How do I get my website to show up when someone asks AI a question?

Your website can’t just be there

Anyone can build a website now. Having one used to mean something; today it’s just the starting line.

Finding a business used to mean typing keywords into Google and hoping your site made the list. That still happens. But more and more, people describe their situation to an AI and ask what to do: “my bookings are a mess, do I need a new tool?” If your site has a good answer to that, the AI can quote it and link to your site. If it doesn’t, your site is an island: it exists, but nothing points people to it.

So think about their situation first

Whatever your business is, ask yourself: in what situation would someone need me? What are they stuck on, what would they type into an AI, and what would a helpful answer sound like?

Then put those answers on your site, one question per page. Not a list of services, but the situations that lead people to you.

1. Put the answer first

In a study of ChatGPT citations by Kevin Indig, about 44% of the quoted passages came from the first 30% of the page. The opening gets read the most, so that’s where the answer belongs.

Say the answer in the first two sentences, then explain. That’s why every Field Note on this site starts with a short answer box.

2. Answer their situation, not your price list

People ask about a problem they have, not about your service menu. A page called “Services” doesn’t answer anything. A page called “Can I switch booking tools without losing my appointments?” does.

A good place to start is the questions customers already ask you: in messages, at the counter, on the phone.

3. Use their words

Write about the problem the way your customer says it, not the way your industry names it. If customers say “my bookings are all over the place”, say that. People ask AI in everyday language, so a page in everyday language matches the question.

Your website still matters

In the Yext 2026 Consumer Search Behaviors report, 58% of people who got a recommendation from AI went on to visit the business’s website directly, as one of the ways they double-check. AI points people to your site. Your site is still where they decide.

Is AI traffic worth chasing?

One analysis of 94 online stores by Visibility Labs found that visitors arriving from ChatGPT converted about 31% better than visitors from non-branded search (1.81% versus 1.39%). But ChatGPT was still a small slice of the total, roughly 1.5% of the revenue in that data, and those were established online stores, not local shops. Treat it as a direction, not a promise.

It’s not a guarantee, and it takes time

Writing good answers doesn’t mean every AI will pick your site. Many things play a part, including how established your site is, how clear the page is, and whether the page can be found and read at all. Google’s own guidance on AI features and your website says there’s no special trick to appear in its AI answers: the usual basics apply, like a page that can be found, helpful content written for people, and a good experience on the page.

It also doesn’t happen overnight. Like search rankings, it builds up over time, usually weeks to months rather than days, and no one can give you an exact timeline. The way to do it is to start, keep adding pages, and keep them up to date.

What I’d do first

Pick the three situations where your customers most often need you. For each one, write a short page: the question as the title, the answer in the first two sentences, then the details, in your customer’s words. Come back and update it when something changes.

I’m still figuring this out

This is moving fast, and I’m learning it as I build, so I’d rather work it out alongside the people I build for. If you’d like to talk through what your site could answer, get in touch.

Related: My Google Form handles bookings fine — do I need a new booking tool? is an example of a post that starts from a real situation.