March 23, 2026
How to Make Your Content Rank in Google and AI Search
Table of Contents
Abbie
Founder + Director
SEO Content: Getting Your Brand on ChatGPT
If you’ve recently found yourself asking, “How do we show up in ChatGPT?” you are absolutely not alone and this is the blog and podcast for you…
In this episode of Marketing vs The World, Abbie sits down with Monday Clicks’ Head of Content, Matt Brito, to talk about how brands can create content that still works in Google, while also giving AI platforms a reason to trust, cite and surface them.
Full of practical advice, cold-ridden honesty and proper “right, what do we actually do now?” insight, Matt explains what’s changed in SEO content, what still matters, and why average content just isn’t going to cut it anymore.
Listen to the full episode below or keep reading for the highlights.
Meet Matt Brito
“I’ve adapted my writing to the different mediums.”
Matt has been writing for brands for almost three decades, which feels rude because he absolutely does not look old enough.
His career started in TV, writing marketing material for channels including Comedy Central and MTV. He’s written presenter scripts for the likes of Def Leppard and Bananarama, worked on BBC children’s programmes and comedy dramas, and helped major fitness brands like Fitness First and PureGym shape their tone of voice. So yes, he’s written a fair few words.
But what makes Matt’s background so relevant to this episode is that he’s spent his whole career adapting. From TV scripts to brand guidelines, from web copy to SEO content, from traditional search to AI-led visibility, Matt has had to evolve alongside every shift in how people consume information.
And right now? The change is a pretty big one.
Has SEO Content Changed?
“Yes, it has changed. And it’s changed faster in the last 12 months than perhaps in the previous 10 years.”
That pretty much sums it up.
SEO content hasn’t disappeared, but the rules are changing quickly. Matt explains that SEO is now much less forgiving than it used to be. In the past, brands could often get by with average content, a few keywords and a reasonably decent page. Not anymore.
Google and AI platforms don’t just want to send people to your site now. Increasingly, they want to answer the question themselves. Which means the goal has shifted. If you want to understand more about how AI bots crawl your website, read our detailed blog here.
It’s no longer just about ranking number one on Google. It’s about becoming a trusted source that Google, ChatGPT, AI Mode and other AI platforms are willing to use in their answers. And that’s a very different game.
Average Content Is in Trouble
“It’s not about publishing more. It’s about saying more.”
Lovely line, that.
Matt explains that many brands are still stuck in volume mode. More blogs. More pages. More words. More stuff. But more doesn’t automatically mean better.
In this new search landscape, content that says the same thing as everyone else is going to struggle. The focus now needs to be on creating content that gives the internet a reason to keep your page alive. Cheery, isn’t it?
But it’s true.
If your content is thin, vague, outdated or basically a reworded version of what already exists, why would Google keep ranking it? And why would AI cite it?
Instead, brands need to create useful, specific, credible content that genuinely answers the questions their audience is asking. Not just keyword-stuffed content. Not just “because we need a blog this month” content. Actual useful content. Imagine!
Write for the User, Not Just the Ranking
“Why would the reader care about this?”
This has always been one of the most important questions in content, but now it matters even more.
Abbie and Matt talk about how, historically, SEO content was often written with both the customer and Google in mind. The customer mattered, of course, but there was still a strong focus on what would rank.
Now, because AI platforms don’t work in the same neat “position one, position two, position three” way, brands have to think harder about the full user journey.
Where is the customer discovering you? What questions are they asking? What do they need to understand before they trust you? What content helps move them from curiosity to confidence?
Because the website visit might only be one step in a much longer journey. Someone might find you through Google, ChatGPT, TikTok, LinkedIn, YouTube, an email, a podcast, or three separate tabs they forgot they opened two days ago. Relatable.
The point is, content now has to support the full journey, not just one search result.
How Do You Get Cited by AI?
“You want to earn the right for it to be picked out as a reputable source.”
This is the bit lots of brands are trying to work out right now. How do you make your content more likely to appear in AI answers?
Matt explains that, at Monday Clicks, there are four big things the team looks at: structure, proof, clarity and freshness.
Let’s get into them.
Structure: Make It Easy to Understand
“AI loves content that is clearly structured.”
AI does not want to work hard. Quite frankly, same.
Clear structure helps both humans and AI understand your content quickly. That means using clear headings, bullet points, numbered steps, comparison tables, FAQs and logical internal links.
Matt explains that comparison tables can be particularly useful because they make information easy to extract. You’re basically saying: here is the information, neatly organised, please don’t make a meal of it.
Good structure doesn’t mean boring content. It just means your ideas are easy to follow, easy to scan and easy to cite. And that matters.
Proof: Stop Making Vague Claims
“AI wants proof, not fluff.”
This is a big one. It’s not enough to say your product “improves results” or your service “helps businesses grow.” Lovely. How?
Matt gives a great example. Saying “this software will improve results” is vague. Saying “this software reduced response times by 32%” gives people something tangible to believe. It also gives AI something solid to quote.
That’s why proof matters so much. Case studies, statistics, credentials, policies, awards, testimonials, expert quotes and first-hand experience all help show that your brand knows what it’s talking about.
In other words, don’t just tell people you’re good. Show them why they should believe you.
Clarity: Say Something Useful
“Make sure what you put out there gives the internet a reason to keep your page alive.”
Clarity is not just about writing short sentences, although we do love those. It’s about having a clear point.
Too much content online sounds fine but says very little. It’s polished, technically correct and completely forgettable. That’s dangerous in an AI search world.
If your content doesn’t add anything new, specific or useful, it becomes very easy to ignore.
Instead, Matt recommends being clear, direct and specific. Answer the question properly. Give examples. Include proof. Explain what something means in real life. Don’t hide behind vague marketing language.
The robots don’t want it. And neither do humans.
Freshness: Keep Your Content Alive
“You need to keep it refreshed and updated.”
So many businesses treat content like a one-and-done job. The page is written. It’s live. Done forever.
Except… no.
Matt explains that refreshing content is now a key part of staying visible. That might mean updating old statistics, replacing outdated sources, adding new case studies, including recent awards, improving internal links or rewriting sections that no longer reflect how customers search.
This is especially important for high-value pages. If a piece of content matters to your business, don’t let it slowly gather dust in the corner of your website.
Go back to it. Improve it. Make it more useful. Keep it relevant.
Because if AI is looking for current, trustworthy information, your ten-year-old source probably isn’t helping.
Should You Write for Google or AI?
“Write for AI search platforms because you’re looking after your future visibility.”
Right now, most website traffic is still coming from Google. But LLM traffic is growing.
And, as Abbie points out, Google itself now has AI Mode, powered by Gemini. So even if your main focus is still Google, the way Google presents information is changing too.
That means brands need to stop thinking of AI search as a separate future thing. It’s already part of search.
The good news? Writing for AI does not mean abandoning good SEO. A lot of the same principles still matter: useful content, clear structure, authority, trust, internal linking, relevance and strong answers.
The difference is that you’re not just trying to win a blue link anymore. You’re trying to become the source behind the answer.
The Biggest AI Content Mistake
“Thinking of AI as your printing press rather than a knowledge repository.”
Oof. That one lands.
Matt says one of the biggest mistakes brands are making is using AI to churn out mountains of content. Technically fine content. Readable content. Keyword-friendly content. But content that says nothing different from what already exists.
That’s the middle-of-the-road trap. And it’s exactly where brands don’t want to be.
AI can be incredibly useful. At Monday Clicks, the team uses it every day. But it should support human thinking, not replace it.
Use it for research, structure, ideas, summaries and efficiency. But don’t just let it write and publish unchecked, because that’s where things start getting messy.
When AI Writes and Humans Don’t Read
“That’s what happens when AI writes and humans don’t read.”
Matt shares a brilliant cautionary tale about an American newspaper that published a summer reading list using AI. Useful idea. Small problem. Some of the books didn’t exist.
Even worse, they were attributed to real authors.
Not ideal.
That’s the risk when AI-generated content goes live without proper human checks. AI can hallucinate, invent details, misattribute information and confidently present nonsense as fact.
Which is awkward at best and brand-damaging at worst.
The lesson? AI can help create a strong first draft or useful structure, but humans still need to check, edit, verify and add the actual value.
Because if your content is wrong, it doesn’t matter how quickly you published it.
Content Still Needs to Convert
“The goal is to make content AI can lift easily, but humans actually want to read.”
This is such an important point.
Yes, we want AI platforms to understand and cite your content. But the end reader is still human. And if someone does click through to your site, that visit matters more than ever.
So your content needs to do more than answer a question. It needs to help someone take the next step.
That might mean understanding whether your service is right for them, comparing options, seeing proof, trusting your expertise or simply knowing what to do next.
It’s not just “what is this?” anymore.
It’s “is this right for me?” and “what happens now?”
That’s where content strategy, conversion copy and SEO all need to work together.
Building a Content Strategy for the New Search Era
“Stop thinking about where people are searching and start thinking about where they’re deciding.”
This might be the best takeaway from the whole episode.
Discovery now happens everywhere. Google. ChatGPT. TikTok. LinkedIn. YouTube. Podcasts. Emails. AI Overviews. AI Mode. The lot.
So instead of only asking, “Where are people searching?” brands need to ask, “Where are they deciding?”
That means understanding your customer’s touchpoints, questions, concerns and decision-making moments. Then you can create content that shows up in the right place, with the right message, at the right stage.
From a practical point of view, Matt recommends thinking about three big areas:
Can search engines and AI understand your site?
Do you have authority and proof?
Does your content help people convert?
Because visibility is great. But visibility that doesn’t build trust or move someone forward? Not so useful.
Listen on Apple | Listen on Spotify
And if you really want to create a content strategy that your customers and AI will love, get in touch.
Real People, Real Stories, Real Proof
“Verified expertise is more important than ever.”
As AI content becomes easier to produce, human expertise becomes more valuable. Funny how that works.
Matt and Abbie talk about the importance of real people, real stories and real proof. That means adding expert insight, first-hand experience, case studies, original opinions, customer stories and brand-specific knowledge that AI can’t just scrape from somewhere else.
This is where thought leadership becomes really important. Not the corporate “we are delighted to announce” kind. The useful kind. The “here’s what we’ve seen, here’s what we think, here’s what others are missing” kind.
Because if ChatGPT is averaging out what already exists, your point of view is what makes you worth citing.
The Good Stuff, Summed Up
There was so much packed into this episode, but the message was clear: SEO content still matters, but average content is on very shaky ground.
If you want to rank in Google and show up in AI answers, you need content that is structured, useful, specific, trustworthy and genuinely helpful to your audience. Not just more content. Better content.
Here are a few of the biggest takeaways from the episode:
SEO content has changed faster in the last year than it has in a long time.
The goal is no longer just ranking number one on Google.
Brands need to become trusted sources that AI platforms can cite.
Average, vague or duplicated content is going to struggle.
Strong content needs structure, proof, clarity and freshness.
Content refreshes are now essential, especially for important pages.
AI should support human writers, not replace them.
Never publish AI content without checking it properly.
Content still needs to work for humans and support conversion.
Thought leadership, real expertise and original insight are more valuable than ever.
Brands need to think about where customers are deciding, not just where they are searching.
And perhaps the biggest reminder from Matt?
Don’t use AI to create more average content. Use it to help you create better, sharper, more useful content - then add the human expertise that makes it worth trusting.
Before You Go…
If you’re trying to work out how your brand can stay visible in Google, ChatGPT, AI Mode and whatever search throws at us next, this episode is well worth a listen.
Matt brings a really practical perspective on how content is changing, what brands need to stop doing, and how to create content that actually earns its place in search.
Listen on Apple | Listen on Spotify
And if you want help creating SEO content that works harder across Google and AI search, come and chat to Monday Clicks.
We’re already helping brands adapt their content strategies for the new search era - without losing the human bit that makes people actually want to read it.
Follow Marketing vs The World, connect with Abbie and Matt on LinkedIn, and come and say hello to Monday Clicks too.
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