How I Showed Up Over 10,000 Times in Google AI Search in One Month (AI Search Visibility)

I teach AI SEO to small business owners every day. I do it with my one-on-one clients and with my students inside Simple SEO Content. But I also do it for my own business. And last month, it paid off in a big way.

My website showed up almost 11,000 times in Google's AI search results in a single month.

That's just Gemini and Google's AI Overviews. It doesn't include ChatGPT or Claude yet. And I'm pretty stinking happy about it, because that much visibility can make a huge difference for a small business.

I know most small business owners are curious about how to get their businesses recommended by ChatGPT, Claude, and others, or just how to start showing up in AI Search, so I thought I’d share what I’ve done, how it’s working, and why I showed up so many times in a month.

Why does my site show up in AI Search so often?

I got here by creating the right content, optimizing it for both Google and AI, and going back to refresh my older posts so they were ready for AI search too.

I follow the same content strategy that I teach my students and clients. I create content (pieces like this) that answers questions my ideal client asks, provides value, and is helpful. And then I make sure that content is optimized for Google and AI Search both so that it’s easy for the search engines to connect it with the people who are searching.

I have the advantage of having done SEO and content strategy for years, so I can quickly spot the opportunities for ranking and visibility and can create content that’s designed to be helpful, provide value, and rank on Google or be recommended by AI search fairly quickly.

(If you're brand new to this, start with my guide on how to show up in AI search and get recommended by ChatGPT.)

Before we get into what I did, let’s start with how I found that number because until recently, we didn’t have insights into our AI visibility. Google just recently added this information to our Google Search Console accounts.

How to see your own AI search visibility

The first question you might have is, "Rachel, how did you even figure that out?"

Google added a new report to Search Console. Here's how to find it:

Log in to Google Search Console for your website.
In the left-hand menu, click Performance to expand it.
Click Generative AI.

That report shows you how often your site appears in Google's AI-based search. It also shows you which pages are showing up, which is the part I care about most. Scroll down below the graph to see which pages are showing up in Google AI Search.

You'll need Search Console set up on your website in order to see this report. If you don’t have it yet, go ahead and get it set up and verified, and then Google will update the data for you in a few days. Here are Google’s instructions on setting up and verifying Search Console.

The first step is visibility; the more important part is whether these people are visiting your site to learn more about you, become a lead, or, more importantly, become a customer. If you’re not sure how to answer those questions, this post will help you find out if AI search is sending you traffic.

What Content is showing up in AI Search?

As with all SEO and marketing-related strategies that I teach, I want you to figure out if the visibility is paying off for your business. I wanted to check the same thing for myself. Showing up 10,000 times in a month is great, but only if that’s leading to traffic, leads, and conversions. Otherwise, showing up 10,000 times in a month isn’t going to help your business grow.

What I checked in the report was what was showing up in AI search. You want to look at the same thing. Are the pages that are showing up in AI search ones that can bring in the right people? You can find this information under your graph; scroll down, and you’ll see which pages are being cited in Google AI Search on your website too.

What types of pages showed up in AI Search on my site?

My number one page is a blog post that's three years old. It’s all about how to do SEO on your website yourself, and it ties directly into Simple SEO Content. It helps people learn how to get started with SEO and brings them into my world. It showed up in AI search over 5,000 times last month. It also ranks in position #1 for a number of keywords related to learning how to do SEO on your own.

My number two page is about six weeks old. It's my post on the best SEO tools for small business owners. It showed up more than 800 times in AI search last month. The podcast episode was getting downloads from people who found it via Google and AI Search because I hadn’t even released it officially on the podcast or sent the weekly email about it, and it already had downloads. This one doesn’t tie directly to my program, but it includes a few affiliate links for SEO tools that are helpful for small business owners, and I’ve made a few dollars in revenue already from people who found that post and podcast episode on Google and AI Search.

How fast can you show up in AI Search?

I wrote two newer posts on how to show up in AI search and why other businesses show up in AI Search instead of you.

Both of these posts started showing up in AI Search within the first week. I’m used to SEO taking months to work, so it was really interesting to see it happen within just a few days.

We know blog posts and website pages can show up in AI Search, but what else might show up and help your business grow?

Can your sales page show up in AI Search?

Yes, it can. My sales pages for Simple SEO Content and Simple Podcast SEO both show up in the report. They’re being cited for queries like how to learn SEO, DIY SEO course, and how to do podcast SEO. My sales pages were initially written before AI Search existed but I had already included program FAQs and other SEO elements that helped those pages be included in the search results.

Service, product, and offer pages can show up in AI Search

My marketing consulting and SEO coaching pages are showing up in AI search as well, which is driving inquiries, leads, and new 1:1 client work for me. I did go in and update these pages to include AI-specific FAQs to help boost visibility in AI Search, and it worked.

Can you build your email list with AI Search?

You can build your email list with AI Search if your opt-ins are being cited or recommended by AI Search. People are landing directly on my opt-in pages. So, AI is helping me grow my email list, and it's recommending my free resources and programs as options right in the answers. I didn’t make any special changes to my opt-in pages, but they’re already SEO-friendly, which we know helps. I’ve seen ChatGPT recommend my opt-ins and courses by name in search tests.

Why my AI Search strategy worked

This is the part I want you to pay attention to. I'm in what might be the most competitive niche there is. Think about it for a second. I'm an SEO educator. You know who's really good at SEO? Other SEOs. Everyone I'm competing against is good at exactly what I do.

So I had to figure out how to increase my visibility in a very crowded space. I doubled down on AI search, and it's working. I stopped focusing as much on Google visibility and zeroed in on AI SEO, and it’s paying off for me. I’m teaching my students to do the same thing if Google is too competitive for their site. I still try to focus on both, but if I have a topic that’s a really good opportunity for AI Search and it’s not ideal for Google, I still create the piece and focus on AI SEO more than Google SEO on that particular piece.

Here's what I've been doing for the last 12 to 18 months for AI SEO.

1. Creating the right content for my ideal customer

Not just more content. The right content. Posts that answer the real questions my ideal clients are asking, and that bring new people into my world. I don’t create content for the sake of creating content, and you shouldn’t either. I do create one blog post and podcast episode weekly, and I’ve done that for almost 10 years. I go in and refresh or update old posts, and I create new ones based on opportunities that I see. I make sure everything I create ties to a product or service and helps my ideal customer. I teach my students and clients to do the same thing to help make sure they get found by the right people, not just anyone.

2. Following AI search best practices on new posts

Every new post I write now is built for AI search from the start. Clear answers. Helpful information. Written for the people I want to reach. I also follow AI SEO best practices by making sure that I have questions formatted correctly, and I answer them directly in the text. I focus on one question per post. I do exactly what I teach my students and clients to do so that I know for sure what’s working and what might need to be adjusted (if anything).

3. Refreshing older posts that aren’t AI Search friendly

I went back to older content and updated it so it was ready for AI search. That's why some of my top performers are two, three, and four years old. Because I’ve been in business for nearly 10 years, I have old blog posts on my site that were written before AI Search existed. I have gone through and updated some, not all; I’m working on getting through all of the important ones. You don’t always have to create new content; you can refresh and reshare. It’s a good idea to update content on a semi-regular basis. Google and AI Search both like new or updated content. In most cases, it’s best to have it written or updated within the past year.

4. Building reviews and a positive reputation helps your business show up in AI Search

AI pays attention to what people say about you. Reviews, helpful content, answering questions, and a positive sentiment around your business all add up. If you have a local business, work on building your Google Business Profile reviews; it can make a difference. I had a GBP for years and then got locked out and didn’t have one for a while. I recently set up a new one and asked a few of my 1:1 clients for new reviews. If a Google Business Profile is applicable for your business, it’s a good thing to have, verify, and optimize. I teach how to do SEO on your profile in Simple SEO Content. It’s something you can do easily; you don’t need to outsource your listing like the spam callers will try to convince you.

5. Making the website and podcast work together helped build my overall visibility

You don’t have to have a website, blog, and podcast, but if you do, take the time to learn how to do SEO on all of your content. Podcast SEO helps boost your visibility on the podcast apps which can expand your audience and bring new people into your world. Your website and blog can also help bring new people into your world if you do SEO on them. I teach you how to do both. If you’re ready to learn, you can join the next cohort of Simple SEO Content or take the self-study podcast SEO program, Simple Podcast SEO.

AI SEO is working for my students too

I was curious whether this was just my site, so I checked the Search Console accounts I have access to for my students. That was five or six of them. Together, they had shown up more than 12,000 times in Google AI search last month. Most of them are showing up somewhere between 300 and 1,500 times a month, which is great considering they’re still learning how to do this.

Will you show up in AI Search if you don’t do SEO?

I was curious about this too; will sites that haven’t done SEO show up in AI Search? We’ve been told from the beginning that traditional SEO is an important part of AI SEO and AI Search visibility, and what I’m seeing confirms that.

I took a peek at the Search Console report for two older accounts, ones I worked with several years ago that didn’t do SEO; they worked with me on other things. They have almost no visibility on Google or in AI Search. One had only shown up in AI Search twice in the past 3 months, and the other was about 30 times in 3 months.

Two times versus thousands. That's the difference.

If you're not actively working on your SEO and AI search visibility, you're not going to show up much. It's something you have to do. It doesn’t happen by accident. You have to put the time in and do the work, but it can really pay off for your business when you do it.

How does AI Search visibility help a business grow?

AI Search Visibility is step one, in my opinion, not the final goal. If you want your business to grow, you need to be visible in AI search results, but you also need to know that your information is being shared with the right people, and you determine that based on how the visibility turns into traffic, leads, and sales. Showing up for phrases or prompts that don’t lead to people wanting to work with you, won’t grow your business.

Frequently asked questions about AI search visibility for your business

How do I see if my website shows up in Google AI search?

To see if your site is showing up in Google AI Search, open Google Search Console, click Performance in the left-hand menu, and select Generative AI. That report shows how often your site appears in Google's AI-based search and which pages are showing up (scroll down below the chart to see which specific pages are being cited by Google AI).

How long does it take to show up in AI search?

You can show up in AI Search pretty quickly. Two of my newer blog posts appeared in AI search within the first week of publishing. Results will vary, but well-structured, helpful content can get picked up quickly. I’m personally finding it often works faster than traditional Google SEO.

Do old blog posts still work for AI search?

Yes, old blog posts can work well for AI Search if you update, refresh, and do AI SEO on them. One of my top-performing pages in AI search is three years old. Refreshing and updating older content so it's ready for AI search can help drive more visibility for your site without having to write something new every time.

Can a small business compete in AI search?

Yes, small businesses can compete in AI Search. I’m personally in a very competitive niche and I showed up over 10,000 times last month in Google AI search results. My students and clients are all small business owners and are seeing hundreds to thousands of recommendations in Google AI search a month. The key is creating the right content and optimizing it following both traditional SEO and AI SEO best practices.

The bottom line for AI Search visibility

My site showed up almost 11,000 times in Google AI search last month. Not because of a trick, but because of a strategy I've been testing on my own business for the last year and a half.

Create the right content. Optimize it for Google and AI. Refresh what you already have. Build your reviews and your reputation. Then track what happens.

Want to do this for your business?

If you're a student or one-on-one client, you're already covered. Everything I'm teaching you is the exact strategy I tested on my own site.

If you're trying to figure this out on your own, come join me. It's a whole lot easier with help.

Simple SEO Content helps you get your website found on Google and in AI search, and figure out what content to create to bring the right people in.
Simple Podcast SEO helps you get your podcast found on the podcast apps and in AI search.
The Profitable Marketing System helps you turn those visitors into leads and clients once they land on your site.

Prefer one-on-one help? Let's work together and do this for your business too. It’s not too late to start showing up on AI search. You just need someone to show you how to do it for your business.