Is my website optimised for AI?

A client has just asked me: “Is my website optimised for AI?” It’s not the first time I’ve been asked. In fact, it’s the fourth conversation I’ve had about AI optimisation over the past few weeks. So I thought I’d write a blog about it, in case it’s useful to others.

The good news

If you’ve started hearing phrases like AI optimisation or AI-ready websites, it’s easy to wonder whether your website has suddenly become outdated. Google recently published guidance about AI-powered Google Search, so I thought it was worth seeing what it actually says. The first thing to say is that Google isn’t introducing a completely separate set of rules for AI. In fact, one sentence stood out:

There are no additional requirements to appear in AI Overviews or AI Mode, nor other special optimizations necessary.

That doesn’t mean nothing is changing. AI-powered search is changing the way people look for information. What it does mean is that Google isn’t saying every business suddenly needs a new type of website or a brand-new “AI optimisation” service.

What Google does focus on

The guidance talks about websites that are useful, clear and genuinely helpful to visitors. It also places a lot of importance on original content and first-hand experience. Which is what SEO is actually already about.

So should you be worried?

You don’t suddenly need a completely different type of SEO because AI has arrived. Nor does Google’s guidance suggest there’s a whole new layer of optimisation to add on top of the SEO your website should already have. For now at least, there’s no reason to panic. So if you’ve been wondering whether AI has suddenly changed the rules, Google’s own guidance suggests otherwise. For now, at least, it’s business as usual.