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Want AI Search to Love Your Content? Master These 2 Rules

Why ChatGPT Never Mentions Your Business (And How to Fix It)

The Problem Most Businesses Don't See Coming

Here's what's happening right now while you're reading this:

• Someone is asking ChatGPT for advice in your industry

• Another person is searching Perplexity for solutions you provide

• A third person is asking Claude about problems you solve

And your business isn't getting mentioned in any of those conversations.

Why? Because your content fails two critical rules that AI search engines use to decide what's worth quoting.

The Brutal Reality Check

Most businesses are creating content that AI systems completely ignore.

You're spending 50+ hours a month on:

• Blog posts optimized for Google

• How-to guides with perfect keyword density

• Case studies with internal linking

• White papers with meta descriptions

But none of it gets quoted by AI search engines.

Meanwhile, your competitors who understand AI search are becoming the go-to sources in your industry.

The shift is already happening:

• 30-40% of search queries moving to AI platforms

• Some industries seeing even higher percentages

• Traditional SEO becoming less effective daily

How AI Search Actually Works (The Simple Version)

AI search engines use something called RAG aka Retrieval-Augmented Generation.

Here's what that means in plain English:

When someone asks ChatGPT a question, it:

• Searches for relevant information across the web

• Breaks that information into small "chunks"

• Analyzes each chunk independently

• Uses the best chunks to generate an answer

The problem? Most business content is structured for human reading, not AI processing.

Humans can:

• Follow long narratives

• Piece together context from multiple paragraphs

• Read between the lines

AI systems can't do that.

They need:

• Clear, standalone statements

• Context that doesn't rely on previous paragraphs

• Information served in specific ways

Rule #1: Make Your Content Quotable

Quotable content can stand alone as complete, useful information.

Non-quotable content sounds like this: "Our innovative approach helps businesses leverage cutting-edge strategies to maximize their potential and achieve unprecedented growth."

Quotable content sounds like this: "Email campaigns with personalized subject lines generate 26% higher open rates than generic subject lines, according to Campaign Monitor's 2024 study."

What Makes Content Quotable:

• Specific numbers and percentages instead of vague claims

• Clear sources and attribution for all data points

• Definitive statements rather than wishy-washy language

• Direct, jargon-free language a 12-year-old could understand

• Concrete examples instead of abstract concepts

Quick Test:

Can you imagine an AI confidently quoting your sentence to answer someone's question? If not, it's not quotable enough.

Rule #2: Make Your Content Chunkable

AI systems break your content into pieces and analyze each piece separately.

The problem with most business content:

• Written as one flowing narrative

• Each section builds on the previous one

• Later paragraphs reference earlier concepts

• Information only makes sense when read completely

What AI systems need:

• Each section stands alone

• Clear headers that indicate content

• Standalone information blocks

• No confusing pronoun references

How to Make Content Chunkable:

Use clear, descriptive headers:

• ❌ "The Secret Sauce"

• ✅ "How to Calculate Customer Lifetime Value"

Start sections with topic sentences:

• ❌ Jump straight into technical details

• ✅ "There are three main factors that determine email deliverability rates"

Create standalone information blocks:

• Each paragraph should be useful by itself

• Include complete context within each section

• Avoid references to "earlier" or "above"

Apply the random chunk test: Could someone start reading at any section and still get valuable information?

The SAFE Content Framework

This framework brings everything together for AI-friendly content:

S - Straightforward

• Get to the point quickly

• No unnecessary complexity

• Clear main points with evidence

A - Authentic

• Based on real experience and data

• Specific examples from your work

• Original insights, not regurgitated content

F - Functional

• Serves a clear purpose

• Provides practical value

• Answers real questions people ask

E - Executable

• Clear, actionable steps

• Specific tools and resources

• Measurable outcomes

Example of SAFE content: "Send new customers a welcome email within 2 hours of purchase, follow up with product tips after 1 week, and request a review after 30 days. This sequence increases repeat purchases by 23% based on our analysis of 10,000 customer interactions."

Implementation Checklist

Audit Your Existing Content:

• Can AI systems easily quote specific statements?

• Are there clear, standalone pieces of information?

• Does content follow the SAFE framework?

• Are headers descriptive rather than clever?

Quick Wins You Can Implement Today:

• Add concrete numbers where you have vague statements

• Break up long paragraphs into shorter, clearer ones

• Include more direct, quotable statements

• Create better headers that indicate content clearly

For New Content:

• Start with specific questions you're answering

• Organize information into standalone chunks

• Use the random chunk test while writing

• Include recent data with proper attribution

The Bottom Line

Companies getting quoted by ChatGPT and Claude aren't necessarily the biggest or most established.

They're the ones creating content that works with AI retrieval systems.

Two rules:

1. Quotable - specific, clear, standalone statements

2. Chunkable - structured so each section works independently

One framework: SAFE - Straightforward, Authentic, Functional, Executable

The shift to AI search is happening whether you're ready or not.

Companies optimizing for it now will dominate their industries.

Companies ignoring it will become invisible.

Questions about implementing these strategies?

Reply to this email - I read every response and often answer personally.

Jason Patel
Co-founder & CEO, Open Forge AI
We help your business get seen, cited, and selected by AI search engines.

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