The world of search is full of ghosts this year. Old SEO habits that once brought in traffic but now haunt performance in the age of AI. In 2025, the line between traditional SEO and AI SEO has never been clearer.
Search engines now act more like answer engines, and visibility depends on how well your content can be read, understood, and trusted by large language models (LLMs).
This Halloween, we’re separating the treats, tactics that delight AI, from the tricks that can ruin your rankings.
Treats: What’s working in AI SEO right now
These are the strategies that consistently help content appear in AI Overviews and generative search results across Google, ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity.
1. AI readability & extractability come first
LLMs don’t read content the same way humans do. They scan, chunk, and extract meaning from structured text. The easier your content is to parse, the more likely it is to appear in an AI summary.
| Why it matters | 2025 data point |
| AI systems rely heavily on third-party validation when selecting sources to cite. | According to a 2025 report from Search Engine Journal, earned (third-party) content, such as news articles, reviews, and independent publications, makes up the largest share of sources cited by AI search engines, surpassing both owned brand content and user-generated content (UGC). This shows that external credibility and independent mentions play a bigger role in AI visibility than self-published material. |
How to make your content extractable:
- Write one idea per paragraph (semantic chunking).
- Use subheadings, lists, and tables instead of dense text.
- Keep paragraphs under 100 words and sentences under 20.
Treat tip: Think of your content as an instruction manual for an AI, organized, clean, and logical.
2. Intent & entity mastery
Search is no longer about matching a keyword. AI models analyze entities (people, brands, topics, locations) and how they connect across the web.
| Strategy | Why it works |
| Cover full intent, not just one query | LLMs link related subtopics to improve relevance |
| Include entities like company names, products, and locations | Strengthens topic association and authority |
| Build internal links between related topics | Helps AI understand relationships and hierarchy |
Best practices:
- Cover “core,” “sub,” and “fan-out” queries within your topic cluster.
- Use entity-rich language naturally, not keyword stuffing.
- Link to relevant internal pages for contextual reinforcement.
3. Authority through evidence
Google’s systems and LLMs both value verifiable proof. AI Overviews now favor content backed by credible sources, expert quotes, and clear data.
| Best practice | Why it works |
| Include data, statistics, and citations | Strengthens E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trust) |
| Use recent sources (2024–2025) | Signals freshness to both users and AI |
| Attribute quotes or author credentials | Adds authenticity and human oversight |
Ways to build authority:
- Add updated data and research every quarter.
- Attribute stats to credible organizations.
- Include a “Last Updated” date at the top of each article.
Treat tip: Think like a journalist. Back up claims with facts that LLMs can verify.
4. Technical & contextual reinforcement
Even the best content fails without solid technical SEO. AI crawlers depend on structure, schema, and accessibility to extract information.
| Technical element | Why it matters | How to do it (tip) |
| Schema markup | Helps AI understand page content and context | Use JSON-LD schema from schema.org. Apply Article, FAQ, Organization, and BreadcrumbList markup. Validate using Google’s Rich Results Test. |
| LLMs.txt | Guides ChatGPT, Gemini, and others on how to access and summarize content | Create a llms.txt file in your root directory. Specify crawl rules and preferred summary sections (like /blog/ or /resources/). Similar syntax to robots.txt. |
| Site speed | Improves crawl frequency and engagement | Compress images, enable caching, and use a CDN. Test performance with Google PageSpeed Insights or Lighthouse and fix high-impact issues first. |
| Crawlability | Ensures content can be indexed and extracted | Keep robots.txt open for key content. Maintain an XML sitemap and logical URL structure. Avoid JavaScript-only rendering for critical text. |
| Content discovery | Makes content findable and usable by AI systems | Interlink related topics. Add structured data and last updated timestamps. Submit updated sitemaps after major content changes. |
Quick wins:
- Use schema markup on all core content.
- Optimize images and code for faster load times.
- Check crawlability in GSC and ensure robots.txt isn’t blocking key pages.
- Create an LLM.txt file similar to robots.txt that provides structured access instructions.
5. AI brand visibility
In AI search, brand authority is the new link building. LLMs verify accuracy using third-party data and social signals, not just backlinks.
| Strategy | Why it’s important |
| Official company info page | Controls brand facts used in AI summaries |
| Wikipedia or Knowledge Graph for your company | Confirms legitimacy of your company |
| Reviews & 3rd-party listings | Build trust and improve brand sentiment scores |
| Brand conversation strategy | Join conversations using a tool like Sparktoro to understand what your customers are talking about and where those conversations are happening |
| Post content on authoritative 3rd party sites (LinkedIn, YouTube, etc.) | Provides a boost to your brand and increases citations in LLMs |
Action plan:
- Audit your social and directory profiles for accuracy.
- Encourage fresh, authentic reviews.
- Post comparison content and thought leadership on high-authority platforms.
Treat tip: LLMs “trust” brands with verified external footprints. Consistent data across the web boosts your visibility.
Tricks: What to avoid in AI SEO (haunted SEO tactics)
Some SEO tactics are like ghosts from the past, they might look helpful, but they’ll haunt your rankings in 2025.
1. Publishing unedited AI content
Risk: Google’s “scaled content abuse” policy penalizes unedited or low-quality AI text.
Fix: Always have a human editor improve tone, accuracy, and factual integrity.
AI should assist content creation, not replace expertise.
2. Mass-producing thin pages
Risk: Flooding your site with hundreds of low-value posts can trigger spam filters.
Fix: Build topically related clusters slowly, ensuring each page provides unique, helpful information.
Quality over quantity is the way to go in 2025, especially post–Spam Update 2025.
3. Keyword stuffing and over-optimization
Risk: AI models understand semantic context, not keyword frequency. Overloading prompts or text can hurt clarity.
Fix: Focus on intent and readability. Use natural language and entity relationships instead of repetition.
4. Ignoring technical SEO for LLMs
Risk: Great content means nothing if AI crawlers can’t access or understand it.
Fix: Prioritize schema, site speed, and logical structure. Always validate structured data in Google’s Rich Results Test.
5. Relying on AI alone for YMYL topics
Risk: Financial, health, or higher education content requires real expertise. Pure AI text lacks nuance and can cause misinformation.
Fix: Include expert co-authors or reviewers and list credentials visibly.
Data snapshot: What LLMs cite in 2025
| Content type | % of LLM citations (2025) | Notes |
| Listicles & comparisons | 32% | Most cited format in AI responses according to Josh Bylskal’s Try Profound |
| Other formats | 9% | Mixed performance |
Key takeaway: Structured, answer-first content is cited three times more often than long-form narrative blogs.
Your 2025 AI SEO survival kit
Here’s a checklist to future-proof your content and keep your rankings alive:
- Audit for AI readability — use short paragraphs, lists, and logical headings.
- Optimize schema and site structure for crawlability and clarity.
- Add 2025 data and update timestamps for freshness.
- Integrate entity-based linking internally and externally.
- Maintain brand accuracy across all platforms.
- Use human editors to refine and verify AI content.
- Track AI visibility using Perplexity or ChatGPT citations, not just Google rankings.
Questions people also ask about AI SEO
Q: What’s the biggest difference between SEO and AI SEO in 2025?
A: SEO is about ranking. AI SEO is about being the answer. You’re optimizing for inclusion in summaries, not just blue links.
Q: How can I make my brand more visible to LLMs?
A: Create a verified company info page like we did at Level Agency,, maintain consistent brand data, and earn mentions on trusted third-party sites.
Q: Which AI SEO mistakes are most harmful?
A: Unedited AI content, keyword stuffing, and ignoring technical SEO are the top visibility killers in 2025.
Conclusion
In 2025, SEO success depends on creating content that’s readable by both humans and machines.
The real treats are clarity, structure, authority, and brand trust.
The tricks: like unedited AI drafts, keyword stuffing, and thin content, belong in the graveyard of outdated tactics.
Don’t get ghosted by AI search this Halloween.
Audit your strategy, feed your content fresh data, and keep humans in the loop because in AI SEO, the best magic still comes from real expertise.
