Summary: AI search has not made the fundamentals obsolete; it has made crawlability and credible content matter more. This is a seven-step process where every step produces something you can check, and readiness is kept separate from real outcomes. We do not promise any citation timeline or growth rate.
1. Define goals and save a baseline
Record four measures separately: search clicks, brand mentions in AI answers, linked citations, and visits from AI products. Different systems produce them, so blending them into one number hides whether a change worked. Capture current values and dates before you change anything.
2. Find opportunities in real questions
Opportunities should come from questions customers actually ask and queries that actually appear in Search Console, not lists a tool invents. Pick one page and one job per round, for example "make this page clearly answer what room size it suits". A narrow scope is what lets you see whether a change mattered.
3. Check technical basics
The page must be crawlable, indexable, correctly canonicalised, and show its key content visibly. Google states there are no additional requirements to appear in AI features beyond normal Search fundamentals. There is no "AI-only schema" to chase; cleaning up duplicate and canonical URLs is worth more.
4. Add real material instead of chasing "entity density"
What separates pages is information only you have: real cases, product specifications, usage limits and traceable data. Claims that a certain "entity density" percentage is required have no verifiable basis, and we do not recommend rewriting to hit one. If a customer case is not authorised, leave it out.
5. Publish and update internal links and sitemaps
Link the improved page from related pages and keep sitemap dates truthful. Indexing requests and IndexNow are notifications; they do not guarantee indexing, let alone inclusion in AI answers.
6. Retest under fixed conditions
Fix the prompts, engines and time window, and record sample size and failed queries. If the sample is small, the verdict is "undetermined". AI answers fluctuate, so a single screenshot proves no trend.
7. Keep readiness and outcomes apart
23SEOGEO's GEO Authority Score (GAS) measures readiness: whether a site has the conditions to be understood and cited. It is not a citation probability, and a higher score does not imply more citations. Track measured citations and visits separately.
8. FAQ
Does AI search need special structured data? Google says no special markup is required; structured data should still match visible content.
How long does it take? There is no reliable universal timeline; it depends on crawl frequency, competition and the content itself. Observe in fixed windows.
How do I know if I am cited? Run a fixed prompt set on a schedule and record results, and check visits from AI products in your analytics.
Next step: run a domain diagnosis, choose one evidence-backed fix, then move to citation and visit observation.
Sources, checked 2026-10-11: Google: AI features and your website; Google: Consolidate duplicate URLs.
By the 23SEOGEO team