AI Content Writing Checklist

To write content that ranks in AI search engines like ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, and Perplexity, you need seven elements: strong SEO fundamentals, concept-based writing, clear formatting for extraction, simple language, Q&A structures, personal experience, and data-backed claims with sources. After helping over 400 businesses rank in AI search, here's the exact framework we use, plus a free prompt to implement it.

Why AI Search Engines Are Ignoring Your Content

You could spend hours writing your next blog post only for AI to never even see it.

Google might not even index it (meaning it never makes it into their database). And if Google doesn't index it, ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews won't find it either.

The traffic from AI search engines converts up to 4.4x better than traditional search. Seer Interactive found ChatGPT traffic converting at 15.9% compared to Google organic at 1.76%. AI-referred website sessions have grown 527% since early 2025. If your content isn't showing up, you're leaving serious money on the table.

The good news? There's a framework for writing content that AI search engines can't ignore. It comes from years of hands-on SEO experience, helping more than 400 businesses rank in AI search, peer-reviewed research, and a useful article from Microsoft on optimizing content for AI search.

Do SEO Fundamentals Still Matter for AI Search?

Yes. SEO fundamentals are still the foundation of everything. Microsoft says it right away in their optimization guide, and we've proven it over and over again with our community members.

• Page speed: How quickly does your website load?
• Metadata: Do you have optimized title tags, meta descriptions, and H2 headings?
• Internal linking: Is your website linking between pages effectively?
• Technical health: Is your site crawlable and indexable?

Without these basics, you won't rank in AI search. Period.

One of our community members, Steven, created over 800 service/location pages for a client with proper on-site SEO fundamentals. The result? 105 online appointments in a single month, breaking their previous record. His pages were indexing within an hour of submission to Google Search Console.

I hear people say, "I just want to do GEO or AI SEO. I don't want to do regular SEO." That's like saying you want to learn butterfly stroke without learning how to swim. One doesn't happen without the other.

Should I Still Focus on Keywords?

Not the way you used to. The old playbook was to find a keyword with low competition and high search volume, then inject it as many times as possible without getting flagged for keyword stuffing. That doesn't really work anymore.

Use keyword research as a guide. But then ask yourself: what is the concept this keyword is actually trying to answer? Write for that concept. Answer it thoroughly. Research shows that content containing original insights not easily found elsewhere is one of the strongest differentiators for cited pages.

How Should I Format My Content for AI Search?

Format for clarity and extraction. Break long walls of text into bite-sized pieces where each section can stand on its own.

This is the answer capsule approach applied throughout your entire post. Research shows 72% of pages cited by ChatGPT have a self-contained answer in the first 40-60 words. Pages with answer capsules see a 40% higher citation rate overall.

Quick Formatting Checklist

• Use H2s and H3s to break up content
• Keep paragraphs short (2-4 sentences max)
• Each section should make sense on its own
• Lead each section with the direct answer before expanding

What Reading Level Should I Write At?

Write at an eighth-grade reading level. This comes from a peer-reviewed research paper that found writing at this level makes your content significantly more approachable.

This doesn't mean dumb down your content. It means don't add unnecessary complexity. If a 14 to 16 year old can understand it, you're on the right track.

Why Should I Use Q&A Formats in My Content?

Because it's simple and incredibly effective. Use an H2 or H3 to ask a question about the topic. Then answer it as quickly and concisely as you can in the first sentence or two.

AI search engines are built to answer questions. When your content is already structured as questions and answers, you're handing it exactly what it needs. Pages with FAQPage schema markup have a 3.2x higher citation probability.

How Do I Add Personal Experience to My Content?

This is probably the most important element. It's related to what Google calls E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness).

Generic Example

"Pricing pages are an important part of any website. To optimize your pricing page, consider simplifying your options. This can lead to increased conversions."

Fluffy. Nothing an AI couldn't just generate itself.

Specific Example

"When I helped a SaaS client restructure their pricing page in 2023, we saw a 34% increase in conversions within 60 days. The key was simplifying from five tiers to three."

AI can't replicate that. Brands publishing proprietary data see 45% more AI citations.

Real Results From Our Community

William Moon, a financial advisor in Arizona, was ranking #1 on Google but his CTR was 0.3%. We gave him a prompt to optimize his title tags and meta descriptions. His CTR jumped to 2.3%, and he closed a deal worth $165,000.

Tim Armstrong had a client receive a mortgage lead directly from ChatGPT. The customer said, "ChatGPT told me you might be the best option in America for this." GPT handed the client a lead because good on-site SEO and capsule content was in place.

Members in Ireland are getting cited in Google AI Overviews after implementing just a fraction of this content strategy.

Sarah M., an agency owner, used the AI content writing checklist and got cited by ChatGPT within 3 weeks. Her AI-referred traffic went up 200%.

How Do I Back Up My Statements With Data?

Always support your claims with data and link to your sources. This is critical for AI search visibility.

Research shows GPT-4 accuracy improves from 16% to 54% when content includes structured data. Giving AI clear, verifiable information directly impacts whether you get cited.

How Do I Actually Implement All 7 Elements?

I've built a free prompt that synthesizes everything into instructions you can paste into ChatGPT (or Claude as your SEO assistant).

The prompt works in two phases: first, research and structure where the AI recommends a blog post outline. Second, writing in Canvas where you edit and add your experience.

Do not just take the AI output and publish it. That's AI slop. You need to add your personal experience, edit it to sound like you, verify the data, add internal links, and generate supporting images.

Use Answer Socrates to find related questions people are asking, then include 3-4 as sub-sections in your post.

Frequently Asked Questions

What's the answer capsule technique?

An answer capsule is a self-contained block of 40-60 words that directly answers a question without surrounding context. 72% of pages cited by ChatGPT have one. Full guide: The Capsule Content Method.

Does longer content rank better in AI search?

Not necessarily. Surfer SEO's research found AI prioritizes self-contained passages of 134-167 words. Concise, well-structured content outperforms longer posts that ramble.

How often should I update my content?

Every 60-90 days. Fresh content averages 6 AI citations compared to 3.6 for outdated pages.

Start Writing Content AI Can't Ignore

You also need to understand how to optimize your website for AI search and how to leverage AI-powered SEO workflows.

If you want hands-on help, inside the AI Ranking community, we share the exact prompts, templates, and strategies that are working right now. Members like William, Tim, Steven, and Sarah are proof that this framework delivers real results.

Join 470+ members at AI Ranking

72% of all content cited by AI search engines has one thing in common.

It's not backlinks. It's not domain authority. It's a simple way to structure your content that takes about five minutes to implement.

And this isn't just theory from some research paper. Our community members are getting real results with this. They're getting cited by Google AI Overviews in Ireland. They're seeing more impressions and clicks. One member even had ChatGPT recommend them as "the best option in America" for a mortgage - and they closed that client the next day.

So how the hell does this work?

Traffic Is Down. But That's Not Necessarily Bad News.

Let's be honest - traffic is down for everyone.

HubSpot was one of the most trafficked websites in the world. Their blog traffic dropped by 80% in 10 months. They went from 24.4 million organic visits in March 2023 to just 6.1 million by January 2025.

If that can happen to HubSpot, it can happen to anyone.

But here's the thing - this isn't necessarily a death sentence if you understand what's happening.

We've entered what I call the citation economy. Clicks aren't as valuable as they used to be, but citations are extremely valuable. If you're not cited by the AI search engines, you're essentially invisible.

And whilst overall traffic is down, the traffic you CAN get from AI search engines - if you understand this strategy - converts significantly better:

• Ahrefs found that AI search visitors convert 23 times better than traditional search visitors
• Semrush's research shows AI search visitors are 4.4x more valuable on average
• Seer Interactive's case study found ChatGPT traffic converted at 15.9% compared to Google organic at 1.76%

Less traffic, but way better quality. I can work with that.

Before We Go Further: You Still Need Valuable Content

I want to make one thing very clear before we get into the technique.

This strategy by itself isn't enough. You need good content along with it.

Google gives you very blase examples of what "good content" means. So let me give you some structured fundamentals:

What makes content valuable:

• Updated data - Original statistics, research, or synthesized information that's easier to understand
• Clear opinions backed by data - Don't just state facts, have a perspective
• Practical explanations - Show people how to actually do something
• Original workflows - Maybe you've built automations or found tools that help you work better
• Personal experience - Case studies, things you've learned throughout your career

That last one tends to work the best. Real experience is something AI can't easily replicate.

Once those fundamentals are done, we can move into the technique.

The Capsule Content Method

Fancy name, but very easy execution.

The technique can be encapsulated in three main things:

1. Write Short Answers (Around 150 Characters)

Under every heading that asks a question, write a brief answer - about 30-50 words or roughly 150 characters.

According to Search Engine Land's study of 8,000 AI citations, 72% of pages cited by ChatGPT had an answer capsule present. It's the single most consistent predictor of AI citation.

2. Zero Links in That First Answer

Keep that initial answer clean. No links, no references - just a direct, confident answer.

This makes it a lot easier for the AI to extract and cite that paragraph.

3. Answer First, Explain Later

Essentially, you want to answer the question right away, then provide more context and depth afterward.

Really, to make it simple, keep one question in mind when you're writing:

"Can someone understand this paragraph without reading anything else on the page?"

Is this paragraph encapsulated by itself? Can the AI just grab it and use it as a source?

Bad Example vs Good Example

Let's say you're writing a blog post about SEO and you have an H2 asking "What is Technical SEO?"

Bad Example (The Way Most People Write)

"In today's digital landscape, businesses are increasingly looking for ways to improve their online presence. SEO has evolved significantly over the years, and in this comprehensive guide we'll explore..."

Way too long. No direct answer. AI is going to skip right over this.

Good Example (The Capsule Method)

"Technical SEO is the process of optimizing your website's infrastructure so that search engines can crawl, index, and rank your pages effectively."

Done. That's the answer right there in the first sentence. Now you can elaborate with more detail below it.

Real-World Proof This Works

You've probably read content structured this way - you just didn't notice it.

When I Googled in AI mode "what is the best way to write content that will get cited by AI search engines?", the most cited source was this article from Semrush.

Looking at that content through the lens of the capsule content technique:

The first H2 asks: "What is AI search and why should I care?"

And right below that: "AI search engines use large language models to generate complex answers using trusted content from the web. Instead of showing a list of links like traditional search engines, AI search engines deliver a single synthesized response."

They answered that right away, then gave more information.

This makes it extremely easy for AI to cite that as a source.

The Statistics Back This Up

The research supports this approach:

• Content structure matters: Pages using 120-180 words between headings receive 70% more ChatGPT citations than pages with sections under 50 words
• Self-contained answers win: AI prioritizes passages that fully answer queries in 134-167 word self-contained units
• Question-based headings boost citations: Using question-format headings and FAQ sections significantly increases your chances of being cited
• Original insights matter: Content containing information not easily found elsewhere is the second-strongest differentiator for cited pages
• Fresh content gets more citations: Content updated in the past three months averages 6 citations versus 3.6 for outdated pages

How to Rewrite Your Existing Content (Without Taking Ages)

Here's the process I use:

Step 1: Use the Prompt

I've created a prompt that analyzes your content for "capsule readiness." You can use it with ChatGPT, Perplexity, or any LLM with internet access.

The prompt will:

• Give you a citation readiness score
• Analyze each section of your content
• Show you which headings should be reformatted as questions
• Provide suggested rewrites for your answer capsules

Step 2: Check the Criteria

The prompt will tell you things like:

• Does this content have answer capsules present?
• Are headings formatted as questions?
• Are there clear structured lists?
• Is there original data or insights?

Step 3: Rewrite Your H2s as Questions

This is where the magic happens.

Current H2: "Retirement Investment Vehicle Overview"

Suggested Rewrite: "What Are the Main Retirement Investment Vehicles?"

Simple change. Drastic positive consequences.

Step 4: Add the Answer Capsule

Current opening: "When it comes to stacking cash for those golden years, you've got solid options on the table."

Capsule rewrite: "IRAs, 401k plans, and annuities are the primary retirement investment vehicles that help you grow and protect your savings."

Gets right to the point. Now you can add the conversational tone and additional detail below it.

This isn't about changing your tone of voice or completely rewriting everything. Just keep that one question in mind: can this be understood and cited as a standalone answer?

Where to Start: Find Your Second-Page Content

If you've got a bunch of content on your website, you might be wondering where to begin.

Here's the strategy: find all the pages or blog posts ranking on the second page of Google.

How to Find These Pages:

1. Go to Google Search Console
2. Navigate to Performance
3. Make sure Average Position is selected
4. Filter to show pages ranking between positions 8-20

These are your golden opportunities. This content is already in Google's database - it's just not ranking well enough.

The reason I target second-page content:

• It's already indexed
• Google already sees it as relevant to the query
• A small improvement can push it to page one
• Page one content has a much higher chance of being cited by AI

According to research, 76.1% of URLs cited in AI Overviews also rank in the top 10 of Google search results. Get to page one first, then watch the AI citations follow.

Community Results

This stuff actually works. Our community members are seeing real results:

Tim Armstrong had a client closing a mortgage deal directly from a ChatGPT recommendation. The customer came in saying "ChatGPT told me you might be the best option in America for this." That wasn't even a click - it was GPT practically handing the client a lead because good on-site SEO was done.

Members in Ireland are getting cited in Google AI Overviews after implementing just a fraction of this strategy.

William Moon, a financial advisor in Arizona, went from nearly zero clicks despite ranking #1, to closing a $165,000 retirement planning client after optimizing his content structure. His CTR went from 0.3% to 2.3% - a 7x increase.

The Bottom Line

The citation economy is here. Traffic is down across the board, but the brands getting cited in AI Overviews are seeing 35% higher organic CTR and 91% higher paid CTR compared to non-cited brands.

The Capsule Content Method is straightforward:

1. Format your H2s as questions
2. Answer in the first 150 characters (30-50 words)
3. Keep that answer clean - no links
4. Then elaborate with more detail, examples, and context

It takes about five minutes to implement per section. The results can be dramatic.

Remember: This doesn't replace good SEO fundamentals. You still need valuable content, proper on-site optimization, and everything else that makes a website trustworthy.

GEO without SEO is like trying to swim butterfly without learning to swim first. Get the fundamentals right, then structure your content so AI can actually cite you.

Next Steps

Want to dive deeper into AI search optimization? Here are some resources:

• How to Do SEO for SearchGPT - A complete guide to optimizing for AI search engines
• SEO in the Age of AI: Why Your Clicks Are Disappearing - Understanding the shift to zero-click searches
• Turn Claude 4 Into Your Own Personal SEO Assistant - How to build AI-powered SEO workflows

And if you want more hands-on support with live Q&A calls where I can look at your website and give you specific advice, consider joining the AI Ranking Skool community.

What a year.

If you've been anywhere near SEO or AI this year, you've probably felt like you're drinking from a firehose. New models dropping every other week. Google AI Overviews everywhere. ChatGPT launching search. Perplexity becoming a thing. And about 47 new acronyms to learn (GEO, LLMSEO, AISEO... I could go on).

I've spent 2025 deep in the trenches with our AI Ranking community, testing, breaking things, and figuring out what actually works. Here's what I learned.

1. SEO Is Still SEO (Just in a Fancier Outfit)

Let's get this one out of the way first.

There's been a lot of noise about "GEO" (Generative Engine Optimization) and "LLMSEO" and "AISEO" and whatever other acronym someone's trying to trademark this week. And look, I get it—new things need new names. But here's what I keep seeing over and over again:

It's all still SEO.

People love repackaging the same thing in shiny new wrapping paper. Don't get me wrong, a lot has changed. But the fundamentals? Still the fundamentals.

You still need solid on-site SEO. You still need proper schema markup. You still need to put the right keywords in the right places—title tags, H1s, H2s, the usual suspects.

We see this constantly with our community members. They come in asking about GEO and AISEO, all excited about the new stuff. But as soon as we show them how to nail the basics of good SEO? That's when the results actually start rolling in—traffic increases, leads from AI search, the works.

So before you chase the shiny new thing, ask yourself: are my basics actually dialled in?

2. SEO Has Evolved Beyond Websites

Here's where things have genuinely shifted.

SEO isn't just about your website anymore. It's about building authority across the entire internet—and that includes social media.

Why? Because AI search engines are paranoid about being wrong. They're constantly trying to limit mistakes, and one of the main ways they do that is by only citing sources they trust. They want reputable, verifiable sources.

So how do you become one of those sources?

You stop thinking of your business as just a website and start treating it as an entity. A brand that exists everywhere online. Your website, yes—but also your LinkedIn, your YouTube, your podcast appearances, your guest posts, your Google Business Profile, your citations across the web.

The more places you show up consistently, the more believable and trustworthy you become. And that's exactly what the AI needs to feel confident citing you.

3. The Way We Measure Success Is Changing

If you're still obsessing over traditional traffic metrics, I've got some news that might sting a bit.

We're all getting less traffic. That's just the new reality.

AI Overviews are answering queries directly. People are getting answers in ChatGPT and Perplexity without ever clicking through. Zero-click searches are through the roof.

This is going to fundamentally shift the advertising industry. I wouldn't start a how-to blog or recipe site hoping to make money from AdSense—let's put it that way.

But here's the flip side (and it's a good one):

The traffic you do get is converting at insane rates. According to Ahrefs, AI search visitors convert at 23x higher rates than traditional organic traffic. Seer Interactive found ChatGPT traffic converting at 15.9% compared to 1.76% for Google organic.

Less traffic, but way more valuable traffic.

So the question becomes: how do you get more of that high-intent traffic?

4. Transactional Pages Are Your Secret Weapon

The answer to that question? More transactional pages.

Here's what I mean:

Every single service you offer should have its own dedicated page. Don't lump all your services onto one page—they'll compete with each other and make it easier for competitors to outrank you.

Let me give you an example.

Say you're Jim's Plumbing, competing against Bob's Plumbing. You check out Bob's website and see he offers three main services: 24-hour emergency plumbing, hot water installation, and pipe leak repair. He probably offers more, but those are the only ones on his "Services" page.

Here's how you beat Bob from an on-site SEO perspective:

At the very least, create a dedicated page for each of those services. This allows AI search engines to deliver the exact right page when someone searches for that specific service. Instead of one generic services page competing for everything, you've got targeted pages competing for exactly what people are searching for.

Now, there's a lot more that goes into ranking well. But this one? This one always works.

5. Location Pages Still Crush It

One thing that surprised me this year: creating hundreds of location pages with individual service pages still works to outrank competitors. Every. Single. Time.

Case in point: one of our community members, Steven, created over 800 service/location pages for a client. The result? 105 online appointments in a single month—breaking their previous record of 99. And the pages were indexing within an hour of submission.

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His approach was simple but consistent: 10 pages per day, Monday to Friday, manually submitted to Google Search Console for quick indexing. No magic. Just volume + consistency + proper on-site SEO.

The key is getting them indexed gradually—don't dump 500 pages on Google overnight. But if you do it right, it's almost unfair how well it works.

(If you're a local business and you're not doing this, we need to talk.)

6. Stop Chasing the Newest Model

GPT-5.2, Gemini 3. Claude Opus 4. The next thing. And the next thing after that.

Here's a truth bomb: for most people doing regular work—marketing, emails, content—all the flagship models are smart enough.

You don't need to jump on every new release hoping your emails will somehow sound 10% better. They won't. Chasing the smartest model will give you serious FOMO that keeps you up at night and ruins your time off. Trust me, I know.

Here's what actually works:

Learn one ecosystem really well. Let's say you've gotten good with OpenAI. Great—make that your main workspace. Don't be afraid to try other models when they release something interesting, but don't jump ship to Google just because their image generation is slightly better this week.

OpenAI will catch up. Google will catch up. They all catch up.

Pick your horse and ride it. Dabble with the others. But don't let FOMO run your life.

7. Agents Will Replace Automations

Sorry, Make. Sorry, n8n. I love you both, but I think your days are numbered.

Automation platforms are incredible for connecting apps and running workflows. But AI agents can do all of that and make decisions on the fly. They can handle edge cases. They can adapt.

Right now, agents are still a bit clunky to set up. But give it another year or two and I think we'll look back at traditional automation platforms the way we look at manually doing things in spreadsheets.

This is where I'm personally spending a lot of my learning time heading into 2026.

8. Find Your People

The last thing I learned—and maybe the most important—is the value of having people around you who geek out on this stuff as much as you do.

Why?

Because one person alone can never try all the models, all the tools, all the strategies. There's just too much happening too fast.

Having people around you who are just as interested as you are keeps you in the best position possible. You learn from their experiments. They learn from yours. Someone figures out a trick with Claude, someone else cracks the code on AI Overviews, someone else finds a workflow that saves 10 hours a week.

It's why I built the AI Ranking community. Not to lecture people, but to learn alongside them. And honestly, I've learned just as much from our members this year as they've learned from me.

If you don't have a group like that yet—find one. Or build one. It makes all the difference.

What's Coming in 2026?

A few predictions I'm willing to put my name to:

1. AI Overviews will be on 70%+ of queries by mid-2026. Adapt or become invisible.
2. AI agents will go mainstream for business tasks. The early adopters will have a serious advantage.
3. Entity SEO will become non-negotiable. Building brand presence across platforms won't be optional anymore—it'll be table stakes.
4. Traffic will keep dropping, but value per visitor will keep climbing. The businesses that understand this shift will thrive. The ones clinging to old metrics will panic.
5. One of the major automation platforms will pivot hard toward agents. Or get acquired by someone who will.

The Bottom Line

2025 taught me that everything is changing and nothing is changing—at the same time.

The fundamentals still work. They just work differently now. The businesses that nail the basics, build real authority, and adapt to new measurement realities are going to do incredibly well.

The ones waiting for things to "go back to normal"? They're going to have a rough time.

If you want to stay ahead of all this in 2026, come hang out with us in the AI Ranking community. It's free to join, and it's full of people figuring this stuff out together.

Here's to a big 2026.

— Nico

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