The content to create for AI SEO

For over a decade, content marketing followed one playbook: write blog posts, optimise for Google keywords, build backlinks, and rank in the top 10 results. That playbook is dead.

AI-powered search has fundamentally changed how buyers discover and evaluate solutions. ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, and Google's own AI Overviews now answer commercial queries without sending traffic to your website. If you're still creating content optimised for traditional SEO, you're becoming invisible to buyers at the exact moment they're ready to purchase.

Answer Engine Optimisation (AEO) is the new playbook. It's about structuring your content so AI engines can retrieve, understand, and cite it when buyers ask commercial questions.

The AEO content playbook

Answer Engine Optimisation focuses on creating specific content types that AI engines prioritise when buyers ask commercial questions.

Category explainer pages

Category explainers help AI understand what you do and who you serve. When buyers ask AI to explain a product category, these pages provide the foundation for its answer.

Your category explainer needs to define your product category clearly, explain what problems it solves, describe who typically uses it, and outline how it differs from adjacent categories. Everything should be self-contained because AI doesn't assume context from other pages on your site.

Think of it as explaining your category to someone who knows nothing about it. Make every page independently understandable without requiring previous reading.

Product and feature pages

Product pages optimised for AEO contain complete information that AI can extract and cite. When buyers ask AI about specific features or capabilities, your product page should provide clear, definitive answers.

Traditional product pages often hide information behind multiple clicks. AEO-optimised pages put everything upfront because AI won't navigate through your site architecture. Include what the product does in concrete terms, key features with specific details, who it's built for with clear use cases, and pricing information where possible.

Use case and industry pages

When buyers ask AI for industry-specific recommendations, dedicated use case pages significantly increase your citation likelihood. These pages need to thoroughly address how your product solves industry-specific challenges.

Create separate pages for your core industries rather than covering everything on a single page. Each should address:

• Industry-specific problems your product solves
• Relevant features for that sector
• Case studies from similar companies
• Compliance or regulatory considerations

Comparison and alternative content

Comparison content performs exceptionally well in AEO when it's factual and genuinely useful. Buyers frequently ask AI for alternatives to specific solutions or direct comparisons between options.

Your comparison pages should acknowledge what competitors do well, explain where you differ, provide specific feature comparisons, and help buyers understand which solution fits which use case. AI rewards helpful, factual content over promotional content.

The key is being genuinely useful. Honest evaluations that happen to favour your solution get cited far more than obvious sales pitches.

"Best X for Y" blog content

These articles are currently the most effective blog format for AEO. They directly answer the commercial queries that buyers ask AI tools.

Structure these with clear evaluation criteria upfront, specific recommendations with detailed explanations, factual comparisons between options, and guidance on which solution suits which use case.

Explain why each option suits particular use cases, what makes them different, and who should consider them. Comprehensive, useful comparisons get cited more frequently than surface-level listicles.

How to structure content for AI retrieval

Creating the right content types isn't enough. How you structure that content determines whether AI can effectively retrieve and cite it. The tips below will help you lay out your content in ways that are optimised for retrieval by AI, but it may be worth exploring specialist AI SEO services to help you get the most out of this new channel.

Write self-contained passages

Each paragraph needs to contain a complete thought that makes sense without reading previous content. AI extracts individual passages to answer queries, so paragraphs that reference previous sections won't work effectively.

Test each paragraph by reading it in isolation. If it doesn't make complete sense on its own, rewrite it to include necessary context.

Use clear, direct language

AI prioritises clarity over creativity. Headlines and descriptions that clearly state what you offer and who it's for perform better than clever marketing copy.

Avoid jargon where possible. When technical terms are necessary, define them clearly within the same paragraph. Your unique perspective should come through in your insights, not in obscure phrasing.

Cover topics comprehensively

Superficial content won't get cited. AI looks for comprehensive information that thoroughly addresses queries.

When explaining a product category, cover:

• What it is and how it works
• Problems it solves
• Who typically uses it
• What to consider when evaluating options
• Typical pricing models

Focus on depth over breadth. Thoroughly covering three key aspects works better than superficially mentioning ten.

Include factual information and statistics

AI engines prioritise content with specific data over vague generalisations. Concrete numbers and statistics increase your content's authority and citation likelihood.

Context matters as much as the numbers themselves. When you share statistics, explain what they actually mean in practice. Real-world impact helps AI understand the significance and makes your content more likely to be cited.

Use proper heading hierarchy

AI uses heading structure to understand how your content is organised. Your H2s should cover major topics, H3s should break those topics into subtopics, and H4s should address specific details.

Don't skip heading levels or use headings for emphasis. Create clear content architecture that both humans and AI can navigate easily.

Measuring AEO effectiveness

Traditional SEO metrics don't capture AEO success. You need new measurement approaches.

AI citation tracking

The primary AEO metric is whether your content appears in AI-generated answers. New tools monitor citations across ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews.

Track citation frequency for your target commercial queries. If you're not being cited for relevant searches in your category, your content isn't AEO-optimised effectively.

High-intent conversion rates

When buyers do reach your website after AI research, they should be highly qualified. Track conversion rates from organic traffic to demo requests, consultation bookings, and direct sales enquiries.

Rising conversion rates with flat or declining traffic often indicates effective AEO. You're reaching fewer people, but they're the right people at the right moment.

Self-reported attribution

Add a "How did you hear about us?" field to high-intent forms. You'll start hearing that AI tools recommended you or included you in comparisons.

Self-reported attribution captures the AI-assisted discovery that traditional analytics miss because so much of the buyer journey happens outside your website.

Branded search volume

As AI cites your content more frequently, you should see increases in branded search volume. Buyers who discover you through AI answers often search directly for your brand name afterwards.

Track branded search trends over time as a lagging indicator of AEO effectiveness.

Your AEO playbook

The shift from traditional SEO to AEO isn't optional. AI has transformed how buyers discover and evaluate solutions.

Start by creating the five core AEO content types: category explainers, product pages, use case pages, comparison content, and "best X for Y" blogs. Structure each piece with self-contained passages, clear language, comprehensive coverage, factual statistics, and proper heading hierarchy.

Measure success through AI citation tracking, high-intent conversion rates, self-reported attribution, and branded search volume. These metrics capture AEO effectiveness better than traditional traffic and ranking data.

The businesses that master AEO will be discoverable when buyers are ready to purchase. Those clinging to traditional SEO will find themselves increasingly invisible.