The useful response is not to chase a secret format. Make the page accessible, specific and worth reading. Here is a practical editorial approach, with a clear distinction between published search guidance and hypotheses you should test.
What does an AI assistant actually retrieve?
The process varies. Search-enabled assistants can retrieve pages or passages, use several queries and combine sources. Some answers use no live search at all. Do not assume every assistant retrieves the same unit of text or chooses sources in the same way.
For your own writing, make important explanations understandable in context and when read on their own. Name the subject and explain the conditions. That helps readers even when no assistant quotes the page.
What makes a passage easy to quote?
An answer should be long enough to explain its subject clearly. There is no universal citation-friendly word count. A definition may take two sentences; a cost explanation may need assumptions, an example and exceptions.
Three habits follow. Put the answer in the first sentence after the heading. Cover one idea per section instead of mixing a definition with instructions. And repeat the subject by name rather than replacing it with it, because a passage full of pronouns loses its subject the moment it is lifted out.
How can headings make a page more useful?
Use the reader’s question when it describes the section naturally. A heading such as “What affects the cost of a lease audit?” tells people more than “Pricing”. Treat that as an editorial choice, not a proven ranking advantage.
This is not a trick played on a machine. It is also how a person scans a long page, which is why the change costs nothing in readability.
Does traditional search work still count?
Yes. Google says its established SEO guidance remains relevant to its AI features, and eligibility does not guarantee inclusion. That guidance should not be treated as a description of every other assistant’s selection process.
Keep the technical foundations and the useful content. You do not need a separate collection of thin pages written only for assistants. Improve the page that already serves the customer’s question.
What role do sources play?
Cite primary sources for factual claims and make examples distinguishable from measured results. Readers should be able to follow the reasoning and check important assertions.
This is a trust and quality standard, not a promise that adding references will produce citations. An excellent source can still be absent from a particular generated answer.
Can any of this be measured?
Partly, and not the way rankings are measured. There is no single position to track, because the answer differs by phrasing, by assistant and by day.
Choose a consistent sample of real buyer questions. Record the assistant, date, phrasing, cited pages and your role in the answer. Repeat the exercise and look for patterns, while allowing for substantial variation. Track useful enquiries too, not mentions alone.
What is worth doing first?
As a practical exercise, take ten questions buyers ask before a purchase. Check where each is answered, whether the explanation is current and whether an example would help. Ten is a manageable starting sample, not an industry benchmark.
The aim is a page that earns attention by answering something properly. Clear structure can support that aim; no layout or wording can guarantee an AI citation.
Further reading: Google guidance on AI features and your website
