What is AI Search Optimisation?
AI Search Optimisation is the practice of making your content retrievable and citable by AI engines such as ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, and Google AI Mode.
Unlike traditional SEO, which focuses on rankings, AI Search Optimisation ensures your expertise is found, understood, and recommended inside AI-generated answers. Our Retrieval-First™ methodology aligns your content with how AI systems process and surface information.
How is AI Search Optimisation different from traditional SEO?
Traditional SEO focused on ranking signals and optimising for the ten blue links. Modern search engines now use AI systems that interpret intent and generate direct answers — often before a click occurs.
AI Overviews and conversational engines now cover 57% of queries. Visibility has shifted from ranking number one to being cited as a trusted source.
Unlike traditional SEO, AI Search Optimisation treats visibility as an information retrieval challenge. AI systems employ semantic search and chunk-level retrieval to extract relevant passages. Success depends on being retrievable, interpretable, and citation-worthy — not just keyword-optimised.
Who Needs AI Search Optimisation?
→ Businesses losing visibility in AI answers must optimise if they want to be cited as trusted sources instead of competitors.
→ Agencies and marketing teams under pressure require a clear framework to prove visibility in AI search—not just rankings.
→ Content-driven organisations publishing expertise that goes unseen benefit from Retrieval-First™ alignment so their authority is surfaced by engines like ChatGPT and Google AI Mode.
→ Brands watching rivals get recommended by Claude and cited by Perplexity while they’re nowhere to be found are at risk of being left behind in the AI recommendation economy.
The competitive advantage is no longer trying to rank number one. It’s about being the source AI systems trust, retrieve, and reference. Early adopters are reporting significantly higher conversions from AI-surfaced visibility.
How does AI Search Optimisation work?
We offer three flexible entry points designed to maximise visibility across AI engines and Google search, keeping your brand in front of customers instead of lost on page two.
→ Relevance Audit
If your site isn’t showing up in AI answers or ranking where it should, we’ll diagnose why. The audit measures your visibility across ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Google AI Mode, and organic search, then gives you a clear roadmap to fix it.
→ Relevance Strategy
If you’re publishing content but not getting seen, we build a structured plan that works for both AI retrieval and traditional rankings. Using our Retrieval-First™ framework, we align your content so your expertise is cited in AI answers and surfaced in Google results.
→ Relevance Tuning & Optimisation
If you’re already visible but want to protect and grow that presence, we provide ongoing monitoring and optimisation. We track your citations across AI platforms, measure your SEO performance, and fine-tune your content to stay ahead as algorithms and engines evolve.
Why is AI Search Optimisation needed now?
We’re in the middle of a massive shift. Search engines are abandoning the old ranking-and-links model for AI systems that understand context and generate direct answers.
This isn’t a gradual change—it’s happening now. AI-generated responses now appear in 57% of searches, while businesses report losing 23% of their traditional SEO traffic as AI-optimised competitors see 145% growth.
“Harton Works transformed stagnant strategies into success. Their meticulous audit and seamless transition unlocked greater impact from our business development investments, while sparking real engagement within our team.”
— Edward Noel, Practice Manager, Parslows
(delivered in collaboration with The Idea Works)
Your content needs to work in both worlds: the traditional SEO strategy that still matters, and the emerging AI landscape where being cited is the new ranking. Companies that understand this shift are already seeing significantly higher conversions from AI-referred traffic.
Why Choose Harton Works?
27 Years of Search Evolution, Engineered for AI
We’ve led SEO through every evolution. From blue links and keyword density to semantic search, entity-based indexing, and now AI-driven retrieval. Harton Works is built by practitioners with 27+ years in the SEO game. People who’ve earned trust by delivering long-term visibility, not chasing shortcuts.
“The audit from Harton Works was exceptional — delivered swiftly, precisely to the brief, and beyond expectations. Communication was clear and consistent throughout.”
— Hamish Robertson, Marketing Director The Wise Group
That same rigour shapes our Retrieval-First™ approach. We don’t just optimise content for algorithms. We engineer it for citation, clarity, and contextual relevance across AI systems like ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude and Google AI Mode.
We’re not trying to reinvent SEO. We’re adapting it. Structurally. Semantically. Strategically. For the future that’s already here.
Ready to Lead in the Retrieval Era?
AI Search Optimisation with Harton Works protects today’s rankings and secures tomorrow’s AI visibility. Ready to lead in the Retrieval Era?