Quick answer
There is no secret trick for AI answers. Google says no special optimisation is needed for AI Overviews beyond normal good SEO, and ChatGPT search relies on websites it is allowed to crawl. What helps is the same groundwork as local SEO: clear pages that answer real questions, consistent business details everywhere, genuine reviews and accurate structured data. Nobody can guarantee you'll be mentioned.
What are AI answers, and where do they come from?
AI answers are the written summaries you see at the top of some Google searches (AI Overviews and AI Mode) and in assistants such as ChatGPT. When someone asks "who's a good roofer in Horsham?", the assistant pulls together information from websites, business listings and reviews it can access.
That means the information about your business that already exists online is what these tools have to work with. If it is thin, out of date or inconsistent, the answer will be too.
Does my business need special "AI optimisation"?
Google's own guidance says there are no additional requirements to appear in AI Overviews or AI Mode, no special optimisation and no special structured data. The same good practices that help in normal search apply: let Google crawl your site, keep important content in text, link your pages together and give visitors a good experience.
So be careful with anyone selling a separate "AI ranking" package that promises results. What genuinely helps is below.
Step 1: Can AI tools actually read your website?
- Check that your robots.txt file doesn't block search engines. OpenAI says sites that want to appear in ChatGPT search should allow its OAI-SearchBot crawler.
- Put the important information in text, not only in images or PDFs: your services, areas, phone number and opening hours.
- Make sure your site is indexed by Google. Verify it in Google Search Console and check for errors.
Step 2: Do your pages answer the questions customers ask?
People ask AI tools full questions: "how much does a flat roof repair cost?", "do I need scaffolding to fix a chimney?", "can you fix a leak in the rain?". Pages that answer these clearly and honestly are easier to quote.
- Use questions as headings, then give a short, direct answer underneath.
- Add a frequently asked questions section to each service page.
- Be specific: the towns you cover, the kinds of job you do and don't do, typical timescales.
- Keep it accurate. Don't publish prices or claims you can't stand behind.
Step 3: Are your business details the same everywhere?
Your business name, address (or service area) and phone number should match across your website, Google Business Profile, Facebook page, directories and invoices. Inconsistent details make it harder for search engines and AI tools to be sure which information is right.
Google's AI features guidance specifically mentions keeping your Business Profile information up to date. Our guide on getting more local jobs from Google covers the profile step by step.
Step 4: Do you have genuine reviews?
Reviews give AI tools and customers evidence about real jobs. A steady flow of honest reviews, with your replies, is far more useful than a handful of glowing ones. Never buy or fake reviews: it breaks Google's rules and UK law. See how to ask for reviews the right way.
Step 5: Is your structured data accurate?
Structured data is code on your pages that labels facts for machines: your business name, phone number, address or service area, opening hours and FAQs. Google uses LocalBusiness structured data to understand business details, but says it does not guarantee any feature will appear.
The key rule is that structured data must match what's visible on the page. Marking up reviews, prices or awards you don't show, or don't have, is misleading. You can check your pages with Google's Rich Results Test.
Step 6: Is your business mentioned elsewhere?
AI answers often draw on more than one source. Genuine mentions in local directories, trade association member lists, local news or community pages help confirm that your business is real and active. Only join directories and schemes that make sense for your business, and keep the details consistent.
What doesn't help?
- Hidden text or pages written only for AI bots.
- Hundreds of near-identical pages generated automatically. Google's spam policies call this scaled content abuse.
- "AI text files" sold as a guaranteed fix. Google says you don't need special files or markup for its AI features.
- Fake reviews or invented awards.
Our AI search service and local SEO service cover the honest version of all this. We don't promise rankings or AI mentions, because no one can.