail for the people who want it.
3. Create content around real questions
This is probably one of the biggest opportunities for a small business.
Think about what your customers actually ask you.
If you’re an accountant, people might ask:
Should I become a limited company?
If you’re an IT company:
Does my small business really need cyber security?
A wedding photographer might regularly hear:
How far in advance should we book our photographer?
Meanwhile, a plumber might be asked:
Why does my boiler keep losing pressure?
Every one of those questions could become useful website content.
More importantly, they’re also the type of conversational questions people ask AI.
Instead of thinking only about keywords, start thinking about questions and answers.
4. Share what you actually know
This is becoming increasingly important.
AI can produce generic information incredibly quickly.
That’s also one of its weaknesses.
If every website publishes another generic article called “10 Benefits of Social Media Marketing”, why should a search engine or AI assistant choose yours?
Your experience is harder to copy.
Talk about things you’ve actually done.
Explain what worked.
Mention what didn’t.
Use real examples.
Share your opinion when it’s useful.
That’s something we’ve deliberately been doing with the articles I’m writing for Digital Growth 101.
For example, when I talk about using ChatGPT to analyse Facebook advertising, that’s based on something I’ve actually been doing.
When I talk about using AI as a sounding board, that’s how I use it myself.
Those details make the content more useful than simply asking AI to generate another generic article.
Use AI to help you create content.
But make sure you are still in it.
5. Build useful content around your main subject
One article probably isn’t enough.
If you want your business to become associated with a particular subject, build useful content around it.
That’s exactly what I’m doing with Digital Growth 101 now.
For example, we’ve created articles about:
- Making money with ChatGPT
- Using ChatGPT in a small business
- Starting a business with ChatGPT
- AI search and SEO
Each article answers a different question.
However, they’re connected by a wider subject: practical AI for small businesses.
They can also link to one another.
Over time, that creates a useful collection of information rather than a series of completely unrelated blog posts.
The same approach can work for almost any business.
6. Keep your information accurate and up to date
Old information has always been a problem online.
With AI search, accuracy becomes even more important.
If your opening hours changed two years ago but half the internet still shows the old ones, an AI assistant has conflicting information to work with.
Therefore, keep the basics accurate.
Check things such as:
- Contact details
- Opening hours
- Services
- Pricing where appropriate
- Location information
- Team information
- Product details
You should also review older articles.
Has the information changed?
Are the links still working?
Is there a more recent example?
Updating good existing content can sometimes be more valuable than endlessly creating new articles.
7. Make sure AI search engines can access your website
This is slightly more technical, but it’s important.
OpenAI uses a crawler called OAI-SearchBot for search.
If your website blocks it, your content may not be available for ChatGPT to use in summaries and search results.
Therefore, website owners should check that their robots.txt settings aren’t accidentally blocking it.
This is different from giving permission for content to be used to train AI models.
OpenAI provides separate controls for search discovery and potential model training.
So if appearing in ChatGPT search matters to your business, this is worth checking.
It’s certainly something I’m going to check on the Digital Growth 101 website.
8. Don’t forget the traditional SEO basics
This is where I think some of the current conversation around AI search goes wrong.
Businesses are being told they suddenly need an entirely new form of optimisation.
Meanwhile, their website takes eight seconds to load, half the pages have meaningless titles and nobody has updated the content since 2021.
Start with the basics.
Make sure:
- Your website works well on mobile
- Pages load reasonably quickly
- Page titles explain what the page is about
- Headings are clear
- Images have useful alt text
- Internal links connect related content
- Important pages can be indexed
- Your business information is consistent
- Your content answers genuine customer questions
Interestingly, Google itself says many existing SEO best practices remain relevant to its generative AI search features.
So don’t abandon good SEO.
Build on it.
9. Use evidence and sources when they add value
If you’re making a factual claim, support it where appropriate.
Link to reliable research.
Use statistics carefully.
Quote recognised sources.
Better still, combine that evidence with your own experience.
For example:
“Research says X. Here’s what I’ve seen working with my own customers.”
That’s considerably more useful than simply repeating the research.
Bing specifically recommends supporting claims with evidence when creating content that could be used within AI-generated answers.
It also helps your human reader decide whether to trust you.
10. Track whether AI is actually sending you traffic
This is an area I think will become increasingly important.
OpenAI adds a tracking parameter to referral links from ChatGPT search. Therefore, businesses using analytics tools can identify traffic arriving from ChatGPT.
Bing has gone even further.
Its Webmaster Tools now includes AI Performance reporting, which can show when pages from your website are cited within AI-generated answers.
That means this is becoming measurable.
Over time, we’ll be able to ask:
Which articles are being cited?
Which topics work?
Is ChatGPT sending visitors?
Are those visitors becoming customers?
That’s much more useful than simply paying somebody for “GEO” because they’ve told you that you need it.
Measure what actually happens.
What about trending content?
I’ve always encouraged businesses to consider content around relevant trends.
I still think that’s valuable.
If something changes in your industry and customers are suddenly asking questions about it, that’s an opportunity.
For example, this article exists because AI search itself is changing.
However, don’t chase trends simply because they’re popular.
Ask:
Is this relevant to my customer?
If the answer is yes, create something useful while people are interested in the subject.
If the answer is no, leave it alone.
You don’t need an article about the latest ChatGPT update if you sell garden fencing and it has absolutely nothing to do with your customers.
What about social media search?
This is another reason I wouldn’t focus entirely on Google versus ChatGPT.
Search behaviour is becoming fragmented.
Some people still use Google.
Others ask ChatGPT.
Meanwhile, younger audiences often use YouTube, TikTok, Instagram and other social platforms to discover products, places and information.
So the bigger question isn’t:
“How do I rank number one on Google?”
It’s becoming:
“How do I make sure my business can be discovered wherever my customers are looking?”
That’s a much more useful question.
And the answer will be different for every business.
AI doesn’t mean you need to create more rubbish
There’s another danger here.
AI has made creating content much faster.
I know that personally.
One of the reasons I’m finally rebuilding the Digital Growth 101 blog is because ChatGPT has made the process easier for me.
The blog hasn’t been neglected because I stopped believing in content.
I’ve simply been busy.
Freelance work, travelling and building AI Growth 101 have taken up an enormous amount of time.
Now AI is helping me balance that workload.
It helps me research.
It helps organise my ideas.
It helps me turn those ideas into structured articles.
It also helps remind me to do things consistently.
However, the answer isn’t to use that saved time to publish 100 meaningless articles.
I’d rather publish useful content regularly.
Quality still matters.
Probably more than ever.
So, how do you get found by ChatGPT?
There’s no magic button.
And nobody can guarantee that ChatGPT will recommend your business.
However, you can give yourself a better chance.
Create genuinely useful content.
Answer real questions.
Make it easy to understand.
Share genuine experience.
Keep information accurate.
Get the technical basics right.
Build depth around the subjects you know.
Make sure search engines and AI crawlers can access the content you want discovered.
Then measure what’s actually happening.
In other words, much of the advice isn’t radically different from good SEO.
The technology is changing.
The places people search are changing.
But the fundamental principle is surprisingly familiar:
Create something useful for the person you’re trying to reach.
That’s been good advice for more than 20 years.
I suspect it’ll still be good advice in another 20.
Want to understand AI without all the jargon?
If you’re a small business owner, freelancer or startup trying to understand how AI could actually help your business, you’re very welcome to join the AI Growth 101 community.
It’s completely free and focuses on practical ways to use AI and digital marketing without making everything unnecessarily complicated.
Because whether we’re talking about ChatGPT, AI search, SEO or whatever comes next, the technology is only useful when you understand what to do with it.