Artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming increasingly more important in all sorts of areas, including online search. This quickly developing technology is not only at work ‘under the hood’ of search engine algorithms, it is also fundamentally changing the way people look for and receive their information online.
If you’re not adapting to this new type of search, you could be missing out, and there are a number of reasons why you might already be failing to show up in AI search.
What AI Search Is and Why It Matters
AI search uses generative AI to create original content. In this case, a summary of search results is presented instead of, or in addition to, the usual list of websites and pages we’re used to seeing in search engine results pages (SERPS).
Generative AI is the same broad type of technology as ChatGPT, which, as of August 2025, has nearly 800 million weekly active users and around 180 million daily active users.
Google AI Overviews have been with us for more than a year now, and you’re probably used to seeing them at the top of a search page. Using a specialised version of Google’s Gemini AI, the system essentially sifts through relevant websites to produce a summary based on the search query or question. It is designed to be more contextual and to provide information that wouldn’t be possible with traditional search.
Google AI Mode takes things even further, and Google says it lets you ask nuanced questions that would have previously required multiple searches. As in most areas of search, Google is leading the pack, but other systems like Bing Copilot are also gaining traction.
Essentially, AI search is important because it is quickly starting to change user behaviour.
How to Show Up in AI Search
AI search optimisation is simply a set of best practices intended to improve AI search visibility, just as regular SEO is a way to improve rankings and visibility on what could now be thought of as ‘traditional’ search engine results pages.
The two approaches are not entirely separate, though. Modern search is a blend of the sophisticated search algorithms that Google and other search engines have been refining for years, and newly emerging AI search formats.
You shouldn’t neglect existing SEO technique,s but you also need to produce content and use techniques that are relevant to AI search in particular.
5 Reasons Your Content Is Not Showing Up in AI Search
SEO for AI search is an ongoing process that requires constant attention, particularly as the technology behind this new type of search and user behaviours continues to evolve. But if you’re wondering why you’re not showing up anywhere, it could be down to one of the issues below.
1. Poor Content Quality or Lack of Authority
AI tools favour expert-level, trustworthy content. This means that thin, duplicated, incorrect or vague content is unlikely to get picked up.
Producing high-value, accurate content was always a good idea, but it is even more vital for AI search.
Google’s E-E-A-T still very much applies. This stands for experience, expertise, authoritativeness and trustworthiness, and these are qualities to keep in mind regarding your content.
The good news is that a small company or website could outperform larger businesses or organisations if they have and correctly present these E-E-A-T qualities in their own niche. Publish genuinely helpful, original content on your niche, and this can help you get picked up by AI search, as well as providing value to your users.
2. No Clear Topical Relevance or Structure
Expert and valuable content is essential, but AI algorithms also have to be able to find and recognise it. AI needs clarity and structure in order to extract useful information, and things like poor use of headings, no schema, or scattered messaging can hamper your efforts.
It’s generally a good idea to use strong headings, FAQs where appropriate and keyword-rich sections with clear context.
3. You’re Not Optimised for Conversational Queries
AI systems like ChatGPT are designed to be able to ‘chat’. AI search is shaped by how real people ask questions, and if your content doesn’t answer ‘how?’, ‘why?’, ‘where?’ or ‘what?’ in user-friendly language, you may miss out.
Conversational questions are even more likely when people are using voice-based search.
Try to build content around questions people genuinely ask. Tools like AnswerThePublic and Google’s People Also Ask (PAA) feature can be useful for researching what people are actually searching for.
4. Lack of Structured Data (Schema Markup)
Structured data helps AI and search engines to better understand your content at scale. You can do this using schema, which is a vocabulary of tags that you add to your website’s code to make information easier to identify.
This can include a schema to identify content types such as FAQs, how-to guides, product information and organisational information. Appropriate schema on key pages and sections can help with both SEO and AI optimisation.
5. Low Domain Authority or Poor Backlink Profile
AI search looks for content from trustworthy, well-cited sources, and if your site lacks inbound links or has a weak reputation, it may be excluded.
Existing SEO strategies like content partnerships, digital PR and link building can also be leveraged to increase trust and improve performance in AI search.
Bonus Tip: Keep an Eye on AI Search Evolution
It’s worth remembering that this is an emerging space, so what’s excluded today may be included tomorrow – and vice versa.
It’s always worth keeping content up to date, regularly reviewing performance and staying agile with SEO practices.
Start Getting Found Where It Matters
Appearing in AI search is the next frontier of digital visibility. It might still seem a little niche now, but all the indications are that AI will play a bigger and bigger part in the way that people search for information, products and services.
Maxweb Solutions can help you to audit, improve and future-proof your website’s performance for both traditional search and AI-driven search tools. Get in touch today to find out how we can help.
Posted on Friday, August 8th, 2025 in Latest News.
