Research checked 5 October 2026. Practical recommendations below are Divel’s editorial guidance; examples are illustrative.
An AI-search strategy can become expensive quickly when every new acronym turns into a separate workstream. For a business owner, the more useful question is simpler: can customers find, understand and act on your expertise?
What changed
Google introduced a dedicated generative AI optimization guide in May 2026. Its guidance keeps SEO fundamentals central and rejects the idea that special AI files or a particular writing formula are necessary for Google Search. Eligibility and good practice do not guarantee inclusion. Read Google’s current guide.
A practical order of work
Divel’s recommendation is to start with a small set of commercially important pages. Choose pages that answer a real buying question, such as which service fits a customer’s situation or what information is needed before requesting a quote.
- Check that each page has a clear purpose, working navigation and a useful next step.
- Replace broad claims with specific explanations of scope, constraints and how the work is delivered.
- Add evidence you own: documented processes, authorised examples and clearly attributed expertise.
- Make the page easy to read on a phone before adding more content.
Example: turn a vague service page into a decision page
Consider an illustrative website-development page that says only “we build great websites.” A stronger version explains the types of sites supported, what a project includes, what the client needs to supply and how maintenance is handled. A buyer can then decide whether to enquire. This is an editorial recommendation, not a claim that those sections will earn an AI citation.
Keep the experiment manageable
Record the starting page, the change, its publication date and the business outcome you want to improve. Review search discovery and enquiries over a meaningful period, accounting for seasonality and other campaigns. Do not treat a single appearance in an AI answer as proof of lasting visibility.
The priority is useful decision-making content backed by a functioning website. Treat AI-search visibility as part of that wider search programme, with a defined budget and evidence-based review.
Need help applying this to your website? Explore Divel’s relevant service or discuss your priorities.