SEO Free course · Certificate included
AI Search Optimization: SEO for AI Overviews & Answer Engines
How AI Overviews, AI Mode, ChatGPT, Copilot and Perplexity retrieve and cite sources — and evidence-based ways to earn visibility
- Advanced
- 7 h 4 min
- 17 lessons in 7 modules
- 2 h 26 min of video lectures
- Updated Sep 2026
About this course
Customers increasingly ask Google's AI Overviews and AI Mode, ChatGPT, Copilot, Perplexity, Gemini and Claude for answers and recommendations. This advanced course explains — honestly and in depth — how these systems retrieve, select, synthesise and cite web content, and what you can do to be a strong, accurate candidate for inclusion.
Updated for September 2026, it covers Google's official guide for its generative AI features, the new Search Console generative AI report and opt-out control, Bing Webmaster Tools' AI Performance report, and the spam-policy update on manipulating AI answers. You will write answer-first, verifiable content; make content accessible to crawlers that don't run JavaScript; align structured data and product feeds; strengthen entity clarity and third-party corroboration; configure AI crawler controls (robots.txt tokens, Content Signals, llms.txt's real status); analyse and verify AI bots in logs; and measure visibility with GA4, first-party reports and an automated prompt panel. The course closes with agentic search and a 90-day playbook.
Tools you’ll use
- Google Search Console
- Bing Webmaster Tools
- Google Analytics 4
- Screaming Frog SEO Spider
- Chrome DevTools
- Lighthouse
- Rich Results Test
- Schema Markup Validator
- Google Merchant Center
- Cloudflare
- OpenAI API
- Perplexity Sonar API
- Python
- pandas
Skills
- Generative engine optimization
- Answer engine optimization
- AI search
- Entity SEO
- AI crawler management
- AI visibility measurement
- Log-file analysis
- Content strategy
What you’ll be able to do
- Explain how AI answer engines retrieve, select passages, generate and cite sources, including query fan-out
- Write answer-first, specific, verifiable content and align structured data and product feeds
- Make key content accessible to AI crawlers and verify AI bot access and identity in server logs
- Configure AI crawler controls and Google's AI opt-out deliberately in a documented access policy
- Measure AI visibility with GA4, Search Console and Bing AI reports, and an automated prompt panel
- Strengthen entity clarity and earn legitimate third-party corroboration without astroturfing
- Separate evidence from hype, avoid AI-manipulation spam, and prepare sites for AI agents
Curriculum
Syllabus
- Modules
- 7
- Lessons
- 17
- Reading time
- 4 h
- Assessment questions
- 30
A conceptual model of how AI answer engines retrieve, synthesise and cite sources, and a map of the 2026 landscape.
- How answer engines retrieve and cite sourcesVideo lecture, 9′14 min
- The AI search landscape in 2026Video lecture, 9′Video · 13 min
- Google's AI features: official guidance, reports and the opt-out controlVideo lecture, 9′16 min
Write content that retrieval systems can extract and trust, and make pages technically easy for AI crawlers to access.
- Writing citable content: clear, quotable, verifiableVideo lecture, 9′14 min
- Technical accessibility for AI retrievalVideo lecture, 9′12 min
- Structured data, entity markup and product feeds for AI surfacesVideo lecture, 9′16 min
Make sure AI systems understand who you are, and earn corroborating mentions in the sources that answers draw on.
- Entity clarity and brand consensusVideo lecture, 9′12 min
- Earning mentions in the sources AI answers draw onVideo lecture, 9′13 min
Understand the AI crawler tokens, what each controls, the status of llms.txt, and how to choose an access policy that fits your business.
- AI crawlers and robots.txt: tokens and what they controlVideo lecture, 8′14 min
- llms.txt, snippet controls and choosing your AI access policyVideo lecture, 8′12 min
- AI bot log analysis: who's crawling, what they get, and are they real?Video lecture, 8′16 min
Measure AI referral traffic, sample AI answers systematically, and report visibility honestly given immature tooling.
- Measuring AI referrals and visibilityVideo lecture, 8′13 min
- Automating a prompt panel with AI search APIsVideo lecture, 9′16 min
- Building an AI visibility programmeVideo lecture, 9′12 min
Separate evidence from marketing claims, avoid manipulative tactics that breach policies, and build a durable AI search strategy.
- Myths, manipulation and what not to believeVideo lecture, 8′13 min
- An AI search strategy playbookVideo lecture, 8′12 min
AI agents that browse, compare and buy for users: what exists in 2026, what is outlook, and how accessibility, data quality and bot management make a site agent-ready.
- Agents, agentic browsing and the agent-ready webVideo lecture, 8′15 min
- Final assessment
Your certificate
Finish with a credential anyone can check
Earn the Certified AI Search Optimization Specialist badge: The holder understands how AI search and answer engines retrieve and cite sources, and can apply evidence-based GEO practices: citable content, technical accessibility, entity clarity, third-party corroboration, deliberate AI crawler policies and honest measurement of AI visibility.
Completed all lessons and scored ≥ 80% on the final assessment.
- A public verification page
- A PDF certificate to download
- An Open Badge you can share
- One click to your LinkedIn profile
Final assessment
- 30questions drawn from a larger pool
- 45 mintime limit
- 80%pass mark
- 3attempts per 24 hours
Start learning today. It’s free.
Every lesson is free to read. A free account saves your progress, unlocks the final assessment and issues your certificate.