I’ve been hearing vaguely about LEO (LLM Engine Optimization), I thought there was no secret to it but what you just described explains that there is a recipe to actually improve website presence to AI. I think this is a really nice breakdown, and I cannot wait to implement some of this, especially by starting to uploade my sitemap to Bing for sure, thanks Jenny!
Thank you for sharing your thoughts, Wyndo! Yes, there’s definitely a recipe, and probably more still to uncover. Excited to see how your experiments turn out!
Impressive overview, Jenny! I'm not adept at programming, but this was pretty straightforward to follow. It appears that AI favors well-written, well-structured writing that has more depth and more "digestable" elements that human readers also like.
It also sounds like knowing how to make clear, concise overviews and strong hooks are going to help a lot outside of the backend work that needs to be done.
I've noticed in my own AI tinkering that it has referenced a lot of my Medium work when I ask it something that I'm reflecting on so there's another reason to consider not ditching Medium altogether.
Thank you so much for the thoughtful comment, Vince!
Yes, I’ve noticed the same, Medium seems to have solid SEO baked in, whether by design or legacy. I’m not sure how intentional it is, but my content definitely tends to surface more reliably from Medium than Substack. Makes me hesitant to ditch it too!
Excellent breakdown, Jenny! I love how you dive into the complexity of these systems while still keeping everything defined and understandable for anyone.
Thank you, Jenny, for such a thoughtful and practical deep dive into how AI search actually works. I really appreciated your transparency and real-life examples. Indeed, simpler, server-rendered sites can outperform flashier tools in AI visibility. Your clear breakdown of RAG systems and actionable tips on structured data and SSR are incredibly helpful for anyone building digital products today. It’s a must-read for builders aiming to stay relevant in the AI-first search era.
I’ve mostly used Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools myself.
I’ve heard good things about Ahrefs, Semrush, and even Screaming Frog for site audits, though I haven’t gone deep with them yet. Let me know if you’ve tried any out!
I also built an ai tool it Automatically converts your newsletter into social media posts for all platforms, has 4 tone options for each platform, comes with an editor and draft comparison and storage dashboard you can edit compare and finalize all in one place
So much I didn’t know, this is a total gem!! I haven’t seen a more actionable or clearer deep dive on AI visibility anywhere. Would love to see a step-by-step breakdown or even a screen recording of the changes you made (but honestly, I’ll probably just troubleshoot with AI in the meantime). Definitely bookmarking this as a checklist. Thank you so much for sharing it, Jenny!
Thanks for this structured breakdown. I am a content marketer, and most businesses have been crazy about appearing in ChatGPT. I agree with some of the structural things here that you mention, but I feel the most overlooked aspect of getting into these LLMs as of now is simply brand mentions, or as SEOs would call—backlinks.
ChatGPT even reveals the JSON file in its answers (as of now). Google's AI overviews don't. And you can pretty much see its reasoning on how it's fetching the content. As you rightly pointed out, ChatGPT relies on Bing. Specifically, you can use that JSON to view the specific Bing queries that ChatGPT conducts. This is especially relevant for commercial queries like "best analytics tools for Substack." Currently, LLM optimization is largely similar to SEO.
Wow, thanks for educating me on this! I agree that backlinks are a very powerful method, possibly even more powerful now? Since LLMs can follow up on those backlinks, unlike how traditional search engines treat them.
But yes, it’s so reassuring to hear from your expertise that GEO is still largely SEO.
Yeah i mean backlinks are all about getting your word going and now they have kind of become a digital form of good old PR. I feel mostly LLM algorithms are still evolving, we know one thing that brand mentions on other websites matter :)
This is very useful, Jenny. Since the day AI appeared, search habits have changed a lot. I’ve caught myself using AI a lot for searching. I’ll follow your detailed steps to optimize my Substack for better discoverability by AI.
Glad this post resonated, Luan! It’s wild to look back (just a couple of years ago) and see just how much AI has already reshaped our everyday habits. I have no doubt it’s only going to keep changing the way we work and live.
I’ve been hearing vaguely about LEO (LLM Engine Optimization), I thought there was no secret to it but what you just described explains that there is a recipe to actually improve website presence to AI. I think this is a really nice breakdown, and I cannot wait to implement some of this, especially by starting to uploade my sitemap to Bing for sure, thanks Jenny!
Thank you for sharing your thoughts, Wyndo! Yes, there’s definitely a recipe, and probably more still to uncover. Excited to see how your experiments turn out!
Impressive overview, Jenny! I'm not adept at programming, but this was pretty straightforward to follow. It appears that AI favors well-written, well-structured writing that has more depth and more "digestable" elements that human readers also like.
It also sounds like knowing how to make clear, concise overviews and strong hooks are going to help a lot outside of the backend work that needs to be done.
I've noticed in my own AI tinkering that it has referenced a lot of my Medium work when I ask it something that I'm reflecting on so there's another reason to consider not ditching Medium altogether.
Thank you so much for the thoughtful comment, Vince!
Yes, I’ve noticed the same, Medium seems to have solid SEO baked in, whether by design or legacy. I’m not sure how intentional it is, but my content definitely tends to surface more reliably from Medium than Substack. Makes me hesitant to ditch it too!
Ugh ChatGPT found me and I was conflated with other Kelly Thompsons: my work listed with theirs as though we’re one person!
Oh no!! Definitely time to get ChatGPT to fix that 😅
I’ve had name collisions too, adding “tech person” or “programmer” usually helps narrow it down. Did you try to ask more specifically?
Yes
Thanks for sharing Jenny!
You are always welcome Harrison! Really appreciate your comment.
Wow… saving this one for continued reference. Incredible analysis as always 👊🏻
Thank you Kyle! Glad this can be helpful! Ask me anything down the road!
Excellent breakdown, Jenny! I love how you dive into the complexity of these systems while still keeping everything defined and understandable for anyone.
Thank you Joel! That means a lot, especially since making it clear and useful was the goal. Glad it landed that way!
Thank you, Jenny, for such a thoughtful and practical deep dive into how AI search actually works. I really appreciated your transparency and real-life examples. Indeed, simpler, server-rendered sites can outperform flashier tools in AI visibility. Your clear breakdown of RAG systems and actionable tips on structured data and SSR are incredibly helpful for anyone building digital products today. It’s a must-read for builders aiming to stay relevant in the AI-first search era.
Thank you so much for the comment, Tom!
I’m really glad the breakdowns and examples resonated.
Favorite line: “AI Doesn’t Crawl the Web Like Google—It Borrows”
Thanks for this. Already implemented several improvements. Do have any recommendations besides Ahrefs to track progress?
Thanks, Daniel!
I’ve mostly used Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools myself.
I’ve heard good things about Ahrefs, Semrush, and even Screaming Frog for site audits, though I haven’t gone deep with them yet. Let me know if you’ve tried any out!
I'm going to take Ahrefs for a spin, will let you know!
Thank you for sharing this amazing piece 👍
Glad it can be useful!
great write up!
Thanks George!
I also built an ai tool it Automatically converts your newsletter into social media posts for all platforms, has 4 tone options for each platform, comes with an editor and draft comparison and storage dashboard you can edit compare and finalize all in one place
Great! Is it public?
Yes
https://postpilot-omega.vercel.app/
So much I didn’t know, this is a total gem!! I haven’t seen a more actionable or clearer deep dive on AI visibility anywhere. Would love to see a step-by-step breakdown or even a screen recording of the changes you made (but honestly, I’ll probably just troubleshoot with AI in the meantime). Definitely bookmarking this as a checklist. Thank you so much for sharing it, Jenny!
Really appreciate you, as always!
And yes, you’re absolutely right about the reality of troubleshooting with AI in the meantime 😄
You’re totally nailing it!
Hey hey Jenny,
Thanks for this structured breakdown. I am a content marketer, and most businesses have been crazy about appearing in ChatGPT. I agree with some of the structural things here that you mention, but I feel the most overlooked aspect of getting into these LLMs as of now is simply brand mentions, or as SEOs would call—backlinks.
ChatGPT even reveals the JSON file in its answers (as of now). Google's AI overviews don't. And you can pretty much see its reasoning on how it's fetching the content. As you rightly pointed out, ChatGPT relies on Bing. Specifically, you can use that JSON to view the specific Bing queries that ChatGPT conducts. This is especially relevant for commercial queries like "best analytics tools for Substack." Currently, LLM optimization is largely similar to SEO.
Wow, thanks for educating me on this! I agree that backlinks are a very powerful method, possibly even more powerful now? Since LLMs can follow up on those backlinks, unlike how traditional search engines treat them.
But yes, it’s so reassuring to hear from your expertise that GEO is still largely SEO.
Yeah i mean backlinks are all about getting your word going and now they have kind of become a digital form of good old PR. I feel mostly LLM algorithms are still evolving, we know one thing that brand mentions on other websites matter :)
This is very useful, Jenny. Since the day AI appeared, search habits have changed a lot. I’ve caught myself using AI a lot for searching. I’ll follow your detailed steps to optimize my Substack for better discoverability by AI.
Glad this post resonated, Luan! It’s wild to look back (just a couple of years ago) and see just how much AI has already reshaped our everyday habits. I have no doubt it’s only going to keep changing the way we work and live.
Good Overview, needed it
Glad it is useful!
Your tips on RAG and making content crawler-friendly are gold. I’m already rethinking my own stuff. Thanks for digging into this!
Glad it resonated!