How to Create Content That is Found by Voice and AI Search

Introduction

If you own a small business, you  know the struggle of standing out online. The competition for attention is fierce, and with the rise of voice search and AI-driven assistants like Siri, Alexa, ChatGPT and Perplexity, it shows the search sources are shifting.

What do you do to make sure your business is the one people find when they ask their devices for help? Easier said than done, but writing content that’s tuned for the way people actually speak. Let’s break down practical strategies to help your business show up in AI-powered search results and turn those searches into leads.

The Rise of Voice and AI Search (And Why It Matters)

Voice search isn’t the future—it’s already here. In fact, Juniper Research predicted that in 2024, there were more digital voice assistants in use than people on the planet—8.4 billion, to be exact.

People use voice search because it’s easy. They ask their devices for quick answers while cooking, driving, or walking into a store. But here’s the catch: the way people speak is very different from the way they type.

Traditional SEO—filling web pages with keywords like “best plumbing services New York” used to work, but not so much anymore. Why? Because a real person would be more likely to ask, “Hey Google, who’s the best plumber near me?”

This shift means businesses need to rethink their content strategy. Instead of focusing only on keywords, you need to focus on conversations.

Step 1: Think Like Your Audience

Imagine a potential customer asking an AI assistant about your business. What would they say?

Your job is to ask yourself these questions and answer them in your content. A great place to start is by researching common customer questions in your niche. Free tools like AnswerThePublic can show you what people are searching for.

For example, if you own a local bakery, your customers might ask:

✅ “Where’s the best bakery near me?”
✅ “What’s the secret to baking soft sourdough bread?”
✅ “Does [your bakery name] offer gluten-free options?”

By tailoring your content to directly answer these kinds of queries, you increase your chances of showing up in voice search results.

Step 2: Write Like You Speak

Once you know what your potential customer is asking, it’s time to create content that sounds natural.

Here’s an easy rule: Write like you’re having a conversation, not like you’re feeding keywords to a search engine.

Think about it—if you needed a plumber, would you type “affordable plumbers New York” or ask “Where can I find a reliable plumber in New York?”

Search engines are prioritizing content that mirrors real speech. That means:

✅ Using long-tail keywords that sound natural (“best way to clean hardwood floors” instead of “hardwood floor cleaning”).
✅ Putting content in a question-answer format (FAQs work great for this!).
✅ Keeping sentences short, clear, and conversational—avoid things that sound forced.

Step 3: Use Structured Data to Boost Visibility

It doesn’t matter how good your content is if search engines don’t understand it. That’s where structured data (aka schema markup) comes in.

By structuring data on your website, you’re giving search engines extra details about your content, which increases the chances of showing up in AI-powered search results.

How to do this:

• Use Google’s Structured Data Markup Helper to categorize key elements on your website.

• Create FAQ sections with short, clear answers (voice assistants love these!).

• Format content for featured snippets—those quick answers you see at the top of Google search results.

Step 4: Track, Analyze, and Adjust

Once your content is formatted, structured and optimized for voice and AI search,you need to monitor how it’s performing.

✅ Use Google Analytics and Search Console to track how people are finding your site.
✅ Check if you’re getting traffic from voice queries (look for long, conversational search phrases of more than 8 words).
✅ Spy on your competitors—if they’re ranking higher, study what they’re doing and refine your approach.

As search trends change, your approach to formatting your content needs to be adjusted.. The businesses that stay ahead are the ones that keep testing and tweaking.

Conclusion: Get Started Today

Being found by voice and AI search isn’t about gaming the system—it’s about answering  customers' questions in a natural and conversational manner..

To sum this up:
✅ Focus on conversational search terms, not outdated keyword stuffing.
✅ Write content that sounds natural and directly answers common questions.
✅ Use structured data to make your content easier for search engines to understand.
✅ Track results, adjust, and keep improving.

Like the old saying, “When’s the best time to plant a tree…”, when’s the best time to optimize for AI-driven search? Yesterday. The second best time? Right now.

Take a look and read your website out loud today—are you speaking the same language as your customers? If not, now’s the time to start. 🚀