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How to do AI SEO in 2026: step-by-step

By Zeb Choudhry · Visus · 4 July 2026 · 8 min read

To do AI SEO (also called GEO — Generative Engine Optimisation), start by auditing your page for the signals AI systems use: AI crawler access, entity clarity, schema markup, answer-ready content, and third-party corroboration. Then fix the highest-impact gaps in order. The free Visus audit identifies which gaps apply to your specific page.

AI SEO and traditional SEO have significant overlap but they are not the same thing. Traditional SEO optimises pages to rank in Google's link-based results. AI SEO (Generative Engine Optimisation, or GEO) optimises content to be cited, mentioned, and recommended in AI-generated answers from ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews, and Bing Copilot.

If you're already doing good traditional SEO, you have a strong foundation. But several of the most important AI SEO signals — AI crawler access, entity clarity, answer-ready content — aren't checked by traditional SEO tools.

Step 1: Check AI crawler access

Before you do anything else, check your robots.txt file. If you've blocked AI crawlers, no amount of content optimisation will help — they simply won't be able to read your pages.

Check for these user-agents in your robots.txt and make sure none of them are disallowed:

If any of these are blocked (either explicitly or via a catch-all Disallow: /), remove the block. This is the fastest fix with the highest potential impact.

Step 2: Establish entity clarity

Entity clarity means that your business name, type, and location are stated so clearly that an AI system can identify who you are without ambiguity. This matters because AI tools recommend businesses they can verify — and verification starts with clear identity signals.

On your homepage, you need a single clear paragraph that states:

Example: "Fozias is a Kashmiri restaurant in Liverpool city centre, serving traditional Pakistani and Kashmiri cuisine for dine-in and private events." That one sentence gives AI exactly what it needs to identify and recommend the business for relevant queries.

Step 3: Add schema markup

Schema markup is structured data added to your page in JSON-LD format. It removes ambiguity about your business type — instead of AI guessing from prose, your schema explicitly states what type of entity you are, where you're located, and what you offer.

The highest-impact schema types for AI SEO:

  1. LocalBusiness or Organization — name, address, phone, opening hours, URL
  2. FAQPage — question-and-answer pairs AI can quote directly
  3. Person — for the founder or key team members, with credentials
  4. BreadcrumbList — helps AI understand your site structure

Full guide: Schema markup for AI visibility.

Step 4: Create answer-ready content

AI systems prefer content they can quote verbatim. A page that says "we offer exceptional service" gives AI nothing to work with. A page that says "we respond to all enquiries within 2 hours and have fixed over 1,400 boilers in Manchester since 2019" gives AI citable facts.

For every important claim about your business, make it specific and quotable:

Add an FAQ section that directly answers the questions buyers ask AI tools: "how much does [your service] cost?", "how long does [your service] take?", "do you offer [specific thing]?"

Step 5: Build third-party corroboration

AI is more confident recommending businesses it can verify from multiple independent sources. Third-party signals that matter most:

These take longer to build than on-page changes (4–12 weeks vs 2–4 weeks) but have significant long-term impact on AI recommendation likelihood.

Step 6: Add llms.txt

llms.txt is a plain-text file placed at the root of your website (e.g. yoursite.com/llms.txt) that tells AI crawlers about your business. Think of it as a robots.txt for AI — not for blocking, but for explaining who you are, what you offer, and where AI should look for the most accurate information about your business.

A minimal effective llms.txt for a local business:

# Your Business Name
# https://yourdomain.com

## What we do
[Clear description of your business, location, and services]

## Key URLs
- https://yourdomain.com — homepage
- https://yourdomain.com/services — services
- https://yourdomain.com/about — about

## Pricing
[Your current pricing, clear and specific]

Full guide: What is llms.txt?

How long does AI SEO take?

The timeline varies by fix type:

The Fozias restaurant in Liverpool saw their AI visibility score move from 23 to 80 in 90 days. Read the full case study.

How to measure AI SEO results

Unlike traditional SEO, there's no "AI rankings" report. The closest proxies are:

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