Write for people, then AI will understand it too

More and more people are no longer searching on Google, but asking something to ChatGPT or a similar assistant. Someone looking for a plumber in Utrecht simply types that in and gets an answer with a few names. Those names come from websites that the assistant was able to read and understand. That reading and understanding is where things often go wrong. Not because the technology falls short, but because many websites are written to impress rather than to explain what exactly happens. Sentences like 'we offer customised total solutions for your specific situation' sound professional, but say nothing. An assistant cannot draw a conclusion from that. What do you actually do, for whom, and where? Why plain language works An AI assistant essentially does the same as a visitor in a hurry: it scans the text for an answer to a question. If somewhere it clearly states 'we repair central heating boilers in the Arnhem region, also on weekends', then that sentence can be used directly. If there is only 'quality and craftsmanship are paramount to us', then there is nothing concrete to work with. The same applies to Google, for longer than it does for AI assistants. Search engines have been trying for years to understand what a page is about, and they do not reward vague text for that. What is new is that AI assistants also have to be able to summarise that information in an answer of a few sentences. The more explicit your text, the easier that summarising becomes, and the greater the chance that your company ends up in that answer. What you can do today You do not need to overhaul your website. Take the most important page, usually the homepage or the page about your services, and read it as if you are a stranger who wants to know exactly what you do. Ask yourself with each sentence: is this a fact, or is this an impression? 'We think along with you' is impression. 'We install solar panels on flat and sloped roofs in the province of Gelderland' is a fact. It helps to simply state what others sometimes leave out because it seems obvious: which locations you serve, which products or services you exactly provide, and who it is intended for. A small business that only serves businesses may as well say so, rather than hope that a reader will figure it out themselves. You do not need to do this for the entire site at once. Start with the page that is visited most often, or the page that most clearly shows what you offer. Read it aloud. If you think about a sentence 'anyone could say this', that is the sign to make it more concrete. Clear language is therefore not only more pleasant for the people visiting your site. It is also the simplest way to ensure that a search engine or an AI assistant can find your company and explain what you do, without you having to build anything complicated for that.