Well, Actually: AI Search Visibility Requires a Strategy You Apparently Do Not Have
Egan, interviewed by USA Today, described integrating AI into SEO strategy for his clients. The results included not merely traditional ranking improvements but also appearances inside AI-generated answers. This dual visibility model represents a departure from conventional search optimization.
You must now optimize for two distinct surfaces: algorithmic rankings and generative AI citations. The latter requires structured, authoritative content that AI systems can extract and attribute. Your keyword spreadsheet from 2019 is, predictably, insufficient.
Egan and his team, whose clients achieved visibility in both traditional search results and AI-generated answers. Specific client names and exact metrics are not provided in the source material.
Step 1: Open a generative AI tool you already use and search for your brand or a key topic you cover; note whether your content appears, and in what form. Step 2: Identify one page on your site that contains clear, factual claims with distinct attribution; restructure it with explicit headings, cited statistics, and direct answers to likely questions. Step 3: Return to the AI tool in one week with the same query and document any change in how your content is referenced.