Lately, there has been a trend developing within digital marketing that is creating confusion among many businesses.
Search engines are beginning to behave more like “guide” type applications (i.e., think about Alexa) that attempt to determine a consumer’s intent before the consumer completes a query.
As a long-standing authority in the local digital landscape, Slinky Web Design has been at the forefront of adapting to this shift.
With conversational AI experiencing tremendous growth in the past couple of years, consumers are no longer simply typing at screens; they’re speaking to them.
Sometimes this is done casually, while other times it is done with impatience, and in other cases, consumers may be seeking confirmation of a piece of information they already possess.
This also impacts how your business is discovered by potential customers.
While voice search did provide a glimmer of this, the current state of conversational AI is entirely different.
Conversational AI does not merely repeat factual statements that have been pulled from websites. Instead, conversational AI creates responses, cross-references contextual information, clarifies information, and occasionally adds a personal touch.
Therefore, your Answer Engine Optimisation (AEO) strategy cannot continue to be focused solely upon yesterday’s methods.
As such, businesses are re-evaluating how they develop, present, organise and structure their content.
It is becoming increasingly apparent that the objective is no longer to appease a machine, but rather to clearly communicate with something that sounds far more human than many humans do.
Therefore, let us examine how you can adapt to this shift without sacrificing either your sanity or your branding.
How Conversational AI Makes Old-School Search Feel…Slow?
In the last five to ten years, consumers have generally entered into the search bar a stiff, somewhat awkward phrase because that’s how you “talk” to Google:
“Best Plumber Brisbane Cheap”
Nobody talks to each other like that in the world outside of attempting to call forth a robot from the future.
However, consumers have continued to type like that anyway since old school search rewarded short, keyword-laden queries.
Currently? Consumers speak to search engines as follows:
“Hey, which plumber in Brisbane can come out tonight and not cost me a fortune?”
Do you see the difference? One is a string of words. The other is closer to how you’d talk to an actual person.
Conversational AI works best with this natural language. It factors in tone, intent, nuance and emotional cues.
When someone says, “Help me fix my website, it’s so slow OMG”, they’re not only looking for technical info, they’re also likely panicked to some extent.
AEO Is All About Being “The Answer” Everywhere
Appearing in featured snippets, those neat little boxes at the top of search results, used to be the ultimate goal.
However, that box is currently just one of several locations where your answer could potentially be seen. Conversational AI systems obtain data from a wide variety of sources, including:
- content clusters on your website,
- short explanatory passages,
- content presented in FAQ style,
- long form articles (even lengthy ones similar to this article),
- schema markup,
- context clues based on past queries,
- and sometimes, patterns that emerge from aggregating multiple pieces of information, rather than single keywords
AEO today is concerned with writing content that is clear, assertive and helpful in a way that allows the AI to trust you sufficiently to reference or summarise your material.
What’s more, AI tools can easily identify filler phrases and, therefore, will often choose to reference other sources.
How Does a Digital Marketing Firm Approach Conversational AEO Differently?
Many businesses attempt to “optimise for AI” by placing additional keywords into shorter paragraphs. This strategy was always suspect, but today, it is essentially self-destructive. Conversational AI is not fooled by this tactic. It assesses meaning, not density.
Conversational AI optimisation is approached by a digital marketing firm more like…a conversation. This could involve:
1. Writing for Context, Not Keywords
Search behaviour is evolving from searching for specific terms to engaging in multi-layered conversations.
They ask follow-up questions. And in some instances, they ask follow-up questions that seem completely unrelated to their original query.
The AI tool tracks the thread of these conversations, so your content must also support these layers. To achieve this, create clearer explanations, add footnotes, connect concepts organically, and anticipate what users may ask next.
2. Organising Content in a Human-Ready Format
This does not mean overloading your pages with subheadings. Rather, you should incorporate:
- Natural pauses
- Unexpected examples
- One-sentence paragraphs (to account for skimming)
- Occasional humour
- Wording that feels spontaneous instead of stiff
If your content reads like it was written by a bot that’s trying to be polite, the AI tool will not recognise it as conversational content.
3. Finding the Sweet Spot Between Short-Form and Long-Form Responses
AI tools are looking for two things at once:
- Clear, concise explanations
- In-depth details if the user wants more
This is the reason why digital marketing firms write in layers. An initial, punchy statement may be displayed at the top, followed by more detailed information further down the page. It’s a way to support the two forms of reading at the same time.
4. Utilising Schema Without Being Obnoxious
Yes, schema markup is still relevant. However, overloading a page with markup like it is Christmas tinsel will not instantly render your content AI-friendly. Schema supports clarity, it does not generate it.
Digital marketing firms employ schema in a subtle manner, aligning it with genuine user requirements rather than optimising excessively in an effort to attract the attention of a search engine.
“But Doesn’t Conversational AI Render Search Engines Obsolete?”
This question arises frequently. And honestly? No. Search engines are not going anywhere anytime soon. They are just becoming chattier.
Conversational AI is like an additional layer to search rather than a substitute for it.
There are numerous instances where conversational responses are optimal:
- Definitions
- Step-by-step instructions
- Local business info
- Comparisons
- Troubleshooting
However, when users want to experience stories, peruse images, check reviews, examine product features, or research a topic in greater depth, they will still need legitimate pages.
The goal is not to select a single channel. Rather, it is to be in the spaces where users are asking questions.
Why AEO Needs to Sound Like a Human, Even When It’s AI Reading It
It’s ironic, but conversational AI actually prefers to work with content written by a human. It is not searching for robot-like perfection; it is searching for a clear, fluid style. Humans do not talk in perfectly correct grammar.
Humans do not lay out their thoughts neatly like they would organise files in a file cabinet. And, most importantly, no one enjoys reading content that appears to have been written in a vacuum.
If you have ever read a piece and felt nothing, no energy, no enthusiasm, no indication that the writer was passionate about their subject, then that is the kind of content that AI assistants typically bypass.
A digital marketing agency can assist you in tweaking the way you write so that it still reflects who you are, but in a way that is more conversational. More useful. More engaging.
Even a simple expression such as “Let’s be real for a second…” can add a warm touch to your content. Conversational AI tends to respond positively to this type of tone.
It doesn’t want to digest a dissertation. It wants something it can talk about.
Conversational Intent: The Signal You Should Respond to
A key component of optimising for conversational AI is identifying conversational intent, the emotional undertones of a query. That area has been largely neglected in traditional SEO.
This is how it plays out in reality:
Query 1:
“Best Accountants Sydney”
Intent: Practical. Neutral. Straightforward.
Query 2:
“How do I choose an accountant who won’t rip me off?”
Intent: Anxious. Cost-conscious. Possibly Overwhelmed.
Query 3:
“Can someone explain accounting to me like I’m a child?”
Intent: Confused. Seeking Simplicity. Possibly Embarrassed.
While a conversationally optimised page may not provide an equal response to all three queries, a digital marketing agency will help you reorganise your content so that each emotional element is addressed.
This is exactly what AI assistants look for, clear, user-friendly responses that reflect the user’s mood.
Why Old-School Keyword Lists Are Not Enough Anymore
Keywords are still somewhat relevant. However, relying solely on them is similar to using a lawn mower engine to compete in a modern racing competition. Conversational AI is looking for themes, meaning, and phrasing patterns.
These are things you can’t capture by a keyword list alone.
Users Type:
- “How do I fix this?”
- “Who Can Help With…?”
- “What Is the Easiest Way to…?”
- “Why Is My Site Doing This OMG?…”
You cannot optimise for every possible iteration of every question. You simply write like a human being, address the main issue, and allow the AI to determine the phrasing. Therefore, good digital marketing agencies prioritise building context rather than creating lists of keywords.
Your Tone Matters More Than You Think
Conversational AI attempts to match tone. If your website presents itself coldly and mechanically, the AI may summarise your content in a similarly unenthusiastic manner, which would likely harm you.
However, if your writing exhibits warmth, personality, and instances where you express yourself plainly, your responses will appear more helpful and less generic.
In some cases, it is beneficial to:
- tell a story
- include a quick anecdote
- insert a small comment that feels natural
- use contractions because real people do
- allow the occasional informal phrase
Tone is not merely fluff. Tone informs AI how you wish to be represented.
That matters a great deal.
So What Will Actually Improve Your Conversational AEO?
Here’s a quick list of what you can prioritise:
- Write like a human being, less like a manual
- Structure pages for clarity, not for a high keyword density
- Add conversational cues (transitions, questions, asides)
- Provide layered answers
- Update pages more frequently
- Use schema only where it truly enhances performance
- Provide helpful, grounded explanations
- Provide examples that feel real and not hypothetical
- Remove unnecessary verbiage (AI dislikes unnecessary waffle almost as much as humans do)
These may seem elementary. They are not. There is skill involved in creating content that is both conversational and performs well.
One Final Thought: Do Not Fear to Sound Like… Yourself
There exists a common myth that content should sound stiff, perfect, and serene to rank well. While that may have held merit during the early days of the keyword era, it is outdated now.
Conversational AI thrives on content that is sincere, helpful, and somewhat spontaneous. It seeks clarity. It seeks your personality. It seeks your brand voice.
You do not need to pretend to be a professor delivering a lecture at a podium.
You can present yourself as a genuine business speaking to real people, since that is precisely what AI tools are attempting to simulate.
A digital marketing agency can guide you through these various elements, refine your tone, and reshape your pages in a way that will facilitate your content being consumed in an environment where users are not browsing, but conversing.
And is this not the direction in which we have been progressing for several years?
Content that reads as a conversation, even when the individual on the other side is not an individual at all.