SEO helps search systems discover and understand your pages. AI search can use relevant sources within generated answers. For Google, the same SEO foundations support both. A separate label on a proposal does not explain what work your business will receive.
What is actually different?
In a list of search results, a person chooses a destination from titles, snippets, and other information. In an AI response, a system may assemble an answer from several sources. Your page might support one detail, appear as a linked source, or not appear at all.
That changes what you need to observe. Being cited for a definition is different from being recommended as an agency. A brand mention without a link is different from a referral that reaches the contact page. Report those outcomes separately.
Google’s AI optimization guidance says its generative search features use core Search systems. It emphasizes useful, original content and clear technical foundations. Those are Google’s stated requirements; other products have their own behavior and reporting.
When should you start with SEO?
Start with the problem you can verify. If an important page is excluded from indexing, investigate that exclusion. If visitors reach a service page but cannot understand the offer, improve the explanation. If the site looks clear on desktop but fails on a phone, fix the mobile journey.
We recommend starting with a small group of commercially important pages. Identify the queries they should answer, the next step a visitor should take, and what the analytics currently show. Then compare that intent with the actual page.
For a nationwide studio, a homepage that sounds local-only can misrepresent the service area. For a practice with several clinics, vague location information can make the nearest option difficult to understand. These are concrete content problems to resolve before promising a new channel of growth.
What would useful AI search work add?
Ask for the actual buyer questions the work will address. “Custom website or template?” is a different question from “What is web design?” The first needs tradeoffs, examples, and enough detail to make a decision.
We recommend identifying unanswered questions from real sales conversations, then adding the missing explanation to the most relevant page. A new article is useful when it has a distinct job. Closely related questions can often be answered together.
Our custom website comparison and website and app guide follow that approach. They connect a decision to the relevant service and show where the choice depends on the requirements.
Project evidence also belongs in the conversation. See the Northside Dental case study for a client-reported result and its stated timeframe. That evidence describes that project. It does not establish a general growth rate or prove that AI search caused the outcome.
Do schema or llms.txt create an advantage?
Relevant structured data helps describe a page. It should agree with the visible content. Google’s structured data guidelines also make clear that correct markup does not guarantee a rich result. Our schema markup guide explains what it can and cannot do.
Google says it does not require special AI markup and does not use llms.txt to improve search visibility. An optional business summary can still serve systems that choose to read it. It should not be sold as proof that a business will appear in an AI answer.
If a proposal centers on adding a file, ask which user problem that solves and what else is included. See our llms.txt explanation for the distinction.
How should you measure the work?
Agree the audience, services, and questions before measuring progress. Keep a baseline of relevant landing-page traffic, inquiries, and the quality of those inquiries. A lead for a service you do not offer is not the same outcome as a qualified project conversation.
Use the reports each platform actually provides. Bing Webmaster Tools’ AI Performance report includes citation counts and cited pages across supported AI experiences. A citation total is not a count of visits or sales.
When checking answers manually, record the exact question, system, date, and relevant context. Answers can vary. A handful of screenshots is an observation set, not a complete measure of visibility across every user and every search.
Review outcomes with the work completed: which page changed, what evidence was added, what technical problem was repaired, and whether useful inquiries followed. Attribution may remain incomplete, so avoid assigning every new lead to one channel without evidence.
What should be in the proposal?
Ask for named pages, deliverables, access requirements, reporting, and responsibility after launch. Separate an initial audit and implementation from ongoing content or monitoring. Confirm which work is included in the website build and which work is a separate engagement.
WTM Studio custom-quotes SEO and AI search work around the site’s priorities. Our audit is a starting point for identifying those priorities. No Google position or AI recommendation is guaranteed.
Based in Miramar, Florida, we work with businesses nationwide. Bring your current site and the services you want customers to find. The plan should make the next useful change clear.
For a buyer’s view of the two search experiences, read ChatGPT vs Google for local search.