How to Optimise Your Content for ChatGPT and Voice Search (AEO Best Practices 2025)

Why Optimising for ChatGPT and Voice Search Matters

Imagine a potential customer asks ChatGPT or Siri a question related to your business – and instead of your website, they hear your competitor’s name. In 2025, this scenario is increasingly common. Optimising for ChatGPT and voice search is now as important as traditional SEO was a few years ago. Here’s why focusing on Answer Engine Optimisation (AEO) for these platforms matters:

• ChatGPT and AI answers are trusted – Users often take the first answer given by an AI assistant as authoritative. If ChatGPT consistently cites or mentions your brand as an expert source (for example, “According to ID Digital Agency, the best way to improve local SEO is…”) it builds huge credibility. Being absent from these answers means missed opportunities for brand exposure.

• Voice search gives one result – Unlike a Google page with 10 options, voice assistants typically give one answer. If someone asks their Google Nest, “What’s the best digital marketing agency in Melbourne?” the device isn’t going to read off ten names – it will likely name just one or two. Optimising your content increases the odds that you are the one mentioned.

• New traffic channels – AI-powered search results and voice answers can actually drive traffic or conversions in non-traditional ways. A user might not click your site immediately, but if they hear your brand mentioned by Alexa, they might directly search your brand later or even ask the assistant to connect them to you. In short, AEO can create brand awareness and leads beyond the click.

• Competitive edge – Many businesses have not yet adapted their content for these emerging search behaviors. By doing so now, you can leap ahead. Think of it as being one of the first companies in your niche to do SEO in the early 2000s – those who did reaped major rewards. The same is happening with AEO for AI and voice.

In summary, optimising for ChatGPT and voice search is about meeting your audience where they are increasingly asking questions. It’s ensuring that when technology intermediates a customer’s query, your content still shines through.

Best Practice #1: Structure Your Content Around Questions

The first step in AEO is a mindset shift: instead of just thinking in keywords, think in questions and answers. This means restructuring your content marketing strategy slightly:

• Use Question-Based Headings: Review your website and blog content. Could some of your section headings be rephrased as questions? For example, a heading like “Benefits of cloud accounting” can be turned into “What are the benefits of cloud accounting software?” This immediately makes it more likely to match a user’s voice query or a People Also Ask entry.

• Cover the 5 W’s (and How): Ensure your content answers Who, What, Where, When, Why, and How questions related to your topic. If you have a services page for “eCommerce SEO”, add content that answers things like “How does eCommerce SEO work?”, “Why is SEO important for online stores?”, or “When should an eCommerce business invest in SEO?”. Each of these could be an H3 heading with a concise answer.

• Leverage FAQs: An FAQ section is your secret weapon. Take the top questions customers ask and answer them clearly. Place this either at the bottom of key pages or create a central FAQ hub. Questions like “How much does [Service] cost?” or “How do I get started with [Service]?” can live here. FAQs not only help AEO but also improve user experience by addressing objections or queries upfront.

• Monitor “People Also Ask”: When you Google something relevant to your business, note the “People Also Ask” questions that drop down. These are popular queries. If you see a question there that your site doesn’t answer yet, consider creating content for it. For instance, if “People also ask: What is AEO in SEO?” appears, that’s a hint to write a section or post clarifying it.

Pro Tip: In your content calendar, plan at least one blog post a month that is literally a question title. For example: “How Do ChatGPT and Google SGE Impact SEO?” or “What’s the Difference Between Local SEO and AEO?”. Over time, you’ll build a repository of authoritative answers on your site.

Best Practice #2: Write Snippet-Friendly Answers

Getting featured in a snippet (or being the spoken answer) often comes down to how the answer is written. Follow these guidelines to craft snippet-friendly content:

• Be Concise and Clear: Aim to answer the question in the first 1-3 sentences after you pose it. A good rule of thumb is ~40-60 words for the “direct answer” portion. If someone asks “What is AEO?”, a response like: “Answer Engine Optimisation (AEO) is the practice of structuring your website’s content so that search engines and AI assistants can pull it as a direct answer. It helps your business appear in featured snippets, voice search results, and AI-driven answers without additional clicks.” – This gives a complete answer in two sentences.

• Use Simple Language: The content that wins for voice search or broad snippets is usually written in plain, accessible language. You’re not diluting expertise by simplifying wording – you’re making sure a wide audience and an AI can both grasp it quickly. For example, say “help” instead of “facilitate” or “use” instead of “utilize.”

• Bullet Points and Numbered Lists: If the question is asking for a list (e.g., “What are the steps to do X?” or “Top 5 ways to Y”), use a list format in your answer. Search engines love bullet points for “list” type queries and often pull them into snippets. Just make sure each bullet is brief (a sentence or two) and the list isn’t overly long (3-8 items is a sweet spot).

• Include the Question in the Answer (when sensible): This is an old SEO trick that still helps – phrasing part of your answer to echo the question. For example, if the question is “How do I optimize my blog for voice search?”, you might start your answer with, “To optimize your blog for voice search, you should…”. That repetition can reinforce relevance.

• Provide Context if Needed: Sometimes a one-liner answer isn’t enough, and that’s okay. You can answer directly, then give a bit more detail. For instance: “Yes, you do need AEO even if you have SEO. That’s because AEO focuses on voice and AI queries, which SEO alone doesn’t cover. It complements SEO by… [additional detail].” The first sentence answers a yes/no clearly, and the next sentences provide context.

When you write content this way, you’re basically pre-formatting it for the search engines. You’ll find that often Google will just lift that chunk of text for the snippet – which is exactly what we want.

Best Practice #3: Implement Schema Markup (FAQ, How-To, etc.)

Structured data (Schema markup) is a technical step, but it’s incredibly important for AEO. It’s like giving the search engine a cheat sheet about your content’s structure. Here’s how to use it:

• FAQ Schema: If you have a list of questions and answers on a page (like an FAQ section addressing AEO), wrap it in FAQPage schema. This is a JSON-LD script you add to the page’s code. It tells Google explicitly “Hey, this page contains these questions and these answers.” The result? Your page becomes eligible for rich results on Google (like an expandable FAQ in the search results), and it’s a prime candidate for voice assistant answers.

• HowTo Schema: If your content is explaining how to do something step by step (e.g., “How to set up an online store in 5 steps”), use HowTo schema. Marking up the steps can make you eligible for rich snippets that show the step list directly on Google. Voice devices also like how-to schemas to walk users through processes.

• Article/Blog Schema: Ensure your blog posts use the Article schema (most CMS platforms or themes do this by default). This helps indicate author, publish date, etc., which can indirectly boost credibility (E-E-A-T: Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness signals).

• Local Business Schema: For a local focus (like Melbourne businesses), implementing LocalBusiness schema on your site (with your business name, address, etc.) won’t directly get you a snippet, but it helps search engines trust your site for local queries. Trust can translate into higher likelihood of being featured as an answer source.

• Test with Google’s Rich Results Tool: After adding schema, always test your page with Google’s free Rich Results Test tool. It will show if your markup is valid. Even if you’re not a developer, this is accessible – you just input your URL and see the results. If there are errors, fix them (or ask your web developer to fix them).

While adding schema might require some developer help if you’re not technical, it’s often a one-time setup for templates. On HubSpot or WordPress, there are plugins and modules that can structure FAQs for you. The investment here pays off by essentially fast-tracking your content for answer features.

Best Practice #4: Optimise for Voice Tone and Local Phrases

When it comes to voice search specifically, consider the tone and context:

• Conversational Tone: People speak questions differently than they type. For voice, content that reads in a conversational way tends to perform better. For example, in a blog post, writing “You might be wondering, how do I start with AEO for my site? Well, the first thing you should do is…” feels like how a person talks and an AI reading it aloud will sound more natural. Don’t be afraid to use a friendly, slightly informal tone when appropriate.

• Short, Complete Sentences: Voice assistants can stumble or sound awkward with very long, complex sentences. When writing an answer that might be read aloud, try reading it out loud to yourself. If you run out of breath, break the sentence! Also avoid too many parentheses or asides – they can confuse the flow when spoken.

• Include Local Identifiers: For local queries, sprinkle in relevant local terms. If your content can naturally mention “Melbourne” or “Australia” in the answer, that can help for region-specific voice searches. For instance, instead of saying “many businesses”, you might say “many Melbourne businesses” if the context allows. Don’t force it everywhere, but a few local mentions can increase relevancy for a voice query that implies location.

• Answer Follow-Up Questions: One unique thing about AI like Google Assistant or Alexa is the ability to follow up. If someone asks “What’s the best way to improve my website’s ranking?” and gets an answer about AEO vs SEO, their next question might be “How do I implement AEO?”. If your content pre-empts that follow-up (like having a section “How to implement AEO” right after explaining what it is), the assistant might continue with your content. Essentially, try to cover the next question a user would logically have. This increases the chance that the assistant sticks with your site/content for multiple exchanges.

By tuning your content for voice, you improve the user’s experience when your answer is spoken. And a good user experience (the answer was clear and helpful) signals to the platform that it chose well – meaning it will likely use your content again for the next person.

Best Practice #5: Monitor and Iterate

Finally, AEO optimisation isn’t a “set and forget” job. Keep an eye on performance and be ready to iterate:

• Track Featured Snippets: Use tools like Google Search Console, Semrush, or Ahrefs to see if you’ve gained any featured snippets. GSC, for instance, can show queries where you have high impressions but maybe not clicks – if those correlate with your AEO-targeted questions, you might be getting shown as an answer already.

• Check AI Mentions: Right now, tracking AI chatbot citations (like ChatGPT’s sources) is a bit nascent, but pay attention anecdotally. If new clients mention “I found you via ChatGPT” or similar, dig into that. Ask what query they asked. This can give you insight into where you’re being recommended (or not). There are also emerging tools that monitor brand mentions in AI responses – worth exploring as they mature.

• User Engagement on Answer Content: Look at on-page metrics for pages where you implemented AEO strategies. If you provided the answer immediately, users might spend less time on the page (because they got what they needed quickly). That’s not a bad thing if they convert or remember you. But if the bounce rate is extremely high, consider if you need to offer a clear next step. Perhaps after answering a question, you can include a call-to-action like “Need more personalized advice? Get in touch with our team…” to guide the user.

• Expand Your Q&A Over Time: Every few months, revisit your list of questions. Are people starting to ask something new in your industry? For example, if a new Google update or AI tool comes out, there might be fresh questions (“Does Bing AI replace search?” etc.). Be the first to answer common new questions and you’ll often snag the top spot before others have content on it.

• Stay Updated on Search Features: Google and other platforms continuously tweak how they display answers (for instance, Google’s introduction of the “SGE – AI snapshot” results). Keep an ear to the ground via SEO blogs or communities about these changes. If Google starts highlighting a new type of snippet (like a “Things to know” section), brainstorm how your content could fit that format.

Remember, AEO is a bit of a moving target because it’s tied to technology trends. But the core principle remains: provide clear, direct answers to what people ask, and make it easy for machines to find and understand those answers.

Putting It All Together

To optimise your content for ChatGPT, voice search, and answer engines in 2025, you need to blend great content writing with smart technical SEO:

• Write for humans (conversationally and helpfully), but format for machines (structured and concise).

• Use the tools at your disposal (schema, content structure, research data) to signal “this is the best answer”.

• Think of every piece of content as an opportunity to answer a question your future customer hasn’t even asked you yet – but will ask a search bar or smart speaker.

By following these best practices, you increase the chances that when someone asks their device or AI assistant something related to your business, the answer they hear or see is coming from you. In a world where being the first answer matters more than ever, that’s a powerful position to be in.

(Need help implementing these AEO best practices? At ID Digital Agency, we specialise in turning good websites into answer-friendly websites. Whether it’s refining your copy or adding the latest schema markup, we’re here to ensure your business is the one that gets recommended by the likes of ChatGPT and Siri. Feel free to reach out for a consultation on making your site voice-and-AI-search ready.)