Direct answer
AI-shaped search changes how answers are assembled and how people move from an overview to sources, but the foundations remain: crawlable pages, index eligibility, clear original value, reliable evidence, and useful experiences.
Google states that no special AI markup, `llms.txt`, forced chunking, exhaustive query variants, or separate 'GEO' rewrite is required for its AI search features.
Practical steps
- Answer a real task directly, then provide methods, evidence, nuance, and useful next actions.
- Make original observations, datasets, tools, or expert processes citable and understandable.
- Keep important information in accessible HTML with accurate structured data only where visible content supports it.
- Measure query/page coverage and assisted outcomes rather than inventing an AI visibility score.
Example
Publishing a transparent experiment with data, method, and limitations creates more reusable evidence than rewriting the same generic explanation into dozens of question variants.
Common mistakes
- Treating `llms.txt` as a Google ranking tactic.
- Inventing special GEO schema.
- Scaling thin AI summaries or fake citations to simulate topical authority.
Limitations
- AI interfaces and reporting change quickly, and source inclusion is not guaranteed.
- Attribution can be indirect and measurement remains incomplete.
Primary sources
- AI features and your website — Google Search Central; 2025-12-10; 2026-08-18.
- Creating helpful, reliable, people-first content — Google Search Central; 2025-12-10; 2026-08-14.
- Spam policies for Google web search — Google Search Central; 2026-05-15; 2026-08-14.
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