Ready for AI search

Updated

Overview

AI assistants such as ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity and Google's AI Overviews answer questions with what they read on the web. Dirigible gives them the same clear signals it gives search engines: structured data that says what each page is about, a plain-text summary of the site, and a sitemap that lists every page worth finding. Most of it is automatic. The one decision that's yours is what AI companies may do with your pages.

What happens automatically

  • Structured data on every page. Search engines and AI tools read it; visitors don't see it. It says who the site belongs to (name, logo, address, phone, email and social profiles, from SEO → Settings → Structured Data) and describes what's on the page:
    • blog posts, FAQ blocks, YouTube videos in Embed blocks, and breadcrumbs
    • events with their dates, place and tickets (Dirigible Events)
    • people (Dirigible People), locations with their address and map position (Dirigible Locations), and opening hours (Dirigible Hours)
    • knowledge base answers and handbook documents (Dirigible Manifest), artworks (Dirigible Artworks), albums and songs (Dirigible Music), and portfolio projects (Dirigible Portfolio)
  • llms.txt. A short summary of the site at yoursite.com/llms.txt, built from your main pages and their SEO Descriptions, for AI tools that read it. See AI tools and llms.txt.
  • Sitemap and IndexNow. The sitemap lists the pages that should be found, and IndexNow tells Bing and other search engines about a change within a minute or so. Bing's index also feeds Microsoft Copilot. See Sitemap.
  • Titles and descriptions. Each page's SEO Title and SEO Description (or the defaults Dirigible SEO builds from the page) are what search results, and often AI answers, use to describe and link to the page. See Page SEO.

What you decide: AI crawlers

SEO → AI & llms.txt → AI tools has one choice for the whole site:

  • AI tools may use this site (the default): AI companies may read your pages to train their models and to answer questions.
  • Search and answers only: crawlers that collect pages for training are blocked, but AI search engines and assistants can still fetch a page to answer someone's question and link to you.
  • Not at all: every AI crawler and assistant the plugin knows is blocked.

Whichever you pick, the site stays in Google and Bing. AI tools and llms.txt lists which crawlers each choice covers.

Help AI tools describe you correctly

  1. Check Organization Type and the contact details under SEO → Settings → Structured Data, so the site is described as the right kind of business or organization.
  2. Write an SEO Description for your main pages. The Reports tab lists pages that don't have one, and the same descriptions fill llms.txt.
  3. Add Extra notes on the AI & llms.txt tab: who the site is for, what you offer, how to get in touch.
  4. Answer the questions your customers really ask in an FAQ block.
  5. Run the Structured data check to find missing or invalid details.

What it can't promise

  • Nothing makes an AI assistant mention, quote or link to your site, or moves a page up in search results. These tools choose what to use. Structured data and llms.txt help them understand your site correctly; they don't buy a place in the answer.
  • llms.txt is a proposed standard. Some AI tools read it; many don't yet.
  • The AI crawler rules live in robots.txt. The big AI companies follow it, but it isn't a lock.
  • Changes reach AI tools only when they next visit your site, which can take days or weeks.

Tips

  • While Yoast SEO, SEOPress or All in One SEO is active, that plugin decides titles, descriptions, structured data and llms.txt. The AI tools choice still applies.
  • Keep private details out of contact settings and Extra notes: anyone can read structured data and llms.txt.

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