Built to be found — by people and AI
AI systems are becoming another front door to the web. Here is what readiness actually involves — and the checklist we apply to every product we ship.
Work with usWhat “AI optimization” actually means
People can now discover products through ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google’s AI features, while browser agents are beginning to act on a user’s behalf. AI optimization — often called GEO or AEO — means making a site easy for these systems to crawl, understand, cite, and use.
Most of the work overlaps with good SEO, content design, accessibility, and product integrations. There is no separate switch that guarantees inclusion in an AI answer.
Early and uneven — worth preparing for
AI referral volume and value vary widely by product and category. We treat AI readiness as a complement to search, never a replacement for it. No single tactic guarantees a citation; the basics compound.
How we make a product AI-ready
Five checks, applied in order. The first two make the product readable, authority develops over time, and the last two make it usable and measurable.
Can the machine read you?
Don’t rely on client-side JavaScript for critical content. Google can render
JavaScript, but other crawlers and retrieval systems vary, and rendering can
fail or lag. Put essential copy and links in server-rendered or static HTML
where practical. Keep URLs and internal links crawlable, maintain a valid
sitemap, and check that robots.txt, the CDN, and the firewall allow
the specific search bots you want to reach.
Content that is easy to understand
Write for people first, but make key facts easy to extract: answer the main question early, use descriptive headings, keep sections coherent, and use tables for genuine comparisons. Add accurate schema.org markup where it supports documented search features or clarifies page data. Schema is useful infrastructure, not special AI markup or a citation guarantee.
Give claims independent support
For recommendation and comparison questions, AI systems may draw on third-party sources as well as your own site. Earn real coverage, references, and reviews in places your audience trusts, and keep product facts consistent across them. External corroboration takes time; no directory placement or manufactured mention guarantees visibility.
Make the product usable, not only readable
Browser agents may use the rendered page, DOM, and accessibility tree to complete tasks. Clear labels, semantic controls, predictable forms, and deep links help. Where users need deeper automation, documented APIs, App Intents, or an MCP server can expose useful actions. These are product integrations, not search-ranking signals.
Measure outcomes, not bot visits alone
Track identifiable AI referrals, use the platform reports available to you, and verify crawler access in server logs. Run a small, repeatable set of manual checks, but treat the results as directional because answers vary. Measure citations, qualified visits, and completed actions — not just crawl activity.
What we won’t sell you
We won’t present llms.txt as a ranking or citation tactic. It is a voluntary
proposal with uneven support, and Google Search says it ignores the file. We won’t
claim schema guarantees AI visibility, treat every crawler as equivalent, or say AI
search replaces SEO. For every change, we document which system it targets and whether
it is established practice or an experiment.
Want your site or app AI-ready?
It’s already part of how we build — and we can audit an existing product the same way, then hand you a prioritised fix list.
Reach out: my@addicted.design