Why an AI assistant reads your website differently

More and more people are no longer asking their questions to Google, but to an AI assistant like ChatGPT or Copilot. They don't type "plumber Utrecht emergency", but ask: "which plumber in Utrecht can come by today". That's a different kind of search, and it requires something different from your website. Google has spent years getting used to search keywords. Websites were written with those words in mind, scattered across titles, subheadings and text. That still works, but an AI assistant does something different. It reads your entire page, tries to understand what your business stands for, and gives a summary of that to the person who asked the question. It's not searching for a word, it's searching for an answer. What does this mean for your text It means that vague or promotional texts work less well. Sentences like "we stand for quality and service" tell an AI assistant little, because there's no concrete fact in it. Better to simply tell what you do, for whom, and under what conditions. Do you work in a specific area? Name the places. Do you have an emergency service? Say until what time. Do you charge call-out fees? Add it. An AI assistant cannot call to ask about something. It uses what is literally on the page. If something isn't there, it simply won't be included in the answer to the user. That's different from a customer who browses your site themselves and sends a quick email if something isn't clear. A practical example Suppose you have an installation company. On your website it says: "We are specialists in sustainable installations with years of experience." That sounds great, but an AI assistant can do little with it. Replace it with something like: "We install heat pumps and solar panels in the Arnhem region and surroundings, and have been in business since 2009." Now there's a fact, an area and a time reference. That's useful information, both for a person and for an assistant trying to summarize what you do. This doesn't mean you have to fill your site with lists. The point is that the core of your service delivery is described somewhere clearly and factually, preferably in regular sentences. A page that is clear to a curious customer is usually also clear to an AI assistant. What you can do today Get the text from your homepage or services page and read it as if you knew nothing about your business. Is there somewhere concrete what you do, where, and under what conditions? If not, that's the place to start. Not because it's required, but because it benefits the visibility of your business, with Google and with AI assistants.