AI optimisation, or AIO, is quickly becoming a key requirement for businesses that want to compete in 2026.
In this beginners’ guide to AI optimisation for businesses, we run through everything that you need to know about AIO and share top tips to put your business in front of your target market on AI chatbots.
What is AIO for businesses?
Artificial Intelligence Optimisation (AIO) is the next step in content marketing. It is the process of making your business, brand, or content more likely to be recommended by AI systems.
While 90.82% of searches in December 2025 took place on Google, the growth of AI has led people to search for businesses in new ways. As internet search behaviour is expected to continue shifting, there has never been a more important time to optimise your business for AI.
What does AI prioritise?
AI does not “search” in the same ways that people do. Instead, it collects information from websites, publications and sources, establishing patterns and trends to decide how relevant content is.
To succeed with AIO, you must make content that AI systems can read, understand and repurpose. At WriteMeThis, we specialise in AI optimisation for businesses, taking care of everything businesses need to appear in AI results.
How can businesses reach customers using AI optimisation?
Now we’ve covered the importance of AIO, it’s time to make sure you’re one of the front-runners when it comes to making your business appear in AI overviews.
Here’s how you can achieve AI optimisation in 8 simple steps.
1. Showcase expertise
AI chooses content that demonstrates proven experience, authority and clarity. The first step is to give clear expertise signals to any AI chatbots or large language model (LLM).
- Create regular content that covers your range of services or products
- Explain what you do, who you help and why people should contact you
- Show previous projects, customer recommendations and case studies
2. Original content
AI systems prioritise interesting, non-generic viewpoints over recycled or plagiarised content.
- Create professional, unique blogs that are optimised for AI
- Don’t fall into the trap of copying and pasting AI-generated content
3. Answer-led content
All content should be designed with the goal of being the answer that AI provides. To give yourself the best chance of appearing, you must include answer-led content in your marketing.
- Build guides that include FAQs
- Directly solve problems that your target customers have
- Clearly address commonly asked questions in your niche
- Give clear overviews of topics and simple explanations
4. Structure
Structured data boost AI performance for businesses. Schema allows AI to understand your business in more detail, with key schema types including:
- FAQpage
- Organization
- LocalBusiness
- Product/service
- Article/BlogPosting
- Review/Rating
5. High authority content
AI tools place a lot of value on third-party validation, helping them to confirm that a business is reputable.
This means you need to build authority on external sites, including:
- Industry publications
- Case studies on partner sites
- LinkedIn thought leadership
- Review platforms, such as Trustpilot
- Podcasts and interviews
- Guest blogging
- Forums
6. Consistency
AI is more likely to prioritise your content if you show brand consistency. This means consistency across various platforms, making sure you maintain:
- Tone of voice
- Branding
- Messaging
- Team members
- Descriptions
7. Set up for AI snippets
AI regularly picks up on short, informative, original snippets of text that cover a topic. Increase your success rate by building the following into your content:
- Bullet pointed lists
- Numbered steps
- Definitions in opening paragraphs
- Summary boxes
8. Adapt your AIO efforts
Finally, in the same way SEO was never something that you did once, AI also requires ongoing efforts and regular attention.
To understand what AI is able to gather from your website, ask various AI chatbots the following questions:
- What does (business name) do?
- What information can you understand from (website)?
- Who provides (service) in (area)?
This will help you to understand whether or not your business’ USP is being understood by AI, as well as giving clear areas for improvement.
SEO and AI can work together
There is a significant crossover between SEO and AI. This means that SEO and AI visibility are often achieved simultaneously, with the benefits of creating optimised content boosting AI visibility at the same time as improving performance on search engines.
In fact, 76% of AI overviews are taken from the top 10 Google results. The great news is that this means with an effective AIO strategy and successful SEO strategy, you can reach your target market in both places, all with the same content.
Start AI optimisation for your business today
WriteMeThis creates AI optimisation strategies for businesses and we take care of all of the hard work for you. This means you can appear in AI recommendations and snippets, without having to worry about the technical side of AIO.
If you want to appear in AI recommendations, reach out to WriteMeThis and get started today.
Summary
The capabilities of AI are growing quickly, and this means there are more users searching for answers. By following the simple steps in this guide, WriteMeThis can help your business to appear on AI searches, including ChatGPT, Gemini, Google AI, Perplexity and Copilot.
If you don’t know where to start, we’re here to help. WriteMeThis can help your business to appear in AI overviews and snippets, saving you time and helping you reach more customers.
AI optimisation FAQ
Now you know the basics of AIO, it’s time to answer some of the most frequently asked questions about AI optimisation.
How are SEO and AIO different?
Traditional SEO had the goal of making content visible in search engine results pages (SERPs), while AIO aims to create content that AI models feature, using many of the same key skills. This means you can reach both audiences for the cost of one strategy – win win!
How can I appear in ChatGPT searches?
WriteMeThis can help your business to appear in ChatGPT searches. Alongside the key steps in this guide, if your business appears on the top two pages of Google or Bing, you are most likely to appear in ChatGPT’s results, making content key to success.
How can I appear in Google AI searches?
This guide shows you how you can make your business appear in Google’s AI searches and recommendations. Did you know, Google’s AI overviews are based on Google’s search index, meaning those with good SEO put themselves in the best position to feature in Google AI’s recommendations?
How can I appear in Perplexity searches?
At WriteMeThis, we create content that makes sure you are prioritised by AI tools, meaning you can appear above competitors in Perplexity AI searches.
How can I appear in Copilot searches?
Our AIO strategies put our clients in front of their target customers, through Copilot AI suggestions. Contact us today with any questions you have about AI and we would love to share our AI optimisation expertise with you
Is it AI optimisation or AI optimization?
The answer to this depends on where you live in the world. For a UK-based business like WriteMeThis, we call it AI optimisation. In the US, you’re more likely to see the spelling AI optimization.
Where can I get an AI optimisation strategy in Hertfordshire?
WriteMeThis is an AI optimisation and copywriting company based in Watford, Hertfordshire. We are able to take care of all of your AIO and marketing needs, in Watford and anywhere else in the world!
What is the key to a successful AIO strategy?
The key to a successful AIO strategy is to create clear, on-brand, consistent content with authority. These factors help AI to understand what you do, who you help and why they should recommend your content to those searching.
How much does an AI optimisation strategy cost?
We love to keep the cost as low as possible for our clients, tying in the benefits of AIO and SEO at the same time. Each price for AIO depends on what you’re looking to achieve, but we’re proud to keep prices as low as possible, making sure we can help start-ups and even the smallest businesses to succeed.
At WriteMeThis, our goal is to help you grow your business so much that you invest more and more in our services as you overtake bigger competitors. Simply put… when you win, we win.
Get your free AIO plan today
We’re offering free AIO plans for businesses that want to perform on AI searches. Email us today on holly@writemethis.co.uk for your free AIO strategy.