That “new playbook” talk is noise
If you run a small business website, you’ve probably seen the claims. “AEO” and “GEO” specialists promising entirely new frameworks for showing up in AI search results. Courses teaching “Google AI Mode optimization.” Tools selling llms.txt generators as if missing file means missing visibility.
Here’s what Google actually says. The official documentation on AI features states that “the best practices for SEO remain relevant for AI features in Google Search (such as AI Overviews and AI Mode). There are no additional requirements to appear in AI Overviews or AI Mode, nor other special optimizations necessary.”
That’s not softening from Google. It’s a direct position. Google defines “AEO” (answer engine optimization) and “GEO” (generative engine optimization) as still SEO—”optimizing for generative AI search is optimizing for the search experience, and thus still SEO,” as documented in Google’s guide on optimizing for generative AI features.
So the work ahead isn’t exotic. It’s the basics, done better.
Answer the question first, then support it
Google’s AI features use the same core ranking and quality systems as regular Search. When your page gets pulled into an AI Overview or AI Mode response, Google is looking for content it can understand, trust, and reuse. The structure that makes that easy is not mysterious.
Answer-first content is the clearest signal you can give. Ask the obvious question your customer asks—”How much does X cost?” or “What’s the difference between X and Y?”—and answer it in the first paragraph. Don’t bury it under personal anecdotes or a 300-word introduction.
Then support the answer:
- Use short, direct subheadings that name the topic being covered
- Break ideas into distinct sections instead of long walls of text
- Add concrete examples, numbered steps, and clear definitions
- Keep your key facts in visible text—not locked away inside images or videos
None of this is new. It’s what dependable informational pages have always looked like. Google’s documentation confirms that the same foundational practices apply to AI features as to Search overall: make the page technically accessible, follow Search policies, and create helpful, people-first content that is eligible to appear with a snippet.
The difference now is that you’re not only competing for a blue link. Your page might be the source behind an AI-generated answer. Being the clearest, most quotable version of the answer is the entire game.
What you can skip with confidence
Google’s official guidance includes a section on what site owners don’t need to do. It names tactics directly, which should put an end to a lot of consulting upsells.
You don’t need to create llms.txt files or other machine-readable AI markup. Google may discover and index many file types beyond HTML, but those files don’t get special treatment.
You don’t need to chunk your content into small pieces for AI systems. Google’s systems “are able to understand the nuance of multiple topics on a page and show the relevant piece to users,” per its guide. If a page covers a topic thoroughly with clear structure, Google can pull the relevant part.
You don’t need to rewrite content for AI systems or chase every long-tail keyword variation. AI systems understand synonyms and general meanings.
You also don’t need to invent inauthentic mentions of your brand or product across the web in hopes of building “entity signals.” That’s not a documented requirement.
This matters for small teams. Every hour spent on an unproven AI tactic is an hour not spent on content quality. And content quality is what Google’s AI features are actually built on.
Measuring AI Mode success when clicks dip
Here’s the uncomfortable part of AI Mode and AI Overviews. Studies have found AI Overviews in 18.76% of U.S. search results in late 2024, and in 24.61% of queries by July 2025, according to research cited in a content strategy guide. Google’s documentation also notes that AI Overviews “only shown when our systems determine that it is additive to classic Search, and as such, often don’t trigger.”
When an AI answer appears, it can reduce clicks to underlying sites. A page might get cited or summarized without earning a visit. That means traditional traffic metrics can drop even while your brand’s visibility rises.
So measure differently. Track:
- Citations—how often your content appears as a supporting link in AI responses
- Branded search lift—people searching for your name after seeing it in an AI answer
- Assisted conversions—your content participating in a journey before a purchase, even if it wasn’t the last click
- Engagement quality—time spent and pages viewed by visitors who do arrive
This shift is uncomfortable. But it’s the reality of search in 2026. The sites that adapt their measurement will understand what’s actually working.
A practical workflow that fits a small business
You don’t have a content team. You have yourself, maybe a freelancer, and a list of things to get done. Here’s a workflow that respects that constraint.
- Group content by conversational topic paths, not lone keywords. People don’t ask Google a keyword. They ask a question with context and follow-ups. Map the related questions someone might ask about your product or service, and plan content around those clusters.
- Publish fewer, more useful pages. One thorough page that answers a question completely beats five thin pages targeting keyword fragments. Google’s guidance pushes helpful, reliable, people-first content—there’s no shortcut that makes three weak pages stronger than one good one.
- Use AI drafts, then edit them hard. AI can generate a starting point. Your job is to add the specifics only you know—real examples from customers, numbers from your own business, opinions shaped by actual experience. Edit until the page sounds like a person who knows the topic deeply, not a template.
- Check your internal links. AI features rely on Google’s understanding of how pages relate. Strong internal links help Google see the structure of your site and find related content. If you’re not sure where your link opportunities are, understanding where internal link candidates come from is a practical place to start. Serpio’s approach to how AI-assisted content publishing works also shows how small teams can keep this moving without hiring a content department.
- Review your structure before publishing. Ask: does the main question get answered in the first paragraph? Are the subheadings scannable? Would someone reading the page out loud to a friend sound clear? That’s the bar.
The threat isn’t that Google AI Mode demands a new skill set. It’s that the old skill set—clear writing, real insights, honest structure—now matters even more, and many sites were never good at it in the first place.
Start with one page. Rewrite it to be answer-first. Strengthen its internal links. Then measure whether it gets cited, not just clicked.