What is AI search and how does it work?
March 2, 2026
Estimated reading time: 5 minutes
We are now in the AI‑era equivalent of SEO. It used to be you would just optimise your website so that search engines would show your website up under the right keyword searches.
That’s still the case now, but there’s a new sheriff in town and it’s just beginning to sprout.
AI search.
What is AI?
AI stands for Artificial Intelligence and it’s a technology that is capable of learning, understanding, reasoning and performing problem-solving. It also understands what you say and in some cases what your intent is in conversation.
It’s basically simulating human intelligence using what they call Large Language Models (LLM), which is trained on a stupendous amount of text and knowledge. Essentially, it’s deep learning.
So how do these AI agents work?
It’s really quite simple how it works. You go onto one of the many AI platforms available online, and you write your question or prompt as though you are talking to a real person.
The AI will read and understand what you mean, and come back with an answer. It may even list suggestions or recommendations, observations or advice.
Bear in mind of course, AI can and does get some things wrong so it’s important not to take everything it says as gospel.
How do AI engines compare to traditional search engines like Google?
Lets look at Google. Like all traditional search engines, they are a lot like libraries. They have a collection of books (in our case, websites) and they catalogue all these books using catalogue cards (keywords).
When you ask the librarian for books on a topic (typing in keywords to the search engine), the librarian uses the catalogue system to fetch a number of books (websites) relating to the topic you asked for.
It’s a very transactional experience. Input something in, get a list of website links back.
AI on the other hand is very conversational.
You can ask it about a topic and it will give you information that is exactly relevant to that question without you needing to dig through troves of websites for the answer. If you ask it about a product or service you’re looking for, it’ll tell you about a few businesses that might be able to help, with short descriptions and links to their sites.
And there’s the difference.
AI search allows you to cut through all the noise. It won’t give you 50 pages of search results to wade through. It will give you 3 – 5 examples (sometimes more) of exactly what it is you are after.
This is very different to traditional search, because it’s hyper-specific and extremely tailored in it’s response to the question you’re asking. And people are starting to use these AI services like a search engine, to look up websites it’s recommending.
That is AI search.
Are all prompts asked of AI search related?
The term ‘AI search’ is a bit of a misnomer because not all of the total prompts given to AI engines relate to finding something on the internet like Google does.
People can ask AI platforms all kinds of things. How to tie a tie, what length of time should a pie cook for, what are your thoughts on the Perth Swan River and so on.
But people can also ask search-related questions of AI engines, and it does come back with links and recommendations. If someone asks where all the best cafes are in Joondalup, north of the river, for example, it’s going to give you a list of a handful in the area, with links to their websites.
Is it possible to get AI agents to mention my business?
Yes, it is definitely possible to encourage an AI agent to mention your business should someone ask about products and services you offer, but it does take some work.
In order to improve your chances of being mentioned and your website linked by AI platforms, you have to ensure you make your website extremely easy for AI to understand.
A non-exhaustive list includes things like:
- Keeping your heading structure logical and ordered in a way that makes sense (H1 tags, H2, H3, H4 etc)
- Providing clear question and answer sections
- Having self-contained paragraphs with clear facts
- Good structured data behind the scenes, like JSON schemas
- Being visible in multiple sources on the internet, not just on your own website
- Making information easy for AI to extract without having to weed it out of wall to wall texts
- Having a special file behind the scenes that AI can read called a LLMS.txt file
This list is by no means complete, but it provides a good start to getting your brand mentioned by AI.
There is a technical name for this sort of thing, which is called Generative Engine Optimisation, which coincidentally we happen to offer as a service.
It’s the process of making your website and brand optimised to be mentioned when relevant questions are asked by people on AI platforms.
So what kind of AI platforms are available to use?
There are a few well-established AI platforms out on the market today, which you can start using today to play around with. You can use these platforms to start asking them different questions you think your customers might ask. Get a feel for when you’re mentioned (if you’re mentioned) and how often based on different questions.
It’s a good way to get a basic idea where your business stands with those AI platforms before you get any Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO) work done on your site.
Those platforms are:
Looking to have your business mentioned more often on AI platforms? We can help
Excited about the potential of getting more referrals through AI platforms on the market today? Look no further than Thriving Web Design. Through Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO) we can help make your website easier to understand to AI agents. Contact us today.
