What are the biggest AI SEO myths?
Most of them promise a shortcut. Here are the ones we hear most, and what's actually true, in plain words.
- "SEO is dead." It isn't. Google's AI answers are built on its search index, and ChatGPT search leans on Bing. Pages that rank are the ones that get read.
- "You can submit your business to ChatGPT." There's no form for recommendations. You get named by being findable and well described across the web.
- "You can pay to be recommended." OpenAI says its shopping results aren't ads, and that ads it shows are labelled and don't change the answers.
- "llms.txt is essential." It's a cheap, sensible extra. It won't make up for unclear pages.
- "You need special markup for AI Overviews." Google says you don't. Normal SEO practice applies, and schema should match the page.
- "Blocking GPTBot removes you from ChatGPT." OpenAI uses separate bots. GPTBot is for training; OAI-SearchBot is for search.
- "More AI-written pages means more AI visibility." Google's spam policies cover scaled content made to game rankings, whatever made it.
- "Only big brands get recommended." Assistants name the business whose facts best answer the question.
- "Someone can guarantee you a placement." Nobody controls what an assistant says.
Is SEO dead because of AI?
No. It's more useful than ever, because AI answers draw on the pages search engines already trust.
Google says its AI features use its normal ranking and quality systems, and pages need to be indexed to appear. What has changed is the finish line. A ranking alone is no longer enough. The page also has to give a clear answer an assistant can lift, and the business needs other sites backing it up.
Can you pay to get into AI answers?
Not into the recommendations themselves. That's the point of them.
Some assistants show ads, clearly labelled and separate from the answer. Paid directory listings can help if the directory is one assistants cite, but you're paying for the listing, not the recommendation. Anyone selling a guaranteed spot in ChatGPT is selling something they don't control.
Does one file or tag make the difference?
No. llms.txt, schema and robots.txt rules all help in their place. None of them works alone.
Think of them as making your good content easier to read. If the content isn't there, there's nothing to read. The businesses that get named have clear pages, consistent facts, reviews and mentions, and then the files on top.
Is AI-written content good for AI SEO?
It depends what it says. Assistants quote specific facts, and generic copy doesn't have any.
We use AI across research, writing and code, and a person checks every word. The problem isn't the tool. It's pages that say nothing specific, published in bulk to catch searches. Google treats that as spam whatever made it, and assistants have nothing in it to repeat.
What actually works instead?
The boring list. It's the same work behind every business we've seen named regularly.
- Pages AI crawlers can reach and read, with the key copy in the HTML.
- One clear page per service, opening with a direct answer.
- Specific facts: what, who for, where, how fast, a price signal.
- Matching details on Google, Bing and the directories assistants cite.
- Reviews, press and mentions on sites your buyers trust.
- A fixed set of buyer questions, checked every month.