Generative engine optimisation: getting cited by AI answers
Search increasingly happens inside AI assistants. Here is how small brands structure content so answer engines quote them accurately.
Answer engines quote structure, not slogans
AI assistants summarise pages. Content organised as clear questions and direct answers is far easier to quote than marketing prose.
Write the answer in the first two sentences
Lead each section with the conclusion, then support it. This mirrors how retrieval systems chunk and rank passages.
Give machines something to verify
Include specifics: locations, services, prices where possible, dates, and named examples. Vague pages get paraphrased away; concrete pages get cited.
Use structured data
Organisation, service, article and FAQ schema help both crawlers and answer engines understand what a page asserts and who is asserting it.
Keep a consistent identity everywhere
Same business name, same address, same description across your site, directories and profiles. Inconsistency is the fastest way to be left out of an answer.
Publish regularly and update honestly
Answer engines favour pages that are current. Revisit key articles quarterly and note what changed.