Google AI Features: What Google Actually Says (and What You Should Do)

You've probably seen a lot of noise about Google's AI features. AI Overviews. AI Mode. Citation tracking. Optimisation checklists.

Here's what Google actually says, and here's what you should actually do about it.

What Google's AI Features Are (Site Owner View)

Google has two main AI features in search right now:

AI Overviews

When you search on Google, sometimes an AI-generated box appears above the traditional search results. It summarises answers to your question and cites sources.

Not every search gets an AI Overview. Google shows them for questions where they make sense (how-to queries, comparisons, definitions) and withhold them for searches that need traditional results (local searches, product shopping, reviews).

AI Mode

In Google's AI-powered search experience, you get a conversational AI assistant instead of a list of blue links. It's more like chatting with a search engine.

Both are optional. Users can choose whether they see them.

What Google Says About Optimisation

Here's the key quote from Google's own guidance:

"There are no special optimisations required for AI features in Google Search beyond fundamental SEO best practices."

Let me repeat that, because a lot of vendors are telling you something different:

There are no special optimisations required.

What Google means:

• You don't need a new SEO strategy
• You don't need to restructure your site
• You don't need to buy a GEO tool
• You don't need to follow a vendor's checklist

What you do need is what you've always needed:

• Content that actually answers the question
• Crawlable HTML
• Clear structure
• Helpful, original information
• Working links

That's it. That's what Google says.

What Google Doesn't Say

Things you won't find in Google's official guidance:

• Don't add "AI-optimised" paragraphs
• Don't restructure your articles for AI
• Don't change your headings
• Don't add special metadata
• Don't use short-form content only
• Don't worry about "extractability"

If a vendor is selling you any of these things as a separate service, be sceptical.

The Fundamentals That Matter Most

Since Google says the fundamentals are all you need, let's focus on those:

1. Crawlability

Google's bots need to be able to read and understand your pages.

Check:

• No blocking with robots.txt or noindex tags
• No JavaScript-only rendering (if Google can't see your content until the page loads, it might miss it)
• No redirect chains
• Links work and point to real pages

2. Helpfulness

Does your content actually answer the question someone is asking?

This matters more to AI systems than to traditional search. If your page ranks but your content is tangential, an AI system won't cite you.

Check:

• The first 100 words answer the main question
• You explain the "why," not just the "how"
• You provide original information, not just a summary of competitors
• You address common follow-up questions

3. Clear Structure

AI systems read structure the same way humans do: they look for headings, lists, tables, and short paragraphs.

Check:

• Headings follow a logical hierarchy (H1, then H2s, then H3s)
• Lists and tables are used where appropriate
• Paragraphs are short (2-3 sentences each)
• Key facts stand out

4. Entity Understanding

AI systems need to know who you are and why you matter.

Check:

• Your business name is consistent across your site, footer, contact page, and schema
• Your About page has a real bio and credentials
• You have working contact details
• Your Organisation or LocalBusiness schema is correct

5. Freshness

AI systems notice when content is outdated and deprioritise it.

Check:

• Dates are visible (publish date, update date)
• Your top pages have been updated in the last 3-6 months
• Old data is clearly marked as historical
• Examples are current

Safe Experiments (Beyond the Fundamentals)

If you want to go further, these are safe bets:

Add "Last Updated" dates

Visibly show when a page was last refreshed. AI systems read these and prioritise recent content.

Improve structured data

Beyond Organisation and LocalBusiness, consider:

• Article schema (for blog posts)
• Person schema (for author bios)
• FAQPage schema (for FAQ sections)

This is standard SEO practice and helps AI systems understand your content.

Refresh your top pages

If a page is old, update it. Add new data, current examples, fresh screenshots. Don't rewrite for no reason; only refresh if there's new information to add.

Add original data

If you can include original research, test results, or local data that the AI can cite, do it. This is competitive and honest.

Common Myths to Ignore

Myth: "You need to optimise your paragraphs for AI extraction."

Reality: Write clear, helpful paragraphs for humans. AI can read them fine.

Myth: "You need shorter articles to rank in AI Overviews."

Reality: Length doesn't matter. Relevance and helpfulness do.

Myth: "You need to use specific keywords in a specific format."

Reality: Use natural language that answers the question. AI understands meaning, not patterns.

Myth: "Traditional SEO is dead because of AI."

Reality: The fundamentals matter more now, not less.

Myth: "You need a GEO tool to track your AI visibility."

Reality: You can run simple audits yourself. Tools are optional, not required.

Your 30-Day Action Plan

Here's what actually matters this month:

Week 1: Audit

1. Pick your top 10 pages (the ones that drive the most traffic)
2. Check each one for the five fundamentals above
3. Note what needs fixing

Week 2: Fix the Crawl Issues

1. Remove any noindex tags that shouldn't be there
2. Fix broken internal links
3. Check schema markup for errors

Week 3: Refresh Content

1. Pick 2 cornerstone pages (your most important ones)
2. Add an "updated" date
3. Refresh any old data, examples, or statistics
4. Add one original data point or case example

Week 4: Measure and Repeat

1. Run a baseline prompt audit (see our earlier post on this)
2. Set it as your reference point
3. Plan to run it again in 4 weeks

That's your month. Nothing special, nothing technical, nothing that requires a new strategy.

Why This Matters

Google is saying clearly: "We don't want you to optimise for AI. We want you to be more helpful."

Believe them.

The best thing you can do for AI visibility is the same best thing you can do for search visibility: write better content, structure it clearly, and keep it fresh.

Everything else is noise.