Source note · AI search / 2 MIN READ
Google’s AI search guidance starts with a website people can use.
An evergreen purchasing checklist: establish crawlable pages, supported claims and an honest measurement plan before paying for Google AI-search visibility.
ACT on missing search fundamentals. PASS on a promise that a special file or schema guarantees Google AI placement. This guide concerns eligibility; the separate rollout briefing concerns the new reporting controls.
What is checked
Google Search Central says ordinary SEO fundamentals apply to AI Overviews and AI Mode, with no special AI file or schema required. Eligibility does not guarantee inclusion. No client experiment is reported here.
What this cannot prove
This Google guidance does not establish rules for every AI engine, supplier recommendation or sales outcome. We have not measured client rankings, answer citations or enquiries for this note.
The source says less—and more—than a sales deck
Google’s guidance describes eligibility through ordinary search requirements: the page must be indexed and eligible for a search snippet. It does not require an additional AI-specific file or special structured-data format. Eligible pages are still not guaranteed an appearance.
For a business owner, that distinction separates a technical prerequisite from a purchased outcome. A supplier can investigate pages and improve their explanations; an inclusion guarantee needs evidence that this guidance does not provide.
What to measure before changing the site
Make a short list of the pages that explain what you sell. Check whether their important text can be crawled, whether the pages are indexed, and whether the visible scope matches the evidence. Ask what customer question each page answers.
Keep three results separate: page eligibility, an observed citation for a dated question, and a qualified enquiry. Record the engine, query, country and language for citation observations. Google-specific checks do not prove visibility in other assistants.
The business decision
ACT if key pages are blocked, thin or unclear. Ask for a baseline and a list of changes you can inspect. WATCH if the basics are sound but no relevant query set has been measured; define that set before buying another package.
PASS if the offer is only a magic file or a guaranteed AI answer placement. This evergreen checklist is for choosing the work. The linked Google rollout briefing explains a separate question: what the announced reporting and controls can tell a site owner.
Sources and artefacts
APPLY THE METHOD TO YOUR BUSINESS
A useful answer starts with your own evidence.
If your decision is whether owned pages are eligible and useful for your buyers, request the AI visibility audit scope. It is an investigation, not guaranteed inclusion or ad placement.
See the AI visibility audit ↗Service details and current pricing are on VKVstudio.com. Project scope and agreements are handled by email.