In short: To have your site shown as a source in AI Overviews and AI Mode, you do not need llms.txt, special schema markup or text rewritten “for AI”. Google says these features are rooted in the same ranking and quality systems as ordinary search. What helps is familiar: original first-hand content, clear answers, a technically sound site that Google can crawl and index, and an up-to-date Google Business Profile and Merchant Center for local businesses and online stores.
What are AI Overviews and AI Mode, really?
AI Overviews is the summary Google shows above the ordinary results for some searches. AI Mode is a separate mode in which the user has a conversation with the search engine and asks follow-up questions. In both cases the answer comes with links to the pages it draws on. Those links are the goal: to be among the sources Google points to.
AI Mode is no longer an English-only feature. In October 2025 Google expanded AI Mode to more than 35 new languages and over 40 new countries and territories, Bulgarian among the languages. So the question matters for sites in smaller languages too, not only for English content.
Why does it matter? A Pew Research Center study from July 2025, based on the browsing data of 900 adults in the US, found that on searches with an AI summary people clicked an ordinary result on 8% of visits, against 15% without a summary. They clicked a link inside the summary itself on just 1% of visits. This is US data and should not be applied mechanically to your market, but the direction is clear: when the summary answers the question, clicks to websites fall.
What does Google say is not needed?
AI search has brought new acronyms, such as GEO (generative engine optimisation) and AEO (answer engine optimisation), and plenty of advice that sounds technical. In May 2026 Google published a dedicated guide to optimising for generative AI features in Search. It states plainly that the following are not necessary:
- llms.txt and other “AI files”: you do not need to create new machine-readable files, AI text files or markup to appear in Google Search.
- Chunking content: there is no requirement to break content into small pieces for AI to understand it better.
- Rewriting “for AI”: you do not need to write in a special way just for generative AI search.
- Special schema markup: structured data is not required for generative AI search, and there is no special schema.org markup you need to add.
- Paid or artificial mentions: Google notes that chasing inauthentic mentions across the web is not as helpful as it might seem.
The technical condition is the same as before. To be shown as a link in AI Overviews or AI Mode, a page must be indexed and eligible to be shown in Google Search with a snippet. Google adds that there are no additional technical requirements.
What actually helps?
In short, the same things that help in ordinary search. The difference is that weak spots show up faster, because an AI answer cites only a handful of sources.
1. First-hand content
Google recommends content with a unique perspective based on personal experience. For a business, that means your own data, real customer questions, photos of your own work, and clearly described terms and prices if you publish them. A text that retells the top ten results has nothing to add to an answer that AI can already put together on its own. Where AI genuinely helps marketing and where people remain essential is covered in our article on AI in digital marketing.
2. Clear answers in the text
You do not need to write for a machine, but you do need to write clearly. Open the page with a short answer to the main question, then go into the detail. Use headings that say what each section is about. Keep important information in text, not only in images or PDF files. This helps people and the search engine alike. The same habits are also at the heart of website accessibility.
3. A site Google can crawl and index
Google notes that its generative AI models in Search use publicly accessible, crawlable content. Check robots.txt, whether important pages carry a noindex tag by mistake, whether the site loads properly on a phone, and whether internal links lead to all key pages. Keep snippet controls in mind as well: nosnippet, data-nosnippet and max-snippet also limit how your content is used in AI features.
4. Google Business Profile and Merchant Center
For local businesses and online stores, Google specifically points to an up-to-date Google Business Profile and Merchant Center data. Opening hours, address, categories, products, availability and prices should match what the site says. Inconsistencies confuse customers and the systems that gather the information.
5. Searches for your brand name
This is our recommendation, not a Google requirement. When an AI answer lists several options, some people then search for the company name directly. So track brand queries as a separate metric, and make sure the pages that appear for them answer the question “why you” quickly.
ScaleLab tip: Search AI Mode for five questions your customers ask before they buy, and note which sites are cited. Compare those pages with yours: what do they offer that your page does not? That is a more useful task list than any “GEO” checklist.
AI search optimisation: myths and facts
| Myth | What Google says |
|---|---|
| Without llms.txt you cannot be cited | No new machine-readable or AI files are needed |
| Content must be cut into short chunks | There is no such requirement |
| AI needs special schema markup | Structured data is not required and there is no special markup |
| You should buy brand mentions | Inauthentic mentions are not as helpful as they might seem |
| AI search has its own separate ranking rules | AI features are rooted in the core ranking and quality systems |
How do you know whether the work is paying off?
Start with the data you already have. Clicks from AI features are counted in the overall Performance report in Search Console, under the “Web” search type. Since June 2026 Google has also offered a separate Generative AI performance report, which shows your site’s impressions in AI Overviews and AI Mode by page, country and device. It has been available to all sites since 31 August 2026, but it may not appear if a site has too few impressions in AI features. That tells you where you appear, while the overall report shows the trend in clicks.
Look at three things together:
- Impressions and clicks by page: which pages lose clicks while impressions hold steady. This may suggest the answer is being given directly in the results, although it is not the only possible cause.
- Brand searches: whether they are growing, flat or falling.
- Enquiries and orders from organic search: in GA4 or your own system. They tell you whether the visits that remain bring in business.
ScaleLab tip: Mark in your report the date you start making content changes. In two or three months you will then be comparing periods, not impressions of how things feel.
If you are not sure where to begin, the free audit is a good first step: it shows whether the site has technical obstacles before you invest in new content.
What should you do now?
- Check indexing: in Search Console, see whether key pages are indexed and whether they carry snippet restrictions you did not set on purpose.
- Put your commercial pages in order: services, products, prices, terms. Each should clearly answer the question the customer is asking.
- Add first-hand experience: real examples, your own data, answers to questions that come up in sales.
- Update Google Business Profile and Merchant Center: the data should match the site.
- Do not spend on “AI tricks”: llms.txt, special markup and bought mentions are not on Google’s list of things that help.
That is also how we organise work on SEO: the technical foundation and the pages that bring in enquiries come first, then the content that gives both the search engine and people a reason to choose your site.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need an llms.txt file for AI Overviews?
No. In its May 2026 guide Google states that you do not need to create new machine-readable or AI files to appear in Google Search. The condition is that the page is indexed and eligible to be shown with a snippet.
Is SEO for AI search different from ordinary SEO?
According to Google, its generative AI features in Search are rooted in the same core ranking and quality systems. So the foundation is the same: helpful content, technical soundness and clear structure. The difference is rather that an AI answer cites few sources, and weak content is left out.
Does schema markup help me get cited?
Structured data is not required for AI features, and there is no special markup for them. It remains useful for other search features, as long as it matches the visible content of the page.
Is AI Mode available in languages other than English?
Yes. In October 2025 Google expanded AI Mode to more than 35 new languages, including Bulgarian. So AI search optimisation matters for sites that are not in English as well.
How can I see traffic from AI Overviews in Search Console?
Clicks from AI features are included in the overall Performance report, under the “Web” search type. Since June 2026 there is also a separate Generative AI performance report, which shows impressions in AI Overviews and AI Mode by page, country and device, provided the site has enough impressions. Follow impressions, trends by page, brand searches and enquiries from organic search together.
Sources
- Google Search Central: Optimizing your website for generative AI features on Google Search
- Google Search Central Blog: A new resource for optimizing for generative AI in Google Search, May 2026
- Google Search Central: AI features and your website
- Google Search Central Blog: Introducing Search Generative AI performance reports in Search Console, June 2026
- Search Console Help: Generative AI performance report (Search)
- Search Engine Roundtable: Google AI Mode Expands To 35 New Languages & 40 Countries, 9 October 2025
- Pew Research Center: Google users are less likely to click on links when an AI summary appears in the results, 22 July 2025