Writing content AI assistants can quote

When an AI tool answers a question and cites a source, it's pulling from pages where the answer is easy to find, clearly stated and credible. The good news is that this is the same kind of writing that works for busy human readers. This guide covers practical habits that make your content easier to quote, with no tricks involved.

Start with the questions people actually ask

Before writing, collect real questions. Good sources:

Emails and messages from customers.
Questions your team answers on sales calls.
The "People also ask" boxes in Google for your topic.
Queries in your Google Search Console performance report.
Questions people ask in forums, review sites and social groups in your industry.

Then write pages, or sections of pages, that answer them. One clear page per significant question or topic is easier for everyone to use than one huge page that covers everything vaguely.

Put the answer first

Lead each page and each section with a direct answer, then give the detail. Journalists call this the inverted pyramid.

Weaker: "At Northside Heating, we've been serving the community for many years, and one of the questions we hear most often is about installation. There are many factors..."

Stronger: "Most of our heat pump installations take two to three days, from removing the old boiler to handing over the controls. Here's what happens on each day."

The second version can be quoted on its own and still make sense. It's also a fact about your own business, which nobody else can state. Make sure any figure you publish is true for you.

Make each section stand on its own

AI tools, featured snippets and skimming readers often take one section rather than the whole page. Help them:

Use descriptive headings, ideally phrased the way people ask: "How long does a kitchen remodel take?" rather than "Timelines".
Avoid vague references at the start of a section, like "As mentioned above, this..." Name the thing again.
Keep paragraphs short, one idea each.
Use lists and tables for steps, options, comparisons and specifications. See Headings & content structure for SEO.

Be specific

Generic content is easy to summarize from anywhere. Specific content is worth citing. Include:

Concrete details: which areas you serve, which brands you work with, what's included, typical timelines.
Real examples from your own work (with permission, and without inventing anything).
Clear definitions of terms your customers find confusing.
Honest trade-offs: when your service isn't the right fit, or when a cheaper option is fine.
Numbers you can back up, with sources where they come from someone else.

Show who's behind it

Google's guidance on helpful content asks "Who created the content?" and encourages making that clear. For a business site this means:

Author names and short bios on articles, with relevant experience or qualifications.
An About page that explains who you are and how long you've done this.
Clear contact details and a physical presence where relevant.
Citing sources when you rely on other people's facts.

Keep important information in plain text

Search engines and AI tools work best with text in the page itself.

Don't put key information only in images. Prices, hours, service lists and policies should be text. Images need alt text anyway. See Image SEO & alt text.
Don't hide it only in PDFs. A PDF menu or price list can be indexed, but an HTML page is easier for everyone, especially on phones.
Be careful with content that only appears after clicking tabs or accordions built in unusual ways. Most modern implementations are fine, but check with whoever builds your site that the text is in the page.
Make sure pages load without errors for bots as well as people. A security tool that blocks unfamiliar crawlers can quietly keep AI search bots away.

Keep it current

Out-of-date facts are a problem when an AI tool repeats them. Review key pages regularly, especially:

Prices and packages.
Opening hours and locations.
Services you've added or stopped offering.
Team members who have left.

Showing a "last updated" date on guides helps readers judge freshness.

Using AI to help write

Using AI tools to draft content is fine, and Google says it focuses on the quality of content rather than how it was produced. But content produced at scale mainly to manipulate rankings falls under Google's spam policies. If you use AI, add what only you can add: your experience, examples, opinions and local knowledge. Check every fact. See AI for blog content.

A quick checklist for any page

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Does the first paragraph answer the main question directly?
Do the headings describe what each section answers?
Could any section be read on its own and make sense?
Is there at least one specific detail a competitor's page couldn't copy?
Is it clear who wrote it and why they're qualified?
Is the key information in text, not only in images or PDFs?
Is everything on the page still true today?

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Frequently asked questions

Should I add an FAQ section to every page?

Only where there are real questions to answer. FAQs are a natural format for question-and-answer content, and they're easy to quote. A page padded with invented FAQs adds length without value. Note that Google limited FAQ rich results in search to a small set of authoritative sites in 2023, so don't add FAQ markup expecting special search features.

Do I need to write differently for ChatGPT than for Google?

No. None of the major providers has published separate writing rules, and the principles that help one help the others. Write clearly for your customers.