SEO in the Age of AI

How to make your website visible when Google begins to answer for you

The way people find information online is evolving faster than most of us realize. For years, the goal was simple: get to the top of Google’s search results. Yet today, the definition of “top” has changed.

Strong SEO, valuable content, and a few relevant backlinks used to be enough to bring in steady web traffic. But what if your site ranks number one and people still don’t click? That’s exactly what many organizations are discovering.

Google now uses AI-generated overviews, short, automatically created summaries compiled from trusted websites that appear above the traditional search listings. This means a user might receive an answer without ever visiting your site.

Does that mean SEO is dead?

Not at all. In fact, this shift presents a powerful new opportunity. If you build your content and website so that AI and Google can easily read and trust them, your organization can become one of the sources that gets quoted.
You can appear in the answer, not just in the list.

Four Steps to Strengthen your SEO in the Age of AI

Step 1: Your Website Must Be Crawlable and Fast

AI cannot summarize what it cannot crawl or understand. Think of Google’s crawler as a librarian trying to catalog every book in the library. If your “book” isn’t labeled correctly, the librarian moves on.
Make sure your robots.txt file and XML sitemap are clean and up to date, as they guide Google through your site. Also, optimize your Core Web Vitals – fast load times, secure HTTPS connections, and a stable page layout.
And because over 60 percent of web traffic now comes from mobile devices (versus roughly 38 percent from desktop), your mobile version of the site is what Google reviews first.
If your mobile experience is slow or broken, AI may ignore your site entirely.

Step 2: Write Content That AI Can Read

We’re no longer writing only for human readers; we’re writing for machines too.

We’re no longer writing only for human readers; we’re writing for machines too. That doesn’t mean stripping away your mission or message, it means organizing content differently.

Use question-based headlines that reflect the phrases people type into search bars or ask via voice. For example, at Infinity Concepts, we published a blog titled “How Can Nonprofits Use Social Media for Donor Acquisition?”

We chose that keyword by using insights from Google’s Search Console data, and the actual questions we hear from ministry clients. The title matched real search intent and looked like an answer template to AI.

Inside the article we used short paragraphs, bullet lists instead of long text blocks, and descriptive subheadings. We also added schema markup (more on that next). Within a week, the post appeared inside a Google AI answer box, a result of structure and clarity, not luck.

Step 3: Add Schema Markup to Help Google Understand

Schema markup is a small piece of code that helps Google interpret the meaning of your content – identifying FAQs, how-to steps, and authorship. It doesn’t guarantee your site will be selected for an AI answer, but it ensures your content can be read by AI.

If your site runs on WordPress, I recommend using Yoast SEO or Rank Math SEO. These plugins insert much of the needed schema automatically such as FAQ Page, Article, HowTo, and support structured data without requiring you to write code.

You’re not telling AI to rank you; you’re making your site readable to it.

Step 4: Build Authority and Trust

Google’s AI models favor websites that demonstrate E-E-A-T: experience, expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness. Include author bios with credentials, cite credible sources, and link between related pages. Maintain a clear About Us and Contact page. These signals show that your organization is credible and transparent.

The stronger your reputation, the more likely AI will reference your content in summaries.

The stronger your reputation, the more likely AI will reference your content in summaries.

Final Thoughts

The methods we use to reach people are evolving, but the mission remains the same; to connect, to serve, and to communicate truthfully and clearly. The technology is changing, but the message endures.

Your website remains the hub of your digital presence. When you keep your technical SEO clean, craft structured, helpful content, and establish authority, you make it easier for people, and for AI, to find you.

This article isn’t a formula to manipulate algorithms. It’s a reminder that clarity, structure, and integrity are what allow your message to shine, even in a world where Google is the one doing the talking.

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Dave Offord is Digital Campaign Specialist for Infinity Concepts, an award-winning Christian strategic communications firm serving ministries and nonprofits. He helps organizations optimize their websites and digital strategy so their message reaches the right audience. Connect with Dave at: dave@infinityconcepts.com.

Dave Offord will lead a workshop entitled “SEO in 2026: Optimizing for Google Search and AI” at The Outcomes Conference 2026 in Dallas, Texas (April 28-30). Please join us for this transformational event for Christian nonprofit leaders. Register >>