Being the answer: designing websites AI assistants cite.

For twenty years, the goal was to rank on page one. Today a growing share of research ends before anyone clicks: the answer appears in an AI summary, and the firms it mentions are the ones that get the call.

What has changed

The first figure comes from Pew Research Center, which tracked the real browsing of 900 U.S. adults across nearly 69,000 Google searches in March 2025. The second comes from rater8's 2026 Patient Choice Report, and the third from a Gartner survey of 646 B2B buyers in 2025. Different audiences, same direction: research is moving into AI answers.

In 2024 Gartner went further and predicted that traditional search engine volume would fall 25% by 2026. Even Gartner described the figure as a prediction rather than a measurement, so treat it as a signal, not a forecast to plan a budget around.

What AI assistants can use

AI assistants summarize what they can read and trust. Nobody outside the AI companies knows exactly how each system chooses its sources, but the practical lesson is consistent: an assistant can only repeat what your website states clearly. If your services, specialists, locations and credentials are buried in images, vague slogans or PDFs, you are much less likely to be described accurately, or at all.

Six things to do now

1. Answer the questions clients actually ask. One clear page per service, practice area or specialty, written in plain language, with the facts a buyer needs to compare you.
2. State the facts once and consistently. Names, credentials, locations, years, sectors and fees should match across your website, profiles and directories.
3. Show expertise, not adjectives. Named experts, real projects, published thinking and specific results carry more weight than "leading" or "world-class."
4. Add structured data. Schema.org markup for your organization, people, services and articles helps machines understand what each page is about.
5. Keep content in readable HTML. Text inside images, sliders or heavy scripts is harder for any system to read. Fast, accessible pages are easier for people and machines alike.
6. Measure what you can. Track branded search, direct traffic and inquiries that mention AI tools. Ask new clients how they found you.

What this means for your board

Your website is no longer only a destination. It is the source material other systems use to describe your firm. A clear, fast, well-structured website improves how you appear in search, in AI answers and in the minds of the people who do eventually visit.