What Google says
Google's documentation on AI features is plain. There are no extra requirements, no special schema and no AI text files to add. To appear as a supporting link, a page needs to be in the index and allowed to show a snippet. Traffic from AI Overviews shows up in the normal Performance report in Search Console.
That rules out much of what vendors sell as AI optimization. Google does not need special markup or a separate file. It needs pages worth citing.
Other assistants run their own crawlers. ChatGPT search uses OAI-SearchBot, and Perplexity uses PerplexityBot. If you block them in robots.txt, those tools cannot cite your pages.
What makes a page easy to cite
| Area | What it needs | What to improve |
|---|---|---|
| Direct answers | Short, plain answers to real questions | An answer-first opening and clear definitions |
| Clear identity | One consistent name, address and phone | Matching details on your site, profile and listings |
| Depth | Pages that cover the whole decision | Pricing factors, process, service areas and proof |
| Crawl access | Pages that search and AI crawlers can fetch | robots.txt rules, indexing and fast responses |
Good example. A pest control page answers how fast the company can treat ants. It names the neighborhoods served, shows reviews and local job photos, and keeps a call button next to the answer.
Bad example. A blog post repeats a keyword many times, gives generic tips and sends readers to a contact page with no proof.
Where to start
- Rewrite service page openings to answer the main question.
- Turn real sales call questions into sections and FAQs.
- Show author or reviewer details on expert topics.
- Keep your profile, site and listings consistent.
Measure what matters
AI Overviews answer simple questions on the results page, so some informational clicks disappear. Judge success by calls, forms and booked jobs, not impressions alone. A page that shows up less but brings more calls is doing its job.
Our AI search optimization service applies this to your pages, profile and listings together.