5 ways to optimise your social media for AI search

You’ve spent months creating valuable content for LinkedIn, YouTube and Instagram. You’ve shared your expertise, built your brand and connected with your audience. But there is one problem. Your customers are now using AI tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude and Perplexity to find businesses like yours, and your social media content might be invisible to them.

Most businesses treat social media and SEO as separate strategies. AI search engines see them as one connected story about your business. If your social profiles and posts are not optimised, you might be missing from the answers AI gives your potential customers.

Why AI Search Looks at Social Media

AI-powered search does not just scan your website. It reads your social profiles, watches your videos and looks at your posts to understand what your business does and why people trust you.

For example, when someone asks ChatGPT, “Who are the top small business accountants in Brisbane?”, the answer could include a YouTube video where you explain BAS statements, a LinkedIn post about tax time tips, or your Instagram bio describing your accounting services.

But only if your social media is optimised for AI search.

How to Optimise Your Social Media for AI Search

1. Audit Your Social Profiles for AI Discoverability

• Write clear, keyword-rich bios that state exactly what you do.

• Include your location and industry in your profile descriptions.

• Add your website URL and use the same business name format across all platforms.

• Make sure your social profiles align with your website’s schema and metadata.

• Where possible, use structured data or schema markup for consistency.

2. Optimise Your Content for AI Understanding

• Write descriptive captions and video descriptions that explain your services and expertise.

• Use natural language and long-tail keywords that reflect how customers ask questions.

• Add relevant keywords and hashtags to help AI categorise your posts.

• Regularly update your content to keep it current and relevant.

3. Create Content That AI Can Recommend

• Share how-to videos, tutorials and case studies with clear problem-solution stories.

• Write LinkedIn articles that address common business challenges, such as preparing for the end of financial year.

• Post FAQ-style content that answers customer questions.

• Feature customer reviews and testimonials to build trust and authority.

• Focus on quality over quantity—AI search prefers clear, useful answers.

• Emphasise Experience, Expertise, Authority and Trust (E-E-A-T) in your content.

4. Link Your Social Ecosystem

• Cross-link your social accounts in your bios and descriptions.

• Share your content across platforms with consistent messaging and branding.

• Use the same keywords and descriptions everywhere to help AI connect your profiles.

• Create a central hub on your website that links to your best social media content.

5. Monitor and Improve Your AI Visibility

• Regularly search for your business in ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity to see what appears.

• Test different customer questions and check whether your content is recommended.

• Track which social posts and videos appear in AI search results.

• Use AI search visibility tracking tools or manual checks to monitor your presence.

• Adjust your social media and content strategy based on what is working.

Additional Tips

• Understand that some AI tools, such as Perplexity and Copilot, search the web in real time, while others, like ChatGPT Free, use information indexed during their last training period. This affects how quickly updates to your content are reflected in AI answers.

• Encourage user-generated content and brand mentions, as these can increase your authority signals in AI models.

• Engagement (likes, comments, shares) helps signal relevance and authority to both traditional and AI search engines.

The Bottom Line

AI search is not replacing SEO; it is expanding it. Your social media profiles are now a vital part of your discoverability. Ignoring them means your business may not show up where your customers are searching. Start by auditing your social profiles and updating your bios with relevant keywords to improve your visibility in AI search results.