How Do LLMs Choose Which Websites to Cite in AI Search Results?

As the owner of Central Coast SEO, I have spent a lot of time thinking about what happens to SEO when the search result is no longer simply a list of websites.

Google, ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and other AI systems are increasingly capable of answering questions by finding information from multiple sources and combining it into a response. This means a customer may never perform a traditional search in the way we have become accustomed to. Instead, they might ask an AI system which local business is best, which service they should choose or how to solve a particular problem.

The obvious question for a small business owner is therefore: how does an AI system decide which websites and businesses it trusts enough to use?

There is no single universal formula, and different AI systems behave differently. However, research into AI citations points towards several important characteristics, including relevance, topical depth, content structure, authority, freshness and brand recognition.

For me, this does not mean throwing traditional SEO out the window. It means expanding what we consider SEO to include.

AI Search Starts With Retrieval

One of the most important concepts behind AI search is Retrieval-Augmented Generation, commonly known as RAG.

In simple terms, an AI system can take a user’s question, break it down into related searches, retrieve potentially relevant information and then select sources before constructing its answer. The important distinction is that being available to an AI system is not necessarily the same as being selected by it.

That distinction is incredibly important for small businesses.

Your website might technically be accessible to an AI crawler, but if another website provides a clearer, more authoritative or more relevant answer, there is no reason for the AI system to choose yours.

I therefore think about AI SEO in two stages. First, can the system find you? Secondly, once it finds you, is there a compelling reason to use you?

Relevance Is Still King

The first thing I would focus on is relevance.

If someone asks an AI system a question about commercial refrigeration in Sydney, a page that comprehensively explains commercial refrigeration services is much more useful than a generic homepage containing the phrase “commercial refrigeration Sydney” twenty times.

This is where semantic search becomes important.

AI systems can understand relationships between concepts rather than simply matching individual keywords. That means I would encourage small businesses to stop obsessing over exact keyword repetition and start building genuine topical depth.

If you provide a particular service, your website should explain that service properly.

It should cover the problems customers experience, the solutions available, the considerations involved, the process, costs where appropriate and the questions people commonly ask.

That creates a much stronger source of information than a thin page written primarily for search engines.

Give Every Section a Clear Answer

One of the most practical lessons I take from research into AI citations is the importance of making information easy to extract.

AI systems do not necessarily need to understand an entire article before using a particular passage. They can identify individual pieces of information that help answer the user’s question.

This means I prefer content where important sections can stand on their own.

If a page has a heading asking, “How long does SEO take?”, the paragraph immediately underneath should actually answer that question.

I do not want the reader to navigate through three paragraphs of introduction before reaching the useful information.

This is good writing anyway, but it also makes content much more suitable for AI retrieval.

Topical Authority Beats Isolated Articles

Another area I would prioritise for small businesses is topical authority.

Suppose a Sydney accounting firm has one article about business tax. That is useful, but it does not provide much evidence that the business has comprehensive knowledge of the subject.

Now imagine the same firm has detailed resources covering business structures, BAS, GST, payroll, tax deductions, cash flow, financial reporting and common mistakes made by small businesses.

That creates a much stronger information ecosystem.

The individual pages can support one another through internal links, while the overall website demonstrates genuine knowledge of the subject.

I have always considered this important for traditional SEO. With AI search, I believe it becomes even more valuable because AI systems can retrieve information from different parts of a website when constructing an answer.

Original Information Is Extremely Valuable

This is one area where I think small businesses can potentially compete very effectively with much larger companies.

Generic information is everywhere.

Original information is not.

If you have your own customer data, case studies, research, surveys, benchmarks or observations from years of working in an industry, you have something that another website cannot simply reproduce.

I would actively encourage businesses to publish that information.

A plumber might analyse the most common emergency call-outs they receive. An SEO agency might publish anonymised results from campaigns. An accountant might analyse common mistakes made by new businesses.

This gives AI systems specific claims and information that can be attributed to your business rather than generic statements that appear on thousands of websites.

Authority Extends Beyond Backlinks

This is where my view of link building has evolved alongside AI search.

I still believe backlinks are incredibly important to traditional SEO. They remain one of the strongest ways of demonstrating that other websites consider your content worthy of reference.

However, AI search introduces a broader concept of authority.

Brand recognition, mentions, discussions and references across the web can all contribute to the picture an AI system builds around your business.

If your company is mentioned by respected industry websites, local publications, organisations and other relevant sources, your authority exists beyond your own domain.

That is why I would not treat link building as simply a numbers game.

A handful of relevant, authoritative references can be much more meaningful than hundreds of unrelated links.

Build Your Brand Outside Google

I think this is one of the biggest opportunities for small businesses.

For years, many companies have approached SEO as though their website exists in isolation. They optimise their pages, build some links and monitor rankings.

AI search makes the wider web considerably more important.

If your company name consistently appears alongside your services and location across reputable websites, you are creating a much clearer digital identity.

This is particularly powerful for local businesses.

A Sydney business should be consistently represented as a Sydney business. Its name, services, contact information and areas of operation should be accurate across relevant directories, publications, business profiles and industry websites.

The objective is to make the entire internet tell the same story about your company.

Freshness Matters Too

I also think businesses need to stop treating content as something they publish once and forget.

AI search can have a strong preference for recent information, particularly when the subject changes frequently.

A page about a relatively stable concept might remain useful for years, but information about technology, regulations, pricing, products or industry developments can become outdated quickly.

I therefore recommend reviewing important content regularly.

That does not mean changing an article simply to make it look fresh. It means actually improving it when new information, evidence or experience becomes available.

The goal is to remain the best available source.

Different AI Platforms Behave Differently

One mistake I would avoid is assuming that there is one universal AI ranking system.

Different platforms can favour different types of sources.

Some may place greater emphasis on established authoritative websites. Others may draw more heavily from community discussions, reviews or other forms of online content.

That means I would not build a strategy around trying to “rank in AI” as though AI search were one enormous search engine.

Instead, I would build a strong digital presence capable of performing across multiple environments.

That means excellent content, strong technical SEO, authoritative backlinks, brand mentions, local citations and genuine expertise.

What Does This Mean for Small Businesses?

Ultimately, I think the fundamentals are surprisingly straightforward.

Be the business that knows its subject.

Explain that knowledge properly.

Answer customer questions directly.

Build comprehensive coverage around your specialist areas.

Publish information that is genuinely original where possible.

Earn recognition from other credible websites.

Keep your information accurate and current.

And make sure search engines can actually access your content.

This is not fundamentally different from good SEO. The difference is that the definition of visibility is expanding.

My Approach to AI Search Optimisation

If I were developing an AI search strategy for a small business today, I would begin with its existing SEO rather than creating an entirely separate campaign.

I would analyse the business’s most valuable services and the questions customers ask before purchasing them. I would examine existing content and identify where it is too thin, vague or outdated.

I would then build topical depth around those subjects while improving the technical structure of the website.

From there, I would work on authority outside the website through relevant link building, digital PR, citations and genuine brand mentions.

Finally, I would monitor how the business appears across AI platforms and look for patterns in the sources being cited by competitors.

The objective is not to trick an AI into mentioning the business.

The objective is to make the business a credible source of information that an AI system has a genuine reason to select.

My Final Perspective

I do not think AI search makes SEO less important.

I think it makes poor SEO less sustainable.

A website stuffed with keywords but containing little useful information is unlikely to become a trusted source. A business with genuine expertise, comprehensive content, strong technical foundations and a credible reputation has a much better opportunity.

For small businesses, this is encouraging.

You may not have the resources of a multinational corporation, but you possess something incredibly valuable: first-hand knowledge of your industry and customers.

The businesses that turn that knowledge into useful information, support it with genuine authority and build a consistent reputation across the web will be in a much stronger position as search continues moving from rankings towards answers.

That is the direction I believe SEO is heading, and it is why I see AI search not as the death of SEO, but as another reason to do SEO properly.

If you want to build an SEO strategy that improves your visibility across Google and the growing AI search ecosystem, contact Central Coast SEO today and let us help turn your expertise into a stronger digital authority.