SEO: Getting Websites into AI Resuts

I’m not exactly thrilled that AI platforms can mine the best content from our websites to power their own platforms while driving less traffic back to us, but if your content doesn’t appear in those AI results at all, your visibility will drop even more. Even though it seems unfair that AI tools pull valuable content from our websites and reduce the clicks we get, there’s also a real downside if your content isn’t represented in those AI responses, because your website's visibility will be greatly reduced. AI results are now at the top of nearly every Google search as well as on other search engines, and while they will credit your website for the content (if you're lucky), it also means that customers won't necessarily need to visit your website if they've gathered all the info they were looking for.

AI and SEO now are looking to platforms where people post in-depth, conversational content with high engagement and where search engines can crawl public pages easily. For most sites right now, that means prioritizing Reddit, Quora, YouTube, and the major “entity” platforms like LinkedIn and Wikipedia-style profiles, with Facebook, X/Twitter, and others supporting brand visibility and link discovery.

How AI uses social platforms

AI search (Google AI Overviews, ChatGPT-style answers, Perplexity, Copilot, etc.) tends to surface sources that are:

• Publicly accessible and easily crawlable.

• Rich in real user questions, answers, and discussions.

• High-authority or frequently cited across the web.

Because of this:

• Reddit and Quora show up very frequently in AI answers for “how/why/what should I do” style queries, since they contain long, niche discussions and real-world experiences.

• YouTube is a major source for tutorials, reviews, and how‑to content that AI can summarize or reference.

• LinkedIn, company sites, and other structured profile or knowledge pages help AI understand entities (brands, people, products), which improves how often you’re mentioned or cited.

Most helpful platforms for AI results

If the goal is “show up inside AI answers,” these are currently the highest‑leverage platforms:

• Reddit

  • Great for thoughtful, non‑spammy posts in relevant subreddits.

  • Works best when you participate genuinely, share useful breakdowns, and only occasionally reference your brand or content when it truly adds value.

• Quora (and similar Q&A)

  • Strong for detailed, evergreen answers tied to specific questions.

  • Optimize answers with clear structure, practical examples, and a small number of highly relevant links back to your site.

• YouTube

  • AI often pulls from videos for step‑by‑step how‑tos and product research.

  • Well‑titled videos, detailed descriptions, chapters, and links to your site increase the chance your content is cited and clicked.

• LinkedIn & professional profiles

  • Helpful for B2B and expertise‑driven topics.

  • Complete, keyword‑relevant profiles and regular posts/articles support entity understanding and can rank directly in search.

Social for general SEO (classic search + AI)

For overall SEO (organic rankings + AI overviews), think of social as an amplification and signals layer:

• Traffic and engagement signals

  • Sharing new content on social platforms helps generate early clicks, time on page, and brand searches, all of which correlate with stronger organic performance over time.

• Brand and entity building

  • Consistent naming, bios, and links across platforms help search engines and AI “merge” all mentions into one clear entity, which improves trust and visibility.

• Link and mention generation

  • Helpful posts on social can lead to bloggers, journalists, and creators linking to your site, which is still fundamental for SEO.

Practical priority list

If you need a simplified roadmap:

1. Minimum viable presence

   • Solid website (technical SEO, schema, good content).

   • Branded profiles on LinkedIn, YouTube, and at least one major social network (Facebook, Instagram, or X/Twitter) with consistent name, logo, and link.

2. AI‑oriented expansion

   • Participate on Reddit and Q&A platforms where your audience hangs out.

   • Create YouTube content that answers the same questions you target in your written SEO content.

3. Execution guidelines

   • Avoid spam: focus on genuinely useful contributions; AI systems and communities discount low‑quality promotion.

   • Make everything crawlable: public posts, not locked groups; text‑rich descriptions, not just images.

   • Align topics: your social posts should support the same topical clusters as your main site, so AI and search engines see you as an authority in clear niches.

If you share your niche and main keywords, a tailored “top 3 platforms + content" plan of action can help your website stay visible in this new world of AI.