Key takeaways
- AI can draft your pages. Your own experience is what makes them count.
- People now ask AI questions before they buy. Put those answers on your service page.
- AI repeats what other sites say about you. Get named on the sites it reads.
- Google says you need no special file or code to show up in its AI answers.
- Reply to your reviews like a person. Every one.
It is 9pm. Someone asks ChatGPT about a business like yours.
A dentist. A roofer. An insurance agent. It gives three names. Is yours one of them?
I asked Nouman Ali Awan. He has done SEO for 13 years. He runs an SEO agency, Being Optimizers.
Some of what you hear about AI search is true. Some of it costs you money. We checked every claim against Google's own pages. Here is what holds up.
First, the fear
People still click. Just less. Pew Research watched real Google users. With no AI summary on the page, they clicked a result in 15% of visits. With an AI summary, 8%. They clicked a link inside the summary in 1% of visits.
Google still handles about 91% of searches worldwide. So Google still matters most. AI is a second door into the same house.
Sources: Pew Research Center, 22 Jul 2025. Statcounter, Aug 2026.
Myth 1: "Let AI write 1,000 articles and you will rank."
I asked him straight. People ask us to "build an automation that can write 1000 articles in a day." Does it work?
I don't think so. I don't think this will work because Google always prefer quality
If you are not adding anything from yourself, from your experience, then that content will not work.
We checked: it holds. Google's spam policy names this. It calls it scaled content abuse: "Using generative AI tools or other similar tools to generate many pages without adding value for users." Google spam policies
His fix is simple. Give the AI your own story, then let it write. Same prompt, plus what you have seen with your own customers.
Do this Monday: write down 3 questions customers asked you this month. Answer each one in your own words. Five lines is enough.
How we do it: this post started as a real conversation. Then we checked every claim. We use the same rule on client pages.
Myth 2: "A chatbot on your website boosts your SEO."
He was clear on this one.
that is directly that will not help you in [SEO].
We checked: it holds. A chatbot is for the person on the page. Its job is to answer them, fast.
That matters more than any ranking. The lead who asks at 9pm and hears nothing by morning has already called someone else.
Do this Monday: fill in your own website form tonight. Note the time. See when the reply lands.
How we do it: we build chatbots and voice agents that answer the lead at 9pm. One demo of ours quotes a small painting job by email in minutes. No site visit needed for the first number.
Myth 3: "A service page should only sell."
This was his best point for a new website.
after AI now people are asking questions before getting any product and they are asking those sort of questions from AI tools.
We checked: it holds. Pew found 60% of Google searches that start with a question word now show an AI summary. Questions pull in AI answers. Your page should hold the answers.
Do this Monday: add 5 real customer questions to your main service page. Short answers. Your words. "How much does it cost?" "How long does it take?" "Do you take my insurance?"
How we do it: we write FAQs from questions buyers asked us on real calls. A keyword tool never sat on those calls.
Myth 4: "AEO and GEO need special tricks, like an llms.txt file."
First, the two new words. He put them simply. AEO is the AI answer at the top of Google, the box marked "AI Overview". GEO is getting named inside ChatGPT or Gemini.
I'm ranking myself, my business within AI. So this is called generative engine optimization.
You will hear about tricks for this. An llms.txt file. FAQ schema code. Here is what Google's own page says: "You don't need to create new machine readable files, AI text files, or markup to appear in these features." And: "There's also no special schema.org structured data that you need to add." Google: AI features and your website
FAQ schema had its day. Since August 2023, Google shows FAQ rich results only for well-known government and health sites. Google, Aug 2023 The questions on your page still help people. The code adds little.
His other line here is the one to keep:
we have to write the content only for users, not for the search engines.
Worried AI will take your content? ChatGPT uses two crawlers. One trains models, GPTBot. One finds pages for ChatGPT search, OAI-SearchBot. You can block the first and let the second in. Block OAI-SearchBot and OpenAI says your site will not show in ChatGPT search answers. OpenAI: crawlers
Do this Monday: ask ChatGPT and Google the same thing. "Best [your trade] in [your town]." Screenshot both answers. Keep them.
Myth 5: "AI comparisons are neutral."
This one I learned the hard way.
these sort of AI tools are getting results from different references.
We asked Google's AI to compare two tools. We had used both. Its answer listed features that did not exist. I pushed back.
it told me actually I was taking all the data from their own website.
So AI repeats what others say about you. If nobody else says anything, it repeats what you say about yourself.
Reddit is part of this. It also swings. In one Semrush study, ChatGPT cited Reddit in close to 60% of answers in early August. By mid-September it was around 10%. Semrush, Nov 2025 So spread out. One site is a weak bet.
Who does AI trust? Google names four things: experience, expertise, authoritativeness, trust. Google's words: "Of these aspects, trust is most important." Google: creating helpful content
Health is strictest. Ask Google about chest pain. The AI answer cites hospitals. For health topics, Google gives even more weight to real expertise. Put a named doctor behind your clinic pages. If patients now ask ChatGPT which clinic to call, this is how clinics get ready.
Do this Monday: open your screenshots from Myth 4. List every site the AI cited. Are you on any of them?
How we do it: we searched "AI Data House reviews" on 29 Sep 2026. Google's AI answer was built from Clutch and Glassdoor. Sites about us. Our own site came second.
Myth 6: "Reviews only matter on Google."
Google still comes first.
Google's GMB is most important one.
GMB is now called Google Business Profile. For an IT firm he also named Clutch, GoodFirms and Trustpilot. A clinic, a realtor or a roofer has its own review sites. Pick the ones your buyers read.
And reply.
if you are replying to your customers and your clients that means you are giving them value.
We checked: replying holds. Google's help page says replying shows you value the feedback. Google's own reply tips: "Keep it short and simple." And: "Be conversational, not promotional." Google: reply to reviews No Google page says to stuff keywords into replies. Write like a person.
Do this Monday: reply to your last 10 Google reviews. Two plain lines each. Use the customer's name.
Things you may hear, and what the source says
What we did not repeat, and why
| You may hear | What the source says |
|---|---|
| "Google has 200 ranking factors." | No current Google page gives that number. Google uses many signals. |
| "Time on site is called bounce rate." | Bounce rate is the share of visits that were not engaged. Google Analytics Help |
| "Block private pages with robots.txt." | Google: robots.txt "is not a mechanism for keeping a web page out of Google." Use a password or noindex. Google |
| "Publish 500 city pages, 5 to 10 a month." | Google's spam policy lists "pages targeted at specific regions or cities that funnel users to one page" as doorway abuse. Speed does not change it. Google |
| "Health sites submit a certificate to Google." | No such process exists. Google asks for clear authors and real expertise. Google |
| "Panda came after 2015." | Panda was announced in 2011 and joined Google's core systems in 2015. Google |
| "ChatGPT searches Google." | OpenAI says ChatGPT search works with partner search providers. It names none. OpenAI |
| "AI made organic traffic easier." | Google still has about 91% of searches, and clicks fall when an AI summary shows. Pew |
Your Monday list
- Write 3 customer questions. Answer them in your words.
- Fill in your own website form tonight. Time the reply.
- Add 5 questions and answers to your main service page.
- Ask ChatGPT and Google "best [trade] in [town]". Screenshot both.
- List the sites the AI cited. Get on one of them.
- Reply to your last 10 reviews.
The half nobody covers
AI names you. The customer calls. Then what? If that call rings out at 6pm, the ranking did nothing. See how missed leads get answered.
FAQ
Is SEO dead now that people use ChatGPT?
No. Google still handles about 91% of searches worldwide. AI is a second door. Show up in both.
Can I use AI to write my website pages?
Yes, as a first draft. Add your own cases, your own numbers and your own voice. Google's spam policy targets mass pages that add nothing for the reader.
How do I check if ChatGPT knows my business?
Ask it "best [your trade] in [your town]". See who it names and which sites it cites. Then ask Google the same and compare.
Do I need an llms.txt file or special code to show up in AI answers?
No. Google says you need no new machine-readable files, AI text files or special schema to appear in its AI features. Clear, useful pages matter more.
Want to know what AI says about your business?
Tell us your trade and town on the contact form.
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