Answers › AI search and GEO

Does your website need to change for AI search?

Ascent Vision · Published October 31, 2026

Often only a little. Google says "There are no additional requirements to appear in AI Overviews or AI Mode" and that no new machine readable or AI text files are needed. What can matter more is how plainly the page states what customers ask: hours, phone, area and services as real text, services named in customers' words, and nothing important behind a login. Check that AI search tools are not blocked by accident.

What stays the same

Google's statement covers its own AI Overviews and AI Mode, not ChatGPT or other assistants. The related answer on getting mentioned in Google AI Overviews covers that rule, and the related answer on getting ChatGPT to recommend your business covers what an owner can and cannot control. This answer adds only the checklist for the website itself.

A checklist for your own website

• Facts as text. Put your hours, phone number, service area and services in words on the page, not only inside an image or a PDF. Google's list of search basics includes making sure that "important content is available in textual form".
• Services in customers' words, and plain answers to the questions they ask: the related answer on getting ChatGPT to recommend your business covers both.
• A current date on facts that change. Add a last-checked date to hours, service area and availability, and change it only when you have really checked or changed them. Google's guide to helpful content lists changing the date of pages to make them seem fresh, when the content has not substantially changed, among its warning signs.
• Nothing important behind a login or a form. Anthropic's help page says password-protecting a page keeps it out of Claude outputs that rely on web search. That suits private files, not facts you want customers to find.
• AI search tools not blocked by accident. OpenAI says a site opted out of its search tool is not shown in ChatGPT search answers. A setting, a web host or a security product can do this without anyone choosing it. The related answer on whether to stop AI tools from reading your website covers the decision.

What the checklist cannot do

It makes the facts easier to find and read. It does not make any assistant name you. Google says a page that meets all its requirements and follows its policies may still not be shown. As general advice, no one can promise a mention. Ask the person who looks after your website to make the changes. To see the effect, ask an assistant a question a customer would ask and read what it says about your hours and area.

Sources

1. Google Search Central, "AI features and your website" (last updated 2025-12-10)
2. Google Search Central, "Creating helpful, reliable, people-first content" (last updated 2026-10-05)
3. OpenAI Platform documentation, the page on how OpenAI's tools visit websites (read 2026-10-31)
4. Claude Help Center, "Report, block, and remove content from Claude" (updated 2026-09-03)

Related answers

• How do I get my business mentioned in Google AI Overviews?
• How do I get ChatGPT to recommend my business?
• Should you stop AI tools from reading your website?