Making Your Content AI-Discoverable

What if your next potential customer never visits your website because AI answered their question before they clicked? It sounds futuristic, but it's already happening. More people are skipping traditional search results. They just ask an AI system and receive an instant summary.

In this changing environment, being “SEO optimized” is no longer enough. Your content must be understandable by both machines and people. This means you need to structure it carefully, clearly convey meaning, and build trust in a way that AI systems can recognize.

In this article, we'll explore how to make your content stand out to AI systems. You'll discover what really helps your content appear in summaries, chat interfaces, and other AI-driven experiences. Whether you're a content strategist, marketer, or site owner, these tactics can help you remain visible.

At a Glance

• AI has changed the way people search. Users aren't just typing keywords. They're asking full questions and getting instant, AI-generated answers.

• Your content needs to speak the language of AI. Structured data, semantic markup, and a clear hierarchy help AI understand and surface your content in summaries and chat results.

• Credibility drives visibility. Search and AI systems prioritize trusted, well-sourced information, so accurate data and external references are key.

• Optimization is ongoing. AI discovery isn't a one-time checklist. It's a continuous process of monitoring, refining, and staying ahead of algorithm shifts.

• dotCMS makes it easier. Our platform helps you deliver structured, AI-ready content that performs across every channel.

Sections

1. Structure content - for AI-friendly discoverability.

2. Build authority and trust - with E-E-A-T principles.

3. Leverage technical SEO - schema markup, llms.txt, and more.

4. Evergreen Content - Writing timeless content that builds authority over time.

5. Measure Visibility - track your visibility in AI-powered search engines.

Structure content

To make your content easy for AI to find, use clear headings and short paragraphs. Include structured data, like schema markup, and internal links to create a logical flow that AI can understand and summarize. Answer user questions directly in a conversational tone. Use modular sections and prioritize factual, well-sourced information to help generative AI platforms cite your content in their responses. If you're a content manager or developer, you should prepare your strategy for the future. See how dotCMS can help you optimize for the next era of search.

Volume range

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If you're a content manager or developer, you should prepare your strategy for the future. See how dotCMS can help you optimize for the next era of search.

Two forces drive this disruption: rapid advances in technology and the accelerating adoption of new search behaviors by younger demographics. - Dan Taylor, VIP Contributor SEJ

Content Structure & Organization

• Hierarchical Headings: Use a single H1 for the page title, followed by H2s and H3s to create a logical hierarchy of topics and subtopics, which helps AI understand the content's flow and relationships.

• Short, Focused Paragraphs: Keep sentences and paragraphs brief and direct, ideally with only one main idea or task per paragraph, to improve clarity for AI summarization.

• Modular Content: Break long-form articles into smaller, modular sections to make content more digestible for AI tools and improve their performance in retrieval and summarization.

• Clear & Direct Language: Write in a factual, informational style, avoiding jargon and excessive marketing language. This will make your content easier for AI to understand. 

The Inverted Pyramid

Resources:

• Inverted Pyramid Structure

• AI's coming inverted pyramid moment for journalism

Build Authority and Trust

AI systems and search engines rely on signals of credibility to decide which content to display. This is where Google's E-E-A-T framework, which stands for Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness, plays a role. It's not just about keywords or backlinks anymore; it's about showing that your brand is knowledgeable and dependable. Showcasing genuine expertise, linking to reliable sources, and being transparent about who produces your content all help boost these signals. The more trustworthy your content appears, the more likely AI and search engines will feature it in their results and summaries.

In practice, this means content should:

• Show real experience (first-hand knowledge or practical examples).

• Demonstrate expertise (well-informed authors with proven backgrounds).

• Build authority (citations, backlinks, and mentions from reputable sources).

• Establish trust (accurate, transparent, and regularly updated information).

Together, these elements help your content rank higher in search results and increase the chances it will be cited in AI-driven answers.

Experience reflects the author's practical understanding and personal experience of the topic. It's about showing that you are knowledgeable and have real-world experience in the subject matter. - Carmen Dominguez, Moz

Experience

• What it means: The content creator has real, first-hand experience with the topic they are discussing. 

• Example: A product review written by someone who has actually used the product. 

Expertise

• What it means: The content creator possesses the knowledge or qualifications needed to talk about the subject. 

• Example: An article about a medical condition written by a registered medical professional. 

Authoritativeness

• What it means: The creator or website is considered a recognized and reputable source for information in their specific industry. 

• Example: A government website sharing news on new policies. 

Trustworthiness

• What it means: This is the most crucial element, and it's built upon the other three. It refers to the overall reliability and safety of the content and website. 

• How to build it: Display clear contact information, use HTTPS for security, feature author bios and qualifications, and showcase reviews or testimonials. 

Tools & Platforms That Help You with E-E-A-T

Tips for Getting Value from These Tools

• Don't expect a perfect “E-E-A-T score.” None of these tools fully replicates Google's internal judgments. Use them as guides and diagnostics.

• Iterate and re-analyze. After making changes (adding author bios, improving citations, removing weak links), run the tool again to see how your metrics shift.

• Focus on high-impact pages first. Use these tools on cornerstone content (flagship guides, product pages, high-traffic posts) first.

• Combine the signals. For example, if GSC shows you have mobile usability issues and a tool flags “Trust” weaknesses, fix the usability first because performance issues can erode trust.

• Don't ignore context. Use these tools as starting points, but supplement with human judgment: is the author credible? Are your sources up to date? Do readers trust your site?

Technical SEO  

Technical SEO is the behind-the-scenes work that makes your website easy for search engines and AI systems to crawl, interpret, and rank. It includes clean site architecture, fast load times, mobile responsiveness, proper use of headings, and structured data like schema markup. By keeping your content technically sound, you provide AI search tools with clear signals about what your content is.

Schema Markup  

Schema markup is a type of structured data written in JSON-LD. You add it to your web pages to help search engines better understand your content. It gives clear signals about what a page is about.

Using schema markup can help your pages qualify for rich results in search, like star ratings, product info, event times, breadcrumbs, FAQs, and more. This improves visibility, increases click-through rates, and ensures that search engines and AI systems understand your content correctly.

In short, schema markup is like giving search engines a cheat sheet about your website.

Resources:

• Google: https://search.google.com/test/rich-results

• Schema.org: https://validator.schema.org/

AI Prompt

You are a technical SEO and structured data expert.  
Your task is to generate schema.org JSON-LD markup for the pages on my website.

**Role:** Act as the digital marketing lead for [COMPANY NAME].  
**Task:** Write schema markup for the [PAGE TYPE] page at [PAGE URL].  

**Guidelines for the schema markup:**  
- Use the latest [schema.org](https://schema.org) vocabulary.  
- Output must be in **JSON-LD** format, wrapped in <script type="application/ld+json">.  
- Follow Google's structured data guidelines for SEO.  
- Only include fields that are relevant and helpful, avoid unnecessary ones.  
- Ensure all required and recommended properties for the schema type are included.  
- Replace placeholders with actual values from the page.  

**Inputs you should use:**  
- Page Type: [Homepage, BlogPosting, Product, Service, FAQPage, Organization, etc.]  
- Page URL: [https://www.example.com/page]  
- Title: [PAGE TITLE]  
- Description: [META DESCRIPTION OR SUMMARY]  
- Author / Publisher: [NAME OF COMPANY OR PERSON]  
- Date Published: [YYYY-MM-DD]  
- Date Modified: [YYYY-MM-DD]  
- Image URL(s): [https://www.example.com/path-to-image.jpg]  
- Additional Page-Specific Details (e.g., product price, FAQ list, business address, etc.)  

**Output format:**  
- A valid JSON-LD block with schema markup for the given page type.

Example

<script type="application/ld+json">
  {
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@type": "[SCHEMA TYPE]",
    "name": "[PAGE TITLE]",
    "url": "[PAGE URL]",
    "description": "[DESCRIPTION]",
    "image": "[IMAGE URL]",
    "author": {
      "@type": "Organization",
      "name": "[COMPANY NAME]"
    },
    "publisher": {
      "@type": "Organization",
      "name": "[COMPANY NAME]"
    },
    "datePublished": "[YYYY-MM-DD]",
    "dateModified": "[YYYY-MM-DD]"
    [ADD ANY ADDITIONAL FIELDS RELEVANT TO THE PAGE TYPE]
  }
</script>

llms.txt

We propose adding a /llms.txt markdown file to websites to provide LLM-friendly content. This file offers brief background information, guidance, and links to detailed markdown files.
Create a simple and clear file using the Markdown format.

• Include only important content and avoid unnecessary details.

• Avoid complex structures such as HTML or JavaScript.

• Include up-to-date, accurate, and descriptive information.

• Take care not to provide conflicting information with robots.txt.

• Refresh your llms.txt file as your website is updated.

AI Prompt:

You are a content and AI optimization expert.  
Your task is to create a clear, accurate, and well-structured 'llms.txt' file for my website.

**Role:** Act as the head of digital marketing for [COMPANY NAME].  
**Task:** Write an 'llms.txt' file for [WEBSITE URL].  

**Guidelines for the 'llms.txt' file:**  
- Use the website's existing content as the source of truth.  
- Keep the file plain text (avoid HTML, CSS, or JavaScript).  
- Focus only on important and relevant information — no filler.  
- Organize the content into clear sections with headers, such as:  
  1. About [COMPANY NAME]  
  2. Key Capabilities / Products  
  3. Key Features  
  4. Summary  

**Content requirements:**  
- Ensure the information is accurate, up-to-date, and descriptive.  
- Highlight unique differentiators that set [COMPANY NAME] apart.   
- Provide direct links back to reference content on the website.  

**Inputs you should use:**  
- Main Website URL: [https://www.example.com]  
- Key Blog Post(s):  
  - [https://www.example.com/blog/post-1]  
  - [https://www.example.com/blog/post-2]  
- Product Pages:  
  - [https://www.example.com/docs]  
  - [https://www.example.com/product/overview]  

**Output format:**  
- A final 'llms.txt' file, ready to be published at the root of [WEBSITE URL].  
- Clean, concise, and structured for easy parsing by LLMs.  
- No technical jargon unless necessary.  

Example:

# Title

> Optional description goes here

Optional details go here

## Section name

- [Link title](https://link_url): Optional link details

## Optional

- [Link title](https://link_url)

Evergreen Content

To keep content evergreen, you must create material that offers consistent value over time. Focus on timeless topics and update and repurpose it regularly. Evergreen content avoids timely news or trends. It serves as a long-term asset that drives continuous traffic and establishes your authority.

Create timeless content from the start

Choose topics that remain relevant. Identify core, foundational topics in your niche that people will always search for. Avoid creating content based on fleeting trends, pop culture references, or timely statistics.

By creating evergreen content, marketers can build a consistent traffic stream and provide ongoing value to their audience. - Digital Marketing Institute

Focus on common problems and questions. Turn your audience's frequently asked questions (FAQs) into detailed articles, tutorials, or guides. Look for inspiration in customer emails, social media comments, and forums like Reddit and Quora.

Create comprehensive, in-depth resources. Write authoritative content that thoroughly answers search intent. These "ultimate guides" last longer and are more likely to earn valuable backlinks.

Use simple, clear language. Write for a beginner-level audience and avoid jargon or trendy slang that can quickly become outdated. This makes the content more accessible and understandable for a broader, long-term audience.

Regularly maintain and refresh existing content

Schedule regular content audits. Review your most important evergreen posts every 6 to 12 months to ensure accuracy and freshness. Monitor analytics for any drop in traffic or keyword rankings.

Update outdated information. Replace old statistics, examples, or product details with the latest data. Add new insights or expand sections to make the content more thorough.

Fix broken links. Audit your internal and external links to ensure they lead to active, relevant pages. This improves user experience and protects your SEO.

Enhance for readability and SEO. Improve on-page SEO by refreshing title tags, meta descriptions, and headings. Optimize formatting by breaking up long paragraphs, adding bullet points, and using interactive elements like quizzes.

Add expert insights. Incorporate new quotes or comments from subject matter experts to boost your content's credibility.

Change the publication date. Once you've updated a post, change the publication date to show it is fresh and current. This signals to search engines that the content remains relevant and valuable.

Repurpose content for maximum reach

Break down pillar content. Transform long guides into "snackable" formats. For example, turn a comprehensive blog post into multiple social media graphics, carousels, or short videos.

Create different media types. Convert a popular blog post into a podcast episode, infographic, or video tutorial. This lets you reach different parts of your audience and gain more value from a single piece of content.

Use it for lead magnets. Package your highest-performing evergreen content into a gated asset, like an ebook or checklist, to capture new email subscribers.

Promote on social media. Regularly re-promote your evergreen content on social media channels to reach new followers. Use scheduling tools to automatically resurface your best content.

Feature in email campaigns. Include evergreen articles in your email newsletters or welcome sequences for new subscribers. This is an effective way to keep your audience engaged over time.

Measure visibility

To measure AI search attribution, track your brand's visibility and mentions in AI responses using tools and manual checks. Monitor referral traffic to your site from AI models. A complete approach includes blending traditional web analytics with specialized AI monitoring. Assess your site's positioning score and analyze branded search volume while refining your measurement strategy.

Track AI Visibility & Mentions

Setup your analytics to isolate AI-driven traffic from other channels. Ensures your data is accurate and easy to segment.

1. Create custom channel groups in Google Analytics for AI sources (e.g., chat.openai.com, gemini.google.com, perplexity.ai).

2. Configure UTM parameters for tests and campaigns involving AI platforms.

3. Set up tracking views or filters to separate AI-driven sessions from other referral traffic.

Establish a Baseline

Document your current presence to create a baseline for tracking growth and impact.

• Run industry-relevant queries across LLMs:

• Test 20–30 industry-relevant questions your customers typically ask

• Test both branded and unbranded queries

• Include direct competitor comparison queries (ie. "Is [brand] or [competitor] better for project management?")

• Track a variety of metrics:

  • Brand mentions (yes/no)

  • Citation and mention quality (direct quote, paraphrase, or passing reference)

  • Competitor co-mentions

  • Source attribution (the source where your page is cited or mentioned)

  • Answer sentiment (positive, neutral, negative)

Resources

• Google Analytics

• SemRush

• AirOps

• AHREF

Conclusion

AI is changing how people find information. Instead of searching and scrolling, users ask questions and get instant answers. Your content needs to make sense to both humans and machines. Focus on the basics. Use clear structure, accurate data, and trusted sources. Experiment, test new formats (e.g. FAQ blocks, JSON-LD schema), and monitor how and where your pages are being surfaced. Check your content often and keep it fresh. The clearer and more reliable your content is, the more often it will show up when AI starts doing the searching for you.

AI Discoverability Checklist