How to rank in AI search (6-month playbook)

In AI search, you don't "rank," you earn visibility. That is, your brand gets name-dropped as a potential solution, or your content gets cited as a source backing up the answer.

In this guide, we'll show you how to earn visibility in AI-generated search results. We'll break down the process into 22 steps you can apply over the next six months.

To help you implement the steps in this guide, we’ve also created an SEO playbook template. 

This template maps the steps in this guide across six months, showing you what to do each month to improve your visibility.

Here’s the template:

Share the template with your team to align on priorities and track progress as you work through each step.

Let’s get into it.

Month 1: Auditing and goal setting

In month 1, you'll measure your current AI search visibility, set targets for where you want to be in six months, and audit your website for issues to fix.

1. Benchmark your current visibility in AI search

Measure your current visibility in AI platforms for the queries (aka keywords) you care about. You'll use this baseline to set targets for growth in the next step.

You could manually search each keyword across different platforms, but if you have a very large list of keywords, it could take a lot of time to check them all and record the results.

So, we recommend using a specialized tool that can automate monitoring for you. 

We recommend Semrush's Enterprise AIO, which is built for comprehensive AI visibility monitoring at the enterprise level. (For smaller teams, the AI Visibility Toolkit covers the same ground at a lower tier — see the closing section for the distinction.)

To get started, set up a project for your website:

• Add the keywords you want to monitor
• Select the AI surfaces you want to track, such as Google AI Mode, AI Overviews, Perplexity, and ChatGPT

Once your project is set up, wait for a few hours while the tool analyzes AI responses for your tracked queries. Then, you'll see a dashboard with your current performance in AI search:

This is your baseline: the starting point you'll measure all future progress against.

Here's what each metric tells you:

• Share of Voice: How much attention your brand captures in AI search results. This factors in both how often you appear and where you appear in AI responses. The 41% score in this example means solid visibility with room to show up more often or in higher positions.
• Source visibility: The percentage of tracked queries where your domain was cited as a source. More citations mean AI considers your content as trustworthy.
• Referral traffic: How many users are actually clicking through to your site from AI results. This metric shows how effectively your citations are driving traffic.
• AI Visibility: Your overall visibility score across AI platforms compared to competitors. The score is calculated out of 100. The higher the number, the more dominant your presence.

Record these numbers as your baseline in the SEO playbook template.

2. Set your AI visibility targets

Define specific, measurable goals for what you want to achieve in AI search over the next six months.

Use your baseline numbers from step one as your starting point, and set a target for each metric. Here are some benchmarks to guide you:

• Share of Voice: Aim to grow this by 15 to 20 percentage points. If you're starting at 41%, a target of 55-60% is a reasonable number to chase.
• Source Visibility: Target a 15 to 20 percentage point increase. Going from 31% to 45% or 50% means AI platforms are citing your content for a significantly larger share of the queries you care about.
• Referral Traffic: Shoot for a 50 to 60% increase over your baseline. If you're currently at 15,600 visits from AI results, that means pushing toward 25,000.
• AI Visibility: Aim to push your score by 3 to 5 points. This one moves more slowly because it's a composite score, so even small gains here reflect meaningful progress.

Keep it ambitious but realistic. If your goals don't make you a little nervous, they're probably not ambitious enough.

Write down your goals in the SEO playbook template, below your baseline numbers. You'll revisit them at the end of the six-month period to measure your overall progress and whether you achieved your goals.

3. Check if all AI crawlers can access your site

Check your robots.txt file to confirm you're not accidentally blocking AI platforms from accessing your content.

For you to gain visibility in AI search, AI platforms first need to be able to access your site. That’s a baseline requirement.

Google, ChatGPT, and Perplexity use crawlers (automated programs) to access websites and index content. Indexing means storing the content in a database so AI can retrieve and reference it when users search for relevant topics.

You can check if any crawler is blocked on your site by looking at your robots.txt file (a special file that contains instructions for crawlers).

You can find your robots.txt file by going to yourdomain.com/robots.txt in your browser. Look for directives like these (this example is showing what an AI crawler block looks like — it's what you want to avoid):

The user-agent directive specifies which crawler the rule applies to. And the disallow directive is the instruction for that crawler about which pages or sections of your site it should not access.

In the example above, we're essentially telling Claude-SearchBot (Claude's web crawler) to ignore the website completely.

Make sure you're not doing this on your own site. Go through each entry in your robots.txt file and pay close attention to rules targeting crawlers like Googlebot, OAI-SearchBot (OpenAI's search crawler for ChatGPT), PerplexityBot, and ClaudeBot. If any of them are blocked, remove those rules immediately.

In the SEO playbook template, make note of any issues you found and the changes you made.

4. Audit your site for crawling and indexing issues

Audit your website to check for other issues that might be preventing your pages from being properly crawled and indexed.

Your robots.txt file isn't the only thing that can keep crawlers from doing their job. Other technical issues on your site can get in the way, too.

To check for issues, an auditing tool like Semrush's Site Audit will come in handy. Open the tool, set up a project for your domain, and run a full crawl.

Once done, go to the “Issues” tab. You'll see all the issues the tool has detected on your site.

Review the report to see if you have the following issues related to crawling and indexing:

• Broken links: Pages returning 4xx or 5xx errors, which create dead ends for both crawlers and users
• Redirect chains: Pages passing through multiple redirects before reaching the final destination, which wastes crawlers’ time and encourages them to leave your site
• Orphan pages: Pages that aren't linked to from anywhere else on your site, making them difficult or impossible for crawlers to discover
• Duplicate content: Multiple pages with identical or near-identical content, which can confuse crawlers and negatively affect your visibility

If you find any of these problems, note them in your playbook template and share them with your dev team for resolution.

5. See what AI says about your brand and if it’s true

Find factual inaccuracies or misleading claims in AI-generated responses about your brand so you can correct them later.

Being visible in AI search is one thing; being accurately represented is another.

AI doesn't always get things right. When generating answers, it pulls from a wide range of sources across the web, and the result can be outdated, incomplete, or just plain wrong. AI might:

• Describe your product incorrectly
• Reference pricing you changed months ago
• Leave out the features that make you stand out
• Frame competitor comparisons in a way that doesn't reflect reality

This type of misinformation can influence how people see you. 

So, find out what AI says about you. Run a set of brand-focused queries across the major AI search platforms: 

• "What does [your brand] do?"
• "Is [your brand] good for [use case #1]?"
• "Is [your brand] good for [use case #2]?"
• "[Your brand] vs [competitor]"
• "[Your brand] pricing"

Every time you spot an inaccuracy, document it in your SEO playbook template.

Note the query, the AI platform, what AI said, the sources it cited, and what the correct information should be. Don't fix these issues yet — we'll tackle that in a later step.

6. Audit your top pages responsible for AI responses

Identify which pages AI platforms are citing and evaluate whether those pages contain fresh, accurate information.

In most cases, a handful of pages will be responsible for the majority of your citations and mentions.

In Enterprise AIO, open the tool and navigate to "Prompt Tracking" > "Sources" > "URLs," then filter the report to see URLs specific to your domain.

Analyze these pages and ask yourself:

• Do they contain outdated information? Some cited pages might be old and no longer contain accurate information
• What content formats are being cited most frequently? Look for patterns in what types of content AI tends to favor. Are they statistics posts, listicles, tool comparisons, or expert guides?

Note: At this point, you're only looking at your own cited pages. To get a fuller picture of what AI favors in your space, you'll look at all cited sources across your tracked queries in step 12.

For now, document your observations in the SEO playbook template.

7. Audit your brand mentions around the web

Find out how your brand is being talked about across the web and where those mentions are coming from.

There are two types of mentions to pay attention to:

• Linked mentions: References to your brand or products that include a clickable link to your website (also called a backlink)
• Unlinked mentions: References to your brand name without a link

Both these types of mentions matter for gaining visibility in AI search.

To find linked mentions, use Semrush's Backlink Analytics tool. Open the tool, enter your domain, and go to the "Backlinks" tab. Filter the anchor text column for your brand and product names to isolate brand mentions.

To find your unlinked mentions, use Semrush's Brand Monitoring tool. Just set up a project for your domain, and you'll see who is mentioning you across the web.

Analyzing your brand mentions helps you:

• Reach out to other sites that have referenced old or incorrect details about your brand and get them corrected
• Find websites that already talk about you positively and explore potential partnerships
• See whether your mentions lean positive, negative, or neutral
• Make sure your brand shows up alongside the topics and industry names you want to be associated with

For now, log your findings in the SEO playbook template: source URLs, whether each mention is linked or unlinked, the overall sentiment, and any inaccuracies worth flagging.

Include your most active referring domains too. These are the sites you'll reach out to later for collaboration and link building opportunities.

Month 2: On-site AI SEO

In month 2, you'll make strategic improvements to your existing pages so AI platforms can better understand and cite them.

The goal isn't to recreate pages from scratch. You'll focus on high-impact changes to improve how your pages perform in AI search.

8. Optimize your key pages for AI citations

Focus on the pages that matter most to your business: your homepage, product and service pages, and blog posts targeting your most important keywords.

Take a list of these pages and add them to the designated section in our SEO playbook template.

Then, analyze the content of each page and make the following changes where required:

• Structure content for readability: Use clear headings (H2s and H3s) that describe what each section covers. Break up long paragraphs into shorter ones (2 to 4 sentences max), and add bullet points and numbered lists where appropriate. AI is more likely to extract information from structured, well-organized pages.
• Write in declarative sentences: Straightforward language reduces ambiguity and helps AI cite your information more confidently
• Keep the information short, but not shallow: AI prefers concise answers but also looks for substance. Aim for completeness, not filler.
• Add information gain: Especially important for blog posts. Information gain means adding unique insights, data, or perspectives that aren't already covered by other pages on your topic.
• Include relevant entities and context. Mention related concepts, tools, and people where appropriate. This helps AI understand the topic more deeply and associate your content with the right queries.

Here's a real example of AI-optimized content.

This blog post about knowledge panels is well-structured, uses declarative sentences, and keeps the content concise while still packing in useful information.

We've also added information gain, where we've brought in an expert who shared a unique perspective on an important point related to this topic.

Plus, there are relevant entities woven throughout the post that give AI the context it needs to properly understand the content.

As you work on each page, update the status in your SEO playbook template so you can track which pages have been optimized and which are yet to be optimized.

9. Implement technical foundations

Add schema markup to your pages so AI platforms can parse what your content is about and cite it confidently.

Schema markup is code you add to your site that tells search engines and AI platforms what type of content they're looking at and what the various attributes are.

Start by identifying which schema types are most relevant for your pages:

• Article schema: For blog posts and editorial content
• FAQPage schema: For pages that use a question-and-answer format
• HowTo schema: For step-by-step guides and tutorials
• Product schema: For product pages
• Organization schema: For your homepage or about page

Here's an example of schema markup code. Don't worry if it seems technical — this is for reference, and you don't need to write it from scratch.

You can use a schema markup generator to create the code for you. Fill out a form with your page's details, and the code generates automatically. Add the code to your page's HTML; the <head> tag is standard, though <body> works too.

Once added, validate your markup using Google's Rich Results Test to confirm it's error-free.

Document which pages you've added schema to in your playbook template, along with the schema types you've implemented.

10. Build a site structure that crawlers can navigate easily

Organize your site so crawlers can efficiently discover and access all your important pages.

You’ve already checked your robots.txt file during the first month and fixed any technical issues that could be blocking crawlers from your site.

Now, it's time to optimize your website structure to make crawling as efficient as possible.

Organize your website in a logical hierarchy: your homepage links to category pages, and category pages link to individual pages.

Like this:

The deeper a page is buried, the harder it is for crawlers to find. Keep your most important pages (product pages, key landing pages, and blog posts) within two to three clicks from the homepage.

Don't overlook your footer. It's sitewide real estate most teams underuse.

In your footer, include links to important pages that didn't fit in your main navigation, like top-performing blog posts and product comparison pages. Because footer links appear on every page, they reinforce those pages' importance to crawlers and AI platforms.

In the SEO playbook template, document the issues you saw in your website structure and the changes you’re going to make.

Months 3 and 4: Content creation

In months 3 and 4, you'll focus on content: refreshing what you have and creating new pieces AI is likely to cite.

11. Update your outdated content that needs refreshing

Update outdated pages so they remain accurate, relevant, and cite-worthy. When AI platforms cite outdated content from your site, it reflects poorly on your brand, and you may lose citations entirely as AI platforms favor more current information.

Start with the top-cited pages you identified in month 1. These pages are already performing well in AI search, and keeping them current ensures they continue to get cited.

Then, work through the rest of the pages on your site. Here are some things to look for and update as you go through them:

• Replace outdated statistics: If you're citing data more than two years old, find the most recent numbers and use them instead
• Update best practices: Industries evolve, and what counted as best practice two years ago might not today. Review your recommendations to reflect current standards and approaches.
• Update examples: Swap old references for recent, relevant examples your audience will recognize
• Refresh screenshots and visuals: If you're showing product interfaces, make sure the images reflect the current version
• Add new sections for emerging topics: If significant developments have happened in your industry since you published the content, add new sections that address them
• Update the publish date: Once you've made meaningful updates, change the publication date to reflect when the content was last reviewed. This signals freshness to both AI platforms and human readers.

As you work on each page, update the relevant fields in the SEO playbook template to record the changes you’ve made and track which content has been refreshed.

12. Create content types AI wants to cite

Create content in the formats that AI platforms already prefer.

You started exploring this during the first month, when you audited your top-cited pages and noted the formats. 

But don't just look at your own pages. Get the full picture of what AI favors in your space by looking at all pages being cited across your tracked queries.

To do this, open Semrush's Enterprise AIO tool, go back to "Prompt Tracking" > "Sources" > "URLs."

For example, you might discover that the types of content being cited most often are:

• Detailed guides that explain complex topics (e.g., "What is blockchain and how does it work?" or "Understanding mortgage refinancing")
• Original research and stats post that offer insights no one else has published
• Comparison content that helps buyers evaluate different options and make informed decisions

Whatever those formats are, note them down in your SEO playbook template. Then double down on these winning formats and create more content like them. 

Don't limit yourself to publishing on your site. Many of your content ideas can be repurposed as YouTube videos, LinkedIn articles, or X posts — AI pulls from these platforms too when generating responses, so publishing across formats pays off.

We'll cover content repurposing in step 17.

13. Create content hubs around core topics

Build content hubs around core topics. For each hub, create a pillar page that covers the topic broadly, then cluster pages that cover specific subtopics and link back to the pillar. For example, a personal finance hub might have "saving and budgeting," "debt payoff strategies," and "retirement planning" as cluster pages.

This shows AI platforms that your site is an authority on these topics, making them more likely to cite your content.

A content hub visualized would look like this:

Here’s how you can create content hubs for your site:

1. Identify your core topics: Choose 3-5 broad topics that are central to your business and that your audience frequently searches for. These become your pillar pages.
2. Map out subtopics: For each pillar topic, list 5-10 related subtopics that deserve their own dedicated pages
3. Write the pillar page: a comprehensive guide that covers the pillar topic and introduces each subtopic
4. Build the cluster pages: Create individual articles for each subtopic. These articles should cover the topics in detail.
5. Add internal links: Link all cluster pages back to the pillar page, and link from the pillar page out to each cluster page

Use Semrush's Keyword Magic Tool to validate your topic selection and find additional cluster page ideas.

Search for the main topic to see whether people are searching for it on Google.

Then check the "Related" and "Questions" tabs to uncover subtopic ideas you might have missed.

After you've decided on your core topics and related subtopics, document them in your SEO playbook template. And update the other fields as you build out these pages.

14. Find prompts (questions) to answer in your content

Find the questions people ask AI about your topic, and answer them directly in your content so you get cited.

Semrush's Prompt Research tool, part of the AI Visibility Toolkit, helps you find these prompts. Enter the topic your article covers (for example, "mortgage refinancing") and you'll see a list of prompts people commonly enter into AI platforms.

Pick 3-5 prompts per article and note them down in your SEO playbook template.

Use these prompts as subheadings in your content and provide a direct answer to each question. The next section covers how to structure your content for retrieval.

15. Structure your content for AI retrieval

As you're writing your content, organize information clearly so AI platforms can easily lift and reuse it.

Here are some formatting best practices to follow:

• Use clear, descriptive subheadings: H2s and H3s that state what the section covers (for example, "What is personal finance?" or "How to plan your retirement"). This helps AI match your section to a user's query.
• Address the main point immediately: start each section with a direct answer before expanding with details, examples, or context. Don't bury the key takeaway three paragraphs in.
• Use bullet points: when presenting multiple items, steps, or options, format them as bullets or numbered lists
• Use short paragraphs: limit paragraphs to 2 to 4 sentences covering a single point. Dense paragraphs combining multiple points are harder for AI to extract.
• Use tables: when comparing multiple options, format as a table so AI can easily scan and extract data

As you apply these formatting best practices to each page, update the SEO playbook template.

16. Improve your content’s E-E-A-T

Google uses a framework called E-E-A-T — Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness — to evaluate content quality. Other AI platforms likely apply similar quality signals.

Here's how to strengthen E-E-A-T for the content you’re creating:

• Add author bylines with bios: Every piece of content should have a named author whose bio highlights relevant experience, qualifications, or industry background. AI platforms are more likely to trust content from a named expert.
• Include first-hand experience or original insights: Share real-world examples, case studies, or original data wherever possible. This signals that your content comes from experience, not surface-level research.
• Cite reputable sources: Back up your claims with authoritative sources. This reinforces trust and makes AI more confident referencing your content.

To see what a meaningful difference this makes, here are some before-and-after examples.

Once you’re done improving your content’s E-E-A-T, update the SEO playbook template.

17. Repurpose your content across platforms

Repurpose your content across platforms to multiply your opportunities to get cited.

A single article can be broken down and rebuilt in multiple formats:

• Turn blog posts into YouTube videos: Record a video version of your article and publish it on YouTube. AI platforms cite YouTube videos as sources, especially for explanations and how-to topics.
• Turn blog posts into LinkedIn articles: Adapt your key arguments and insights into a LinkedIn article. AI platforms increasingly use social posts as sources.
• Turn blog posts into X posts or threads: Distill your most interesting findings into a short post or thread.

In the SEO playbook template, you can track which content you've repurposed and which platforms you've published it on.

Month 5: Off-site activities

In month 5, you'll build your brand's presence across the wider web.

18. Build links and brand mentions

Build links and unlinked brand mentions across reputable sites — both influence how AI systems recognize your authority.

The more your brand appears across reputable sites, the more likely AI systems are to treat you as an authoritative source.

Here is how you can build more mentions across the web:

• Pull up the list of sites from your earlier audit: You've already collected information about sites that have linked to you or mentioned your brand. Since they know you and have referenced you before, they're more likely to mention you again. Reach out to them to explore partnerships.
• Get included in product rankings and comparison lists: Identify sites that publish "best of" lists, tool comparisons, or buyer guides in your category. Reach out to editors and ask for inclusion, and make it easy for them by sharing your product details, key differentiators, pricing, and high-quality assets.
• Pursue Digital PR activities: It becomes even more valuable in AI search. Pitch stories to industry publications, contribute expert commentary, and share newsworthy company updates.
• Contribute guest posts and expert commentary: Contribute to respected industry blogs, either by writing full articles or by offering expert insights they can quote.

Track your outreach efforts in the designated section inside the SEO playbook template.

19. Clean up inconsistent brand information or misinformation on third-party sites

Incorrect or outdated information about your brand on third-party sites can be picked up and cited by AI platforms, spreading misinformation further.

So you should take steps to identify and correct these inaccuracies:

• Revisit the audit you conducted in month 1. You've already documented inaccuracies in AI-generated responses and the sources they were pulling from. Reach out to the site owners or editors of those websites and ask them to update the information.
• Check your business profiles and listings: Review your profiles on Crunchbase, G2, Capterra, Trustpilot, and other directories to identify outdated information. Claim your profiles if you haven't already, and update outdated details to maintain consistency across platforms.

Here's an email template you can use when contacting site owners or editors to request corrections.

Subject: Correction Request: [Your Brand Name] Information

Hi [Name], 

I'm [Your Name], [Your Role] at [Your Company]. 

I noticed your article on [Title] includes some outdated information about [Your Brand Name].

• [Incorrect detail #1] should be [correct information]
• [Incorrect detail #2] should be [correct information]

Would you be able to update this information? I'm happy to provide any additional details you need.

Thanks for helping keep this accurate for your readers.

Best,
[Your Name] 
[Your Title] 
[Your Company]

Log your outreach efforts in the SEO playbook template. 

Do the same for business listings, and log your progress in the SEO playbook template.

20. Contribute to relevant conversations on forums

Reddit ranks among the most frequently cited sources in AI responses, and Quora plays a similar role for question-and-answer queries. Join both platforms to answer questions where your expertise is useful.

Here's how to contribute to these platforms:

• Choose the right threads: Prioritize active discussions with engagement (upvotes, replies, views). These are more likely to be indexed and referenced by AI platforms
• Focus on being helpful, not promotional: Don't spam links to your website or pitch your product in every response. Instead, share genuine insights, explain concepts clearly, and offer practical advice. Mention your brand only when it's truly relevant to the question.
• Build consistency over time: Regular participation establishes you as a knowledgeable contributor in your space. Your consistent presence and helpful answers build credibility with both human users and AI platforms scanning these communities.

To start, identify 20-30 relevant threads on Reddit and Quora each and start contributing to them. You can track your forum contributions in the SEO playbook template. 

Month 6: Analysis and Keeping The Momentum

In month 6, you'll analyze your progress, identify what worked, and double down on it.

21. Review your progress against your goals

Compare your current AI visibility metrics to the baseline you established in the first month to see how much you've improved and whether you hit the targets you set for yourself.

Go back to Enterprise AIO and review each metric:

• Share of Voice: Did you grow your share as planned? If you were targeting a 15 to 20 percentage point increase, how close did you get?
• Source Visibility: Are AI platforms citing your content for a larger share of your tracked queries than when you started?
• Referral Traffic: Are more people clicking through to your site from AI results? Compare your current traffic against the baseline you recorded in month one.
• AI Visibility: Even small gains here reflect meaningful progress. Did your score improve as expected?

Record your updated numbers in the SEO playbook template, and compare them to your baseline and original targets.

Now, take some time to reflect on the bigger picture:

• Which goals did you hit or exceed?
• Where did you fall short?
• What strategies drove the most improvement?
• What unexpected challenges did you encounter?

Document your observations in the playbook template. If you didn't hit your targets exactly, don't worry — what matters more is whether your visibility improved meaningfully and whether you have a clear idea of what tactics worked best for your site.

22. Keep the momentum going

By now, six months of work has likely delivered meaningful results. Build on that momentum by resetting the cycle: recalculate your baseline, set new targets, and work through the playbook again with better focus and clarity.

You now have six months of data telling you what worked and what didn't. Use that to make smarter bets in the next cycle.

If there are specific tactics that drove the most improvement, prioritize those and allocate more resources to them.

You'll likely have unfinished work from the first cycle — time constraints, competing priorities, or other reasons. Maybe you didn't build out all your content hubs, clean up every instance of outdated brand information, or contribute to every forum discussion. Carry those tasks over to the new cycle.

We designed this playbook as a living resource, not a one-time checklist. Edit the template and adapt it as you go.

A quick reminder on tooling: Enterprise AIO is built for enterprise-scale tracking, while the AI Visibility Toolkit covers the same fundamentals for smaller teams and standalone AI SEO work. Both are worth keeping in your stack if you're serious about growing visibility in AI search, and we're actively building new capabilities as AI search evolves.

We're continuously improving these tools, so expect new features and capabilities as AI search evolves.

Sign up to try our tools today.