🔥 SEOs Diners Club #198: Being Visible in the Age of AI – The New Generation Content Guide

Greetings,

This week's newsletter focuses on the hottest and perhaps most misunderstood front of digital marketing: AI Search.

Imagine spending hours crafting a blog post only to find it never made it into Google's index, meaning AI never saw it at all. Scary, right? But there's an incredible opportunity on the flip side: when you succeed in ranking in AI-powered search engines like GPT Search, Google AI Overviews, and Perplexity, traffic from these channels can deliver up to 9 times better conversion compared to traditional searches.

So, how do you create content that AI can't ignore? What steps should you take to become an authoritative, cited source without producing "AI slop"?

Here are the rules and implementation guide for next-generation SEO.

🎯 Headline: Being Visible in the Age of AI – New Generation Content Strategies

Part 1: Mindset Shift and Fundamentals

When it comes to creating content for AI, most content creators chase a magic "prompt." But success relies on technical fundamentals and a strategic mindset shift.

Learn to Swim First (Basic SEO): The most common mistake is trying to do "AI SEO" directly while abandoning traditional SEO. Wanting to do only AI SEO is like wanting to learn the butterfly stroke without learning how to swim first. AI engines still crawl information from websites. If your site's loading speed is slow, and your title tags, meta descriptions, and H2 headings aren't optimized, AI won't take your content seriously. Without fundamentals, advanced techniques are useless.

From Keywords to "Concepts": Stuffing low-competition keywords into text repeatedly used to be a strategy. That doesn't work anymore. You should use keyword research only as a guide. Your real goal should be to best convey the concept behind that keyword and the user's intent. AI looks at context, not word count.

Part 2: Making Your Content "Extractable"

AI engines work by scanning massive texts and "extracting" the piece that provides the clearest answer to the user's question. You need to design your content according to this mechanism.

Bite-Sized Pieces: Instead of long, complex text blocks, break your content into chunks. If a paragraph still makes sense when you pull it out and read it alone, there's a high chance AI will cite that section and present it to users.

8th Grade Reading Level: Complex jargon doesn't make you look smarter; it only reduces your accessibility. Research shows that content written at an 8th-grade level is understood by a much wider audience. This doesn't mean "dumbing down" content; it means clarifying it by removing unnecessary complexity.

The Power of Q&A Format: This is perhaps the fastest-yielding tactic. Frame your H2 or H3 headings in blog posts as questions related to the topic. In the first sentence immediately below, answer that question quickly, concisely, and clearly. AI loves the "Question → Direct Answer" structure.

Part 3: E-E-A-T and the "Will" Factor (Experience)

What's the one thing AI can't replicate? Your lived experience. Google's E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) criteria have become even more critical in the AI age. Instead of using generic statements, you should present specific case studies.

For example, generic content says: "Simplifying your pricing page can increase conversions." This is ordinary information that AI could write too. But experience-driven content says: "When we updated just the title tags and meta descriptions on my client Will's website, we saw the click-through rate (CTR) jump from 0.3% to 2.3%. This simple change even helped him land a $165,000 deal."

These types of specific, data-driven, and personally experienced insights separate your content from "AI slop" and get you cited as a reference. Also, always back up your claims with data. Instead of saying "blogging is good," say "According to HubSpot's 2024 research, companies that blog generate 67% more leads" and link to the source.

Part 4: Content Checklist for AI Searches

The checklist you should use before publishing your next piece of content:

• Technical Fundamentals: Is site speed optimized? Are title tags and meta descriptions filled in? Is internal linking done?

• Concept Focus: Is the essence of the topic and user intent being conveyed instead of keyword repetition?

• Formatting and Clarity: Is the text broken into meaningful "bite-sized" pieces? Is the reading level at 8th grade, clear and simple?

• Q&A Structure: Are there questions in the headings? Are clear and direct answers provided immediately below the questions?

• Personal Experience: Does the content use "I/We" language to tell a personal success story or case study? Are there lived examples instead of generic advice?

• Data and Evidence: Are claims backed by reliable research, statistics, or reports? Are original sources linked?

• Human Touch: Has the AI draft been edited? Has it been saved from becoming "AI slop"?

The rules are changing in the digital marketing world, but the name of the game remains the same: Creating value. AI search engines are looking for the best, clearest, and most reliable answer. By applying the steps above, you can transform your content from just a pile of text into that source AI points to and says "here's the answer you're looking for."

🔍 Algorithm & Search Engine Updates

• One of the most important developments on the digital marketing agenda this week was Google's "AI-powered configuration" feature being tested for Search Console. Instead of wrestling with complex filters, you'll soon be able to use natural language commands like "Show me the pages that got the most clicks from 'artificial intelligence' queries in the last 30 days" to instantly create dynamic reports. This feature works similarly to AI advisors in Google Ads and Analytics, with the potential to uncover valuable insights you'd normally miss.

• At the same time, Google is testing the merger of AI Overviews with AI Mode to make the search experience more fluid. With this merger, you'll be able to transition directly from an AI summary to a deeper, chat-based exploration. As Robby Stein, VP of Product for Google Search, says, "You shouldn't have to think about where or how to ask your question."

• December has been quite active in the search engine world. Google is experiencing ranking volatility that started after Thanksgiving and continues. While this creates uncertainty for many site owners, it once again emphasizes the importance of quality, user-focused content.

• Another topic that stood out this week is managing AI crawlers. It's critical for your site to be visible to AI search engines, but uncontrolled crawling activity can overload your servers. Search Engine Journal published an updated User-Agent list of all AI bots from ChatGPT-User to ClaudeBot. By configuring your robots.txt file according to this list, you can control which bots can access which parts of your site. Remember, if you don't want to be invisible in the AI world, you should manage these bots properly rather than blocking them.

🧠 News from the AI World

• Competition is heating up on the AI front. In the face of Google's Gemini's rise and increasing competition, OpenAI declared a "Code Red" under CEO Sam Altman's leadership. In this context, they temporarily halted new initiatives like advertising to improve ChatGPT's core product quality (personalization, speed, reliability). This move shows that OpenAI is refocusing on delivering the best user experience.

• Meanwhile, Google took a revolutionary step for the business world by releasing Google Workspace Studio to general availability. You can now create your own AI agents with natural language commands without coding knowledge. For example, with a command like "Label incoming emails containing questions as 'To Respond' and notify me in Chat," you can automate your email management. Companies like Kärcher report speeding up their workflows by 90% thanks to these agents.

• Another notable move from Google is their vision to deliver a personalized search experience using your personal data. As Robby Stein explained, "We think there's a huge opportunity for our AI to know you better and then be uniquely helpful because of that knowledge." Gemini, which better understands users through connected services like Gmail, Calendar, and Drive, can now offer much more personalized recommendations. However, this situation brings the delicate balance between personalization and privacy back to the agenda.

• Finally, Google's revolutionary update to NotebookLM is drawing attention. The chat customization character limit has been increased from 500 to 10,000, allowing users to create highly detailed "personas." For example, a "Product Manager" persona can analyze roadmap documents to prepare decision memos, while a "Middle School Teacher" persona can translate complex scientific topics into language children can understand. Powered by Gemini 3, this tool is completely free and eliminates hallucinations by providing answers based only on the documents you upload. An incredible productivity tool for content creators and marketers.

✨ Actionable SEO Tips: Make Your Content "Extractable" for AI

AI engines scan your content and "extract" the piece that provides the clearest answer to the user's question. Making your content suitable for this mechanism is key to standing out in AI searches.

Action Step: Reframe the H2 or H3 headings in your blog posts as questions users frequently ask. For example, "What is SEO?" In the first sentence immediately below, answer this question briefly, clearly, and directly. This "Question → Direct Answer" structure significantly increases the likelihood that AI will cite your content. With this simple tactic, you can make your content a primary source for AI Overviews and similar features.

👋 Closing

That's all for this week! As you can see, AI is rewriting the rules of digital marketing. Adapting to this change and determining the right strategies to get ahead in competition is more important than ever.

If you want to adapt your SEO and content strategies to this new era and increase your visibility in AI searches, we at Stradiji would be happy to help. Let's talk over coffee about how we can maximize your potential.

See you in the next newsletter,

Mert Erkal

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