What AI Search cares about

I remember when the homepage was the crown jewel of a website. The first impression. I've spent hours fine-tuning the hero image, crafting the perfect welcome message, and even arguing over button placement.

But AI doesn't care. Not really.

AI Search is changing the way people find and interact with our content. Tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google's AI Overviews are bypassing traditional browsing altogether. They pull content directly from wherever it lives, often without the user ever seeing your site.

AI Search wants these things from you

Clarity beats cleverness

Plain language wins. That doesn't mean boring or robotic. It means direct, helpful, and easy to understand. If your content is trying to be too clever, witty, or buried under marketing fluff, AI tools will likely skip right over it.

Tip: Focus on answering questions real people are asking. Clear headings, bullet points, and tight summaries all help.

Structure is everything

Think like a machine: AI need signposts. Structured headings (H1, H2, H3), short paragraphs, and logical flow make your content easier to both humans and AI to digest.

Tip: Use proper HTML tags and avoid stuffing content into long, scrolling walls of text.

Useful content wins

If your content actually helps someone get something done; book a service, find an answer, compare a product - it's more likely to surface in AI-generated results. Vague vision statements? Not so much.

Tip: Optimise your service and product pages. These are often the unsung heroes that AI finds most useful.

Consistency over template and content design

It's tempting to design wildly different page layouts for variety, but consistent patterns make it easier for AI to recognise what's what.

Tip: Stick to repeatable layouts and label your content clearly. Think of it like building a reliable pattern library for AI to browse.

This shift isn't just technical, it's strategic

If you're a content designer or web writer, this is your moment to lead. Visual design still matters, but it's no longer the primary gateway. How you write, structure, and package content will determine whether it gets seen.

At Paadia, we believe content should work just as well for machines as it does for people. That means training our teams, rethinking how we measure success, and rewriting for clarity, not algorithms.

The future of findability is here. It's not about homepage bounce rates anymore. It's about whether your content is even showing up.

How would your writing change if you knew no one would ever land on your homepage?