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As we move from Google searches to asking Chat GPT etc, AI robots need to be able to read and understand your business.

Search behaviour shifts

Which? report Dec. 2025 found 51% of UK searches start using AI. Impressive, but what’s relevant is only 18% of AI searches (White Hat SEO) are with commercial intent.

AI robot in a library trying to read content

SEO (‘I’ll get you to Page 1 on Google’) aims to place your site in the Top 3 listings for certain keywords and get ‘clicks’ to your website. How many clicks are just for information, with no interest in your business?

The Big Change: ‘No Click’ queries

Imagine your mortgage is up for renewal. You know XYZ & Co has a good reputation in the financial world. You ask Chat GPT: Does XYZ & Co do mortgages? Answer: Their expertise is wealth management and pensions. So you reject XYZ.

AI states your second choice does mortgages. A few days later you make the call, unaware XYZ do mortgages and would have got you a better rate. It’s buried in the website content, but invisible to AI.

AEO makes your business visible to AI assistants

Effective AEO (Answer Engine Optimisation) makes it clear what the business does, where and how to AI assistants like Chat GPT.

Think of your business website as a book in a library. The librarian is Chat GPT or Gemini etc. To encourage the librarian to recommend your book (website), AEO provides a postcard with concise and sourced details about your business.

Now consider all those important warm prospects from your sales activity or recommendations. When deciding whether to use your business, they may ask AI how you compare to your competitors.

Making your brand entity crystal clear to AI

AEO helps build your brand entity and avoids AI missing the key information or providing the wrong answer. This fits with Ambrose Designs two guiding principles:

  1. Clarity: make content clear & easy to find. No ‘geek talk’ bluster.
  2. Everything must work: no excuses.

That’s why Ambrose Designs will be offering expert AEO for their websites.

Making content visible to AI with AEO

How does AEO fix visibility issues?

Sites, even made in 2024 are unlikely to have been built for AEO. For ‘Answer Engines’ to find, read and trust your content, code (not visible on the website) needs to be added.

Yes. They provide two options. A one-off set up or regular updates as part of the monthly maintenance package.

In the above example, an FAQ is placed in an ‘accordion’. This makes it easier to find the question you are looking for. So, a good UX (user experience). Unfortunately, Answer Engines can’t click or scroll. So they don’t read the answer. Stupid Robot!

For an AEO expert to fix this, is it cost affordable for SMEs?

Yes. Unlike SEO, for a relatively modest monthly budget, most businesses would stand to benefit from well crafted AEO. The solution in this example is to add code to the page (not visible to humans) containing the same content.

AEO spammers Image of a pushy dor to door salesman

Don’t Get Bamboozled by Spammers

As with SEO, spammers may claim they’ve critiqued your site and use tech jargon to confuse and scare.

This glossary explains what they mean, so your website designer can check such claims for you.

Code can be added in 4 areas to make content, once invisible, now readable to AI-assistants.

  1. JSON-LD Schema : markup to help AI understand content
  2. ARIA attributes: to help AI navigate buttons, accordions, tabs etc. Also used for screen readers (WCAG)
  3. Answer-First structure: to present content clearly for AI
  4. Trust layer: AI will only cite a website if there’s evidence of Experience, Expertise, Authoritiveness and Trust

Speak to Your Web Designer First

There’s lots of misinformation about AEO & GEO (Generative Engine Optimisation). Get their take on things first and what level of work is justified. If you draw a blank…