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Build a B2B website for people first, then make sure search engines can find, understand, and evaluate its important pages. For Google’s AI Overviews and AI Mode, the fundamentals of SEO still apply: Google says there are no additional technical requirements for its generative AI features, and it does not require special AI files, schema, or content formatting. AEO (answer engine optimization) and GEO (generative engine optimization) are industry terms, not separate Google-certified disciplines or shortcuts to rankings and citations.
What AEO, GEO, and SEO mean for a B2B website
SEO is the established practice of helping search engines discover, understand, and present useful pages. AEO and GEO are newer industry labels for efforts to make content useful to answer engines and generative AI systems. The labels can describe a content goal, but they do not define a special Google compliance program.
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Google’s guidance for its own generative AI search features says established SEO fundamentals remain relevant and that there are no additional technical requirements beyond the usual Search eligibility framework. Eligibility is not a promise: Google may not crawl, index, or serve any particular page. Its guidance concerns Google Search; it should not be generalized into a claim about how every AI assistant retrieves or cites information.
How do I optimize my website for AI search?
Start with the same questions you would ask when building a strong B2B search presence: can people and crawlers reach the page, can they understand it, and does it answer a real buyer need with information worth using? Google’s guidance emphasizes useful, reliable, people-first content and says there is no universal ideal page length.
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- Plan around buyers and the offer. Identify the audiences you serve, their problems, what your company offers, and what evidence a prospective buyer needs to assess it. Group pages so their relationships make sense to visitors, and use descriptive URLs. On larger sites, topical directories may help communicate those relationships; avoid a disruptive restructuring unless there is a clear reason.
- Build a useful page set. A B2B site commonly needs a clear home page, product or service pages, and company information. Add industry or use-case pages only when each has distinct substance. Customer examples, case studies, practical support, and resource content can help buyers evaluate or use the offer; this is editorial planning, not a Google-mandated checklist.
- Make important pages accessible. Allow crawling in robots.txt and check that a CDN or hosting layer does not block access. Ensure key content is available as text, pages are reachable through internal links, and Google can access the resources required to render them as users see them. Use Search Console’s URL Inspection tools to see what Googlebot received.
- Publish content with a reason to exist. Address the buyer’s actual questions and decision process. Use meaningful headings and clear sections, and include specific expertise, explanations, comparisons, implementation details, or proof the business can substantiate. Useful proof may include verifiable customer examples, named experts where appropriate, transparent methodology, product specifications, implementation requirements, and clearly dated information.
- Maintain the site after launch. Keep important pages current, check links and redirects when content changes, and investigate crawl or indexing problems rather than assuming that publication alone makes a page visible.
Do not mechanically break every page into tiny chunks, rewrite all copy in a purported AI style, or target a magic word count. Google says it does not require those tactics. Choose a page length and structure that fit the subject and the reader’s task.
What should a B2B website include for SEO?
There is no universal page checklist for every company. As a planning aid, map each important page to a buyer need and the evidence that helps address it. Product pages should explain what is offered; use-case pages should demonstrate a genuinely distinct application; case studies should support their claims; and company or support information should answer the questions visitors are likely to have.
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Connect related pages with clear internal links so visitors can move from an overview to relevant detail and proof. Descriptive URLs can help people understand where a page fits. The goal is a coherent site that is easy to navigate—not a large inventory of thin pages created to target every possible phrase.
How do I make sure Google can find and understand the site?
- Check crawl access: Review robots.txt and any hosting or CDN rules that could prevent access to important pages or rendering resources.
- Check internal discovery: Link important pages from relevant parts of the site instead of leaving them isolated.
- Inspect key URLs: Use Search Console’s URL Inspection tools to examine what Googlebot received and investigate crawl or indexation issues.
- Use a sitemap where helpful: A sitemap can communicate which URLs matter, but Google’s SEO Starter Guide says submitting one is not required. Some content management systems create sitemaps automatically. Submission does not guarantee indexing.
- Review rendering: Important material should be available in text, and Google should be able to access the resources it needs to render the page as users see it.
These checks support discoverability and eligibility; they do not guarantee crawling, indexing, rankings, or appearances in search features.
Do I need llms.txt or special schema for AI search?
Google says it does not use llms.txt or other special AI files to improve visibility in Google Search, and it does not require special schema markup for generative AI features. Those files may be used by other services, but Google says they neither help nor harm Google Search visibility. That statement is specific to Google Search, not a rule for every AI product.
Structured data still has a documented role when it accurately describes content visible on the page and supports an appropriate search feature, including some rich results. It is not a special AI-citation mechanism. Google’s generative AI guide states: “Structured data isn’t required for generative AI search, and there’s no special schema.org markup you need to add.” Make sure markup matches the visible page rather than describing content visitors cannot see.
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How do I get my B2B website cited in AI Overviews?
No site can guarantee that Google will cite a particular page in an AI Overview. Google says there are no additional technical requirements for its generative AI features, so the practical approach is to make important pages eligible, accessible, and genuinely useful—not to chase a special citation trick.
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Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How can I measure AI search visibility?
Verify the site in Google Search Console, monitor its overall Web performance report, inspect important URLs, and investigate crawl and indexing issues. Google says appearances in AI features are included in overall Search traffic and reported within the Web search type. The AI optimization guide also points to a generative AI performance report in Search Console.
Keep search visibility separate from business outcomes. Analytics can help you assess conversions and time on site, but visibility metrics alone do not prove revenue impact; that requires attribution work. Third-party dashboards can offer observations, but Google warns that external tools do not have access to its internal ranking or AI systems. Treat claims of privileged access or guaranteed citations skeptically, and ask vendors whether a claim is measured evidence or opinion before relying on it.
Choosing a website platform without chasing an “AI-ready” label
There is no platform ranking established here. Evaluate a system against your team’s actual requirements, and verify claimed capabilities directly before committing.
- Can the team control crawl access, indexation directives, canonical URLs, and redirects?
- Can search crawlers access and render important page content?
- Can visitors and crawlers discover key pages through internal links, with understandable URLs?
- Can marketers publish and update distinctive content without unsustainable engineering work?
- Can structured data accurately reflect visible page content?
- Can the team inspect URLs and monitor search performance with available tools?
- Does the system fit the company’s accessibility, performance, governance, localization, migration, and maintenance needs?
How to assess AEO and GEO advice
Ask what a proposed tactic is supposed to change, which search product it concerns, and what evidence supports the claim. Distinguish a practitioner’s opinion from measured experience, then compare the claim with Google’s published guidance. Be particularly cautious when a vendor promises special access to rankings, AI citations, or proprietary Google signals.
Google published its generative AI search guide on May 15, 2026. The guide addresses common optimization claims while emphasizing useful, unique content and the continuing role of SEO fundamentals. Its advice is a sound basis for Google Search planning, but it does not establish equivalent rules for every answer engine.
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