How to Optimise Your Website for ChatGPT, AI Search & the Next Era of Discovery

Not long ago, search engine optimisation meant one thing: ranking on Google.

Today, the questions we’re hearing from clients sound very different.

“How do we show up in ChatGPT?”

“Why are people finding answers without clicking websites?”

“What does AI search mean for our leads?”

AI tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Copilot and voice assistants are changing how people search, evaluate, and decide. And while traditional SEO still matters, it’s no longer the whole picture.

Welcome to the era of AI-Optimised Websites.

Can You Actually Optimise for ChatGPT?

Not in the traditional “ranking” sense. ChatGPT doesn’t crawl websites the way Google does, and there is no page-one position to chase. Instead, AI tools surface answers based on patterns of clarity, credibility and authority across the web.

That means the websites most likely to be referenced or aligned with AI-generated answers are not the loudest or most keyword-heavy ones, but the clearest. The ones that explain what they do well, speak naturally, and consistently show up as a trusted source across multiple channels.

The Shift from Search Engines to Answer Engines

Traditional SEO has always been about visibility, getting someone to click. AI search changes the goal entirely. Now, the question is whether your brand helps provide the best answer.

This is where the idea of Answer Engine Optimisation, or AEO, comes in. Instead of asking “how do we rank for this keyword?”, businesses need to ask “how clearly do we explain this problem, and how well do we help someone understand their options?”

AI tools are trained on human language. They prioritise context, logic and relevance. If your content reads like it was written for an algorithm rather than a person, it’s unlikely to be surfaced in meaningful ways.

Why Clarity Beats Cleverness

One of the biggest issues we see on modern websites is vagueness. Beautiful design, strong branding, but very little substance. Pages filled with aspirational language that sound impressive, yet don’t actually say much.

This might have worked in the past. In an AI-driven environment, it doesn’t.

AI systems need to understand exactly what you do, who you do it for, and how you create value. If that information is hidden behind metaphors, buzzwords or overly poetic language, it becomes harder for both machines and humans to trust.

Clear, direct explanations aren’t boring. They’re powerful.

Writing the Way People Actually Ask Questions

When someone uses ChatGPT or an AI assistant, they don’t type short, awkward keywords. They ask full questions. They explain their situation. They’re looking for understanding, not just options.

Websites that perform well in this new landscape are written the same way. They anticipate real questions, address them directly, and do so in a calm, confident tone. Not sales-heavy, just helpful.

This kind of content also tends to attract higher-intent visitors. If someone lands on your site after an AI interaction, they’re usually further along in their thinking. Your job isn’t to convince them you exist. It’s to confirm that you’re the right fit.

Authority Is No Longer Built in One Place

Another major shift is how authority is formed. In the past, your website carried most of the weight. Today, AI tools look for consistency across the broader digital ecosystem.

Your website, LinkedIn presence, thought leadership, partnerships, media mentions and founder visibility all contribute to whether your brand is perceived as credible. If your insights only live inside sales calls or internal decks, AI will never see them and neither will a large part of your market.

This is why content strategy and brand strategy are now inseparable.

The Technical Side Still Matters

While the conversation around AI often feels abstract, the foundations are still very real. A slow, cluttered, or overly complex website makes it harder for AI systems to interpret your content properly.

Clean structure, fast load times, mobile optimisation and readable page layouts all help ensure your content is accessible. If AI can’t clearly read and interpret your website, it can’t learn from it, which means your brand simply won’t appear when those questions are being answered.

What This Means for Leads and Conversions

There’s a lot of talk about AI reducing website traffic, and in some cases that’s true. But what we’re seeing is a shift in quality rather than quantity.

When someone reaches your website after engaging with AI, they often arrive with more context and more trust. They’re not browsing casually. They’re validating a decision.

That makes your website less of a discovery tool and more of a confirmation tool. The message needs to be immediate, grounded and aligned with the question that brought them there in the first place.

How We Approach AI-Ready Websites at Kahoonah

At Kahoonah, we don’t see AI search as a replacement for SEO or websites. We see it as an evolution of both.

Our focus is on building websites and content ecosystems that are clear enough for AI to understand, credible enough to be trusted, and human enough to convert. That means blending strategy, structure, storytelling and technology. Not chasing trends, but designing for how people actually think and search today.

The future of discovery isn’t one platform or one algorithm. It’s a network of conversations happening everywhere. Your website still sits at the centre of that network, but only if it knows how to speak clearly.

If you’re ready to move with the next wave of search, or simply don’t want your brand to fall behind it, we’d love to have a conversation. We work with businesses to review their websites through both an SEO and AEO lens, ensuring they’re not only visible on Google, but understood and trusted by AI-driven search tools as well.

You can reach us at info@kahoonah.com or explore more at kahoonah.com.