How to convince AI: Ivano’s test wins at AST24!
The “future of SEO” goes beyond the classic struggle for visibility with competitors and algorithm rules, becoming a real challenge against artificial intelligence. Indeed, the central issue becomes how to get our content preferred not only by users, but also by the AI algorithms that are invading this field, as shown by the interest generated by SearchGPT. At the Advanced SEO Tool 2024 in Milan we talked about exactly this, thanks to the test of our Ivano Di Biasi, who demonstrated how we can “talk” with AI search engines and, above all, what are the tools we already have to influence them. With a well-thought-out strategy and the intelligent use of SEOZoom, Ivano managed to capture the attention of the most technical SEO community in Italy, winning the award as the best SEO experiment of 2024. Let’s see in detail how he succeeded and what we can learn from his work.
How to convince AI to choose our content: Ivano Di Biasi’s test
It all started with an ambitious idea: to understand how AI-based search engines analyze and choose content, and how, through a strategic and reasoned approach, we can affect how they work to make our articles stand out among billions of pages.
Ivano Di Biasi’s goal was to demonstrate how it is possible to manipulate AI engine results just as we already do for Google, using the correct content optimizations. Indeed, the heart of the test focused on the behavior of artificial intelligence and its content preferences, examining how an AI system-potentially similar to what major search engines of the future will use-chooses and ranks results. The underlying thesis is that for content to emerge, it must be useful and relevant, and at the same time that the AI search engine can – if guided in the right way – figure out which text best meets the user’s needs, rewarding it with a better ranking than others.
The experiment then took shape by focusing on a need that is increasingly central to current SEO: user intent – the real purpose behind a search, not the keywords themselves. The initial step was to clearly and precisely identify the questions users are asking, especially those that correspond to an informational or decision-making need. To this end, SEOZoom played a key role as a tool capable of ensuring a detailed analysis of Google’s keywords and FAQs (found in the People Also Ask box and beyond), which have already become – and will become even more so in the future – real keywords.
The phases of the test: from question analysis to user requirement
In the first phase of the test (conducted prior to the final launch of SearchGPT, ed.), Ivano used precisely the FAQs identified in SERPs by SEOZoom with the Question Explorer to intercept the specific search intent of users in a very sectoral niche, with a view to creating content that answered in a non-generic, but targeted way. He did not simply answer the question, but focused on how that answer was structured and presented.
More specifically, our CEO began by analyzing real user questions in a specific niche – in the case of the test, he focused on cataract surgery : through SEOZoom, he performed a thorough search of related keywords and frequently asked questions that users ask on this topic, generating a vast list of over 500 keywords. The intent was to understand why and how people were searching for certain information, recognizing their real need, and then put together content that not only answered but also anticipated any doubts and concerns.
Through the use of the right language resources and well-organized summarization of information, the texts produced not only answered the queries, but did so in a natural, understandable and unforced way, thanks in part to the use of SEOZoom’s new AI-based copywriter tools. Specifically, emphasis was placed on the risks and benefits of cataract surgery, addressing potential patients’ fears and reassuring them.
The end result of the test is interesting: it is not so much themassive inclusion of keywords that guarantees the best ranking (a practice that is, by now, almost going out of fashion), but on the contrary, it is the attention to detail and the attention to the completeness and accuracy of the information, presented in a fluid and coherent manner, that really manages to make a difference. These optimization factors, such asempathizing with the user, the use of precise terminology, and the ability to convey emotionality to the reader and make him or her immerse in the content, have become indispensable elements for the success of a page, not only for human users, but also in the eyes of AI.
Optimizing content for AI search engines.
In the test, Ivano then experimented with “real persuasion tests, ” adopting writing techniques that would prompt the AI to prefer his content. How did he accomplish this? The central element was analyzing the user’s habits and adapting the content following a narrative that respected the search intentions. It wasnot enough to answer, but it was necessary to understand how that answer could be perceived by the AI and the end user. In fact, the AI, because of the advanced language processing capability it possesses, can distinguish in the text whether there is a smooth flow , whether the information is accurate , and whether the response is consistent with what is being requested.
From this we drew an important lesson: ranking well with AI-based search engines means tailoring content to the context and the user’s intention, without fixating excessively on fixed patterns such as keyword density or text length as predominant factors. The test showed how, even through the use of artificial intelligence to write text and precision in formulating answers, content can actually “convince” the AI to prefer that content over others, bringing it to the first position without any overt forcing on the text.
Therefore, today’s SEO (and even more so tomorrow’s SEO ) will no longer revolve around the simple optimization of technical factors, but will have to focus on the quality of the content: completeness, terminological accuracy, the ability to capture the user’s attention and provide an adequate and verified answer. The model of artificial intelligence-based engines such as the one tested is increasingly geared toward a real and deep understanding of the user’s needs, and being able to meet these needs comprehensively is the real key to making one’s site stand out.
AI, in fact, is now able to read and understand text in a similar way as a human would and, therefore, recognizes value when information is accurate and well represented. In this context, SEOZoom played a crucial role in monitoring the effectiveness of the content and assessing how the page could improve its organic ranking.
Ivano achieved the goal of “convincing” the AI of the validity of his content by working on specialized, yet empathetic terminology that connected with the reader’s emotional needs. The AI is not only looking for the correct answer, but also for the one that seems to best fit the user’s perceived need.
And so we should not just create text for a robot based on rigid logic, but for a system that can read, interpret and choose the best resource for the end user.
The Advanced SEO Tool event and the AST SEO Test award.
As mentioned, Ivano’s test was presented atAdvanced SEO Tool 2024, in a setting that combined practical and highly technical talks on emerging topics in search engine optimization. With the Spacca Google Edition, the event put Italy’s most technical SEO community at the center , gathering some of the most prominent names in the field to discuss breakthroughs and innovative strategies.
The format sees the speakers challenge each other not only with webinars and case studies, but also on “real tests” aimed at demonstrating how the techniques presented can actually work in the real world of SEO. Each experiment is voted on by the participants, and the success of Ivano Di Biasi’s test proves how well his idea captured the interest of the community.
At the end of the day, Ivano’s test was in fact recognized as the best SEO experiment of the year, an award that demonstrates the continued impact and future potential of these techniques.
Accompanying Ivano’s test was the work of Elisa Contessotto, who brought an equally fascinating study focusing on how artificial intelligence, using tools such as ChatGPT, can become an alternative search engine. Her work involved a sample of 71 people, analyzing the answers provided by AI and comparing these selections with what real experts in the field would have suggested. What emerged from his test is an important reflection on how AI chooses resources showing that while well-known brands dominate, there is also room for smaller realities that know how to respond precisely to user needs.
This combination of studies has highlighted one thing: both Ivano and Elisa have shown that we are facing a new frontier of optimization. It is no longer just about traditional SEO, but also about knowing how to adapt content to AI algorithms and bring out small and large brands in the right way.
