AI SEO Services: How Agencies Help Brands Appear in Large Language Models

​​Introduction: Why I Wrote This (And Why It Matters)

My name is Kayleigh and I work at Xponent21 as a project coordinator on AI content accelerator projects. That means I get a front-row seat to everything that goes into building digital authority in an AI-driven world – research, strategy, structure, content, optimization, refinement, and of course, communication. I’m the one clients hear from when they want to know what phase we’re in, what’s coming next, or how the work is stacking up against their goals

I also went to advertising school at VCU. So I think a little differently about marketing than some of our fantastic digital strategists. I was trained to believe that brand matters – that clarity, creativity, and trust are the foundation of everything. That’s still true, but what’s changed is how people find brands, how they form opinions, and how search engines (especially AI-powered ones) decide who gets to show up.

That’s why I wrote this – because AI SEO is becoming one of the most critical disciplines in marketing a business. But to a lot of people, it still feels like a nebulous concept. Something you know you should care about, but may not be able to quite get your arms around yet since the field is still so now. 

This guide walks through what our AI SEO process actually is, why it matters, and our unique approach to working with clients from the very first technical audit to the final steps of strategy refinement and ongoing optimizations. It’s part education, part explanation, and part behind-the-scenes look at how we help brands earn visibility, trust, and relevance in an internet that’s being completely redefined at warp speed.

If you’re a marketer, a business owner, or even just someone curious about what searching the internet will look like in a few months or years, I hope this gives you clarity. And if you’re a current client, this is your roadmap of what we do for you! A transparent look at the process we’re walking through together.

Let’s Start Simple: What Is AI SEO?

AI SEO is the process of optimizing your digital ecosystem so your brand is visible, referenced, and recommended in AI-generated search results. This includes Google’s AI Overviews, ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, Gemini, and other large language models (LLMs).

Traditional SEO is built on keywords and backlinks. AI SEO shifts the focus to credibility, clarity, and completeness — the signals generative models (like Chat GPT, Perplexity, Gemini, etc) use to decide which content to trust.

This work blends data science, content strategy, and creative execution. The goal is to position your brand as the source AI turns to when answering user questions.

“AI SEO makes your brand the answer, not just an option.”

In the relatively short time since LLMs have been made available for public use, we’ve already seen that people no longer search the same way they used to. Large language models are scanning the internet differently, and if your content isn’t structured for them, you’re already falling behind. Having a share of voice in their industry is always critical for any brand – and the AI overview is a clear example of brands appearing in the variety of voices talking about any given query online.

At Xponent21, we work on making sure our clients are on the top of the charts for their content. We believe in sharing our process because we know at the end of the day, we’re not only helping brands and our clients. We are the users and creators of the web who want to make the internet more usable and reliable for everyone as we move forward with technology.

How Do I Optimize for AI? What Does an AI Optimizer Do?

An AI optimizer (could be a person, bot, or workflow) makes your digital presence readable, relevant, and reliable for both people and machines (LLMs). These roles blend strategy, publishing, and technical execution to ensure your brand appears in the most advanced search tools on the web.

Our job as an AI optimizers (the human kind!) is to structure content and code so that large language models can interpret your expertise, verify your credibility, and include your brand in relevant AI-generated responses.

At Xponent21, we see AI optimization as an ongoing discipline rather than a project done once a year or quarter. It requires constant management of structure, user experience, and algorithmic relevance. That means staying ahead of changes in AI behavior, user search intent, and digital competition.

“AI optimization shouldn’t be a checklist. It’s a mindset.”

Some of this work happens behind the scenes, like schema markup and site speed improvements. Other parts involve how content is written, organized, and designed to help both users and AI tools find what they need fast. It’s where branding, web development, UX, and content strategy converge to build lasting visibility.

The Objective of AI SEO

The goal of AI SEO is simple: make your brand the trusted answer.

When someone types a question into Google’s AI Overview or asks ChatGPT for a recommendation, the AI doesn’t show ten blue links to send the user down a rabbit hole. It synthesizes information from trusted sources and delivers a single, confident response – with citations. Brands that invest in AI SEO position themselves to be part of that answer as a cited expert, a referenced product, or a suggested resource.

At Xponent21, we design AI SEO strategies to help brands earn that trust. That means creating content ecosystems that demonstrate subject matter authority, technical accuracy, and user value.

“If AI can’t understand your brand, it won’t recommend it.”

When done right, AI SEO drives real business outcomes:

• Greater discovery across AI-powered search engines and summarization tools
• More visibility in conversational queries and voice interactions
• Stronger domain authority and longer-lasting content value
• Higher conversion rates from trust-based, high-intent impressions

Say goodbye to chasing algorithms and wishing on lucky stars – and say hello to the user when they need your information most. 

Core AI SEO Services

Technical Foundation and Analytics Setup

Before AI optimization can work, the technical groundwork must be solid. At Xponent21, we start every AI SEO project by building or auditing the core infrastructure your content needs to succeed.

That includes:

• Setting up or validating Google Analytics, Google Search Console, and AI visibility tracking tools, like Peec.ai
• Running comprehensive site health audits, schema analysis, speed tests, and crawlability checks
• Reviewing analytics accuracy, event tracking, and attribution models

This setup ensures every optimization is measurable and scalable. Without it, you’re flying blind, creating without insight, and working with arbitrary direction.

“If your site isn’t built to be understood, AI won’t even know you’re there.”

Technical readiness looks into more than speed and SEO best practices, it directly shapes user experience. And user experience shapes how AI models interpret your brand’s authority and relevance.

At Xponent21, we use a blend of diagnostics and performance tools to assess your site’s health from both a human and machine perspective. It’s the first step in every AI SEO engagement and led us to creating Trust – a platform that blends together evaluation, organizing content, AI scorecards and more to be a one-stop shop for where to turn next with your brand’s content. 

Content Cataloging and Analysis

To build AI-ready content, you need to know exactly what you already have. At Xponent21, we catalog your entire digital content library (web pages, blog posts, videos, podcasts, etc.) and classify it by:

• Topic clusters and themes
• Buyer journey stages and target audience
• Relevance to AI-driven and conversational queries

This becomes your single source of truth, an encyclopedia of content that breaks down every piece of value in easy view. It shows where you have strong authority, where gaps exist, and where duplicate or outdated content may be holding you back.

Think of it like retail inventory. You can’t restock the shelves until you know what’s already there.

Cataloging is the step that makes strategy possible. Without a clear map of your existing assets, you can’t prioritize what to update, repurpose, or create next. This process allows us to move forward with precision, not guesswork, so every piece of content you produce has a defined place in the AI search landscape.

Competitive and Gap Analysis

In the world of advertising, fictional ad man Don Draper said it best: “If you don’t like what’s being said, change the conversation.” That idea still holds up – but in the world of AI SEO, changing the conversation isn’t about spin or a flashy new campaign. It’s about supplying better information.

At Xponent 21, we analyze the current AI-generated landscape in your industry. We look at who’s being cited, what they’re saying, and why they’re winning trust from large language models. From there, we build a smarter content strategy that puts your voice into the mix strategically, not reactively.

This process includes:

• Identifying which competitors and entities are cited in AI summaries
• Analyzing tone, depth, and domain expertise in their content
• Mapping out gaps where your brand can contribute unique or better information

“If you don’t like what AI is saying about your brand, it’s time to supply better answers.”

We don’t copy competitors, we outthink them. Thoughts can always be built upon. Expertise can always be expanded. And the brands that invest in deeper, clearer, more structured content are the ones that change what gets surfaced in AI.

In the world of generative search, authority isn’t given; it’s earned. Competitive analysis shows us where the conversation is headed. Gap analysis tells us how to lead it.

AI SEO Strategy and Roadmap

AI SEO isn’t a guessing game. At Xponent 21, we build structured, data-informed roadmaps that align your content efforts with what AI models are actually looking for: authority, clarity, and trust. 

We start by defining content pillars: the broad, foundational themes that reflect your brand’s expertise, mission, and customer intent. These become the topic buckets every piece of content fits into. Pillars keep your message consistent, focused, and scalable.

For example, a sustainable t-shirt brand might have pillars like sustainable fashion, style trends, and care tips. For your business, we’ll identify the exact themes that connect to searchers’ needs and LLM recognition.

Once your pillars are in place, we build a strategic content roadmap that includes:

• Core topics and subtopics designed for AI visibility
• A prioritized content plan, sequenced for maximum compounding value
• Target positions across both AI-generated and traditional search ecosystems

This roadmap becomes the blueprint for every piece of content that follows. It’s where thought leadership meets tactical execution.

We apply both Skyscraper and Good Farmer methodologies. The skyscraper approach helps us build towering, authoritative pages that stand above the rest. The Good Farmer method ensures we’re always nurturing your content ecosystem – refining what works, pruning what doesn’t, and consistently planting seeds of value.

Want the details? Read about the Good Farmer method →

The result is a strategy that keeps your content top of mind for both the bots and consumers as AI models evolve.

Content Creation and Optimization

Once the roadmap is in place, the real work begins: creating content that earns attention, builds trust, and stays visible in the evolving AI ecosystem.

At Xponent 21, our content team writes with purpose. Every page, post, or media element is designed to educate users and guide AI models toward one conclusion – your brand is the most trustworthy and authoritative and consistently provides the best, most complete answer.

We optimize:

• Pillar pages and articles aligned with conversational search intent
• Voiceovers, scripts, and metadata for podcasts and videos
• Structured summaries, schema markup, and AI-friendly formatting
• Offsite assets, like directory listings, social media profiles, and YouTube channels
  

Each piece reinforces your expertise and builds the connections large language models use to evaluate relevance and reliability.

“When your content helps more than it sells, AI pays attention.”

Take Pool Brokers USA. We started by defining their focus, which obviously needed to address the areas where they will install pools. Every state they work in requires pool permits, so we took the initiative of writing blogs about the permitting process in each state, then broke down information by county. Instead of generic content, we linked directly to the official government pages that host the required forms, and then layered on practical guidance to explain the process beyond the paperwork.

The result? Their content now ranks alongside (and in some cases, above!) .gov websites in search results. Why? Because it’s not just optimized for keywords. It’s structured for usefulness, written for humans, and backed by trust signals AI models recognize.

That’s what happens when content is created with a dual audience in mind: the people asking questions, and the machines deciding which answers to trust.

Continuous Optimization and Content Refresh

AI models reward content that’s current, credible, and complete. At Xponent21, we treat content as a living asset, not a one-and-done deliverable. That’s why continuous optimization is a core part of every AI SEO strategy we implement.

We revisit and refresh your content regularly, focusing on:

• Updating examples, statistics, and external references
• Testing new headlines, calls to action, and value framing
• Monitoring AI citations and adjusting strategy based on how models evolve

But optimization goes beyond metadata and keywords. We enhance content with useful tables, supporting visuals, embedded videos, relevant podcast episodes, and other rich elements that improve both understanding and engagement. We’re always asking: What would make this content more useful to a real person – and more obvious to AI?

“Fresh content builds trust. Strategic updates maintain relevancy.”

Collaboration with our clients is key. You see things in your industry that we may not. Together, we spot opportunities to answer new questions, offer an informed opinion on recent industry changes, address overlooked topics, and bring a human layer of insight that no AI can generate on its own.

And because generative models are evolving rapidly – what ChatGPT favors today may change by next year, or next week – our work never stands still. We track how AI platforms surface and reference content so your brand stays one step ahead of what’s next.

Authority Building and Positioning

Authority isn’t something you declare. It’s something you prove consistently across every surface of your brand.

At Xponent21, we help shape your digital reputation into something AI can recognize, verify, and elevate. That means aligning your messaging, your metadata, and your public presence into a unified credibility signal.

Here’s how we build that authority:

• Craft positioning statements and marketing taglines that clearly express what you do, who you serve, and why you’re the best at it
• Optimize author bios, about pages, and brand entity data so your expertise is consistently linked to your brand—online and in the knowledge graph
• Secure backlinks, press mentions, and citations that strengthen your credibility profile in both traditional SEO and AI-generated ecosystems

“If you want to be seen as the expert, you have to show up like one everywhere.”

AI visibility starts with recognition. If your brand and your experts aren’t showing up in the sources LLMs trust, your message won’t be part of the response. That’s why authority building is more than a PR push, it’s infrastructure that needs consistent assessment and investment.

We emphasize showing up with consistency, clarity, and proof so whether a user is browsing search results or getting an answer from ChatGPT, your brand name appears not by chance, but by design.

Complementary Services That Support AI SEO

Social Media Optimization

AI isn’t only crawling on your website. It pulls from your entire digital footprint, and that includes your social presence. If your brand shows up strong on social channels, you’re doing more than getting views. You’re signaling relevance to the most advanced search systems on the web.

At Xponent21, we treat social media as an essential part of your AI SEO strategy. We help you go beyond just “posting” by creating content ecosystems that reinforce your expertise and build brand trust on every platform that matters.

Our process includes:

• Optimizing profiles for keyword relevance, brand consistency, and discoverability
• Aligning bios, headlines, and featured content with your core positioning
• Developing a content strategy with clear do’s, don’ts, and creative direction
• Managing ongoing activity to sustain engagement and improve AI visibility

“If your socials feel like an afterthought, AI (and humans!) will treat them that way.”

AI Overviews are already pulling answers from tweets, LinkedIn posts, Reddit comments, and Instagram captions. That means your content has to work for two audiences: the humans scrolling and the bots scanning. Branded, informative, and consistent social content not only expands reach, it increases your chances of being cited in conversational search results.

And unlike your website, which most people visit intentionally, social media is where your brand can get discovered accidentally. That makes it a key surface for reinforcing authority and staying top-of-mind even when people aren’t actively searching.

Social media is no longer optional. It’s a credibility layer, and it’s one of the fastest ways to earn attention from both people and AI.

Video and Podcast Production

Content isn’t one-dimensional, and neither is your audience. Video and audio are essential tools for reinforcing your authority and helping AI models understand who you are, what you know, and why you’re trusted.

Xponent 21 produces multimedia content that builds recognition and visibility across every platform – search engines, AI models, and human networks (yes, we love when our clients get down in the DMs).

We help clients:

• Produce search-optimized video content designed for AI summarization
• Write voiceovers and scripts that reflect your core messaging and brand voice
• Optimize titles, descriptions, captions, and tags for every platform where content lives
• Create companion blog posts, show notes, and transcripts to strengthen authority signals

“Anything worth writing is worth recording. Every post is a seed for something bigger.”

Think of every blog article as a potential video, podcast episode, or both. You can go longform, break it into clips, or spin off new content based on user feedback and search behavior. That kind of versatility makes your expertise more accessible because it meets people where they are, and how they prefer to learn.

When Garry and I worked together on the Xponent 21 newsletter for September, we wrote about fantasy football. We got so much good feedback from our team and clients that we decided it was worth making a video about our methodology. That means we met football fans multiple places – email, YouTube, Instagram – everywhere but the 50-yard line. We’re still working on that. 

When your videos or episodes are published, we make sure every supporting element – from YouTube descriptions to podcast captions – is optimized. That means structured summaries, smart links, and language that anticipates what users (and AI) might ask next.

Most importantly, this process never really ends. One piece of content leads to the next. One insight sparks a new topic. AI SEO thrives on consistency and expansion – and multimedia content keeps the conversation moving.

Website Development and Conversion Optimization

Sometimes, the path to AI visibility starts with rebuilding your foundation.

We’ve worked with clients who realized their original websites weren’t built to support modern, multi-format content. Blogs? Fine. But when it came time to host videos, embed podcasts, or create content hubs, the infrastructure just didn’t hold up.

That’s where our development team comes in. We help brands not just publish content, but give it the platform it deserves.

Our services include:

• Developing websites designed for multi-format content like blogs, videos, and podcasts
• Implementing conversion rate optimization (CRO) strategies that turn traffic into leads
• Creating new sections for content hubs, learning centers, or topic libraries
  

“Content doesn’t convert if your site works against it.”

Small user experience (UX) issues can lead to big drop-offs. For example, if a user clicks play on a video and gets redirected off-site, you just gave them a reason to leave – and possibly land on a competitor’s page. We make sure your content ecosystem is seamless, self-contained, and performance-driven.

Whether that means improving how your content loads, redesigning your layout for readability, or creating new areas to house educational resources, we ensure your site works as hard as your content does.

Because the smartest strategy in the world won’t work on a site that can’t support it.

Analytics, Reporting, and Ongoing Strategy Refinement

AI SEO isn’t static, it’s a living strategy. What works today might be obsolete in six months. That’s why everything we do at Xponent21 is built to evolve.

We don’t just launch content and walk away. We stay embedded, tracking how your brand performs across traditional and AI-driven ecosystems. Then we refine, re-prioritize, and re-optimize based on real data, not guesses or hunches.

Our analytics and reporting services include:

• Tracking your brand’s visibility across AI-powered search engines and tools
• Monitoring engagement metrics, conversion rates, and behavioral signals
• Conducting quarterly strategy reviews to adapt to trends, shifts in AI behavior, and changes in your competitive landscape
  

“You don’t win AI SEO once. You win it again and again by staying smarter, faster, and more adaptable.”

We treat strategy refinement like a product release cycle: observe, assess, improve, repeat. This lets us catch early signs of declining performance, capitalize on rising opportunities, and make sure every piece of content you publish continues to earn its keep.

And as AI tools evolve – whether it’s changes to Google’s AI Overviews, new ChatGPT models, or new platforms like Perplexity’s Comet browser and Chat GPT’s Atlas browser entering the mainstream – we’re already watching. Already testing. Already moving.

The brands that stay ahead in AI SEO aren’t the ones who publish the most. They’re the ones who learn the fastest and act the smartest.

Why AI SEO Requires Expert Management

AI SEO isn’t something you do once. It’s something you do in the style of pop star Taylor Swift. Evermore.

But seriously – there’s something to be said about the expert management and content variations that the pop star executes on for every album these days. She rolls out in a timely manner, creates variations of her songs that build up hype, and because of that, even songs from many years ago come back to the charts. 

Discovery is no longer a static process that we can define with the word “search.” Visibility is so much more than a query, it’s a universe of understanding that is being updated as often as the social feeds. 

Large language models are constantly evolving, reinterpreting how they parse content, evaluate expertise, and deliver answers. What earned your brand a top spot this quarter might be invisible the next if you’re not actively managing your presence.

Brands that treat AI SEO as a one-time project are falling behind and disappearing – what the kids would call a total flop. 

At Xponent21, we treat AI SEO as a discipline, not a deliverable. Our job isn’t just to optimize content. It’s to own the system behind it. To track what AI models prioritize. To anticipate algorithmic shifts. To make sure your authority and lead generation doesn’t just spike one time – it sticks to help create an ecosystem behind your business offerings.

Here’s what expert management brings to the table:

• A deep understanding of what moves the needle and why, earned through continuous experimentation
• Strategic consistency across all digital surfaces
• Active monitoring of AI-driven platforms and emerging search tools
• Ongoing refinement of content, structure, and signals as models evolve
• Proactive leadership to capitalize on changes before your competitors do

Without expert guidance, brands waste time chasing outdated tactics or investing in content that no longer matches how people (and machines) search. With the right partner, you get clarity, continuity, and a strategy that grows with your business – not against it.

AI SEO isn’t a sprint. It’s a system. And the brands that succeed are the ones who build it, maintain it, and evolve with it, every step of the way.

“If you fail to plan, you plan to fail
Strategy sets the scene for the tale…
What if I told you I’m a mastermind?
And now you’re mine
It was all by design
‘Cause I’m a mastermind”

Final Thought: You’re Either Showing Up or You’re Not

The internet used to be a place where you fought for clicks. Now, you’re fighting for presence. The rise of large language models has redrawn the map of visibility. It’s not just about ranking anymore. It’s about being recognized. Being trusted. Being the answer.

If your brand’s content isn’t appearing in AI-driven search, it’s more than a missed opportunity, it’s a silent handoff to the competition. You’re giving mindshare, traffic, and trust to someone else. And they may not even be doing it better. They’re just doing it smarter.

AI SEO is how you reclaim your voice in the new search landscape. It’s how you make sure your insights, products, and perspective don’t get filtered out or overlooked. It’s how you stay discoverable, cited, and chosen – not just by people, but by the systems they now rely on to make decisions.

At Xponent 21, we help brands do more than just exist online. We help them lead, inform, and own their digital authority. This is the new information economy. It moves fast. It rewards clarity. And it belongs to those who understand how to show up, again and again, in all the right places.

Interested in learning more about how Xponent 21 can help your brand show up in AI overviews? Book a discovery call.

Want to learn more about our process and all the pieces within it? Sign up for Discover AIO for the first look at a community we’re building from the ground up to address the next steps in discoverability online.