From Crawling to Reading: How to Write for Agentic Search
From Crawling to Reading: How to Write for Agentic Search
Max Monahan-Ellison
Max Monahan-Ellison
Head of Strategy, Agency 5S, AI-technology Board Member, and integrated marketing and communications specialist.
Head of Strategy, Agency 5S, AI-technology Board Member, and integrated marketing and communications specialist.
Search Has Grown Up. Why are you writing for babies?
If Google were a baby learning to crawl, AI is a 40-year-old PhD who reads, reasons, and recommends. For two decades, we’ve written for machines that crawled our content by scanning keywords, backlinks, and metadata to decide who ranked where.
That era is ending as the baby that was search, is growing into something more mature.
Today’s grown-up AI search engines interpret tone, logic, and credibility. They synthesise insights from multiple trusted sources to generate direct answers, which means Visibility will come from being referenced, not ranked.It is now more important to write for agentic search as it may overtake organic search traffic within two to four years according to data from Semrush.
From Crawling to Reading
Traditional search is like an infant: it spots familiar patterns (keywords, links), but does not understand, quote or recite meaning.
AI agents, by contrast, are like mature readers: they assess intent, context, and credibility to infer understanding.
You are no longer writing for an algorithm’s crawl, you now write for a model’s comprehension. Content must be clear, contextual, and credible enough to be quoted, not just indexed.
The New Framework for Visibility
To navigate this evolution, it helps to understand the four layers of modern discoverability. SEO fundamentals cannot be eliminated, as they provide value in the ecosystem of search. Each layer a progression, not a replacement.
Layer | Focus | Purpose |
SEO | Search Engine Optimization | Rank higher to ensures your content is found. |
AEO | Answer Engine Optimization | Be “the answer” to ensure it’s understood. |
GEO | Generative Engine Optimization | Be featured in AI answers to ensures it’s cited |
AIO | AI Optimization | Make content readable for all AI to ensure it’s integrated |
Writing for AI Comprehension
So how do I go from talking to a baby to an adult? Here’s how to evolve your writing for agentic search:
Think in Concepts, Not Keywords
AI interprets meaning. Build each article around a central idea and related themes. Use variations of natural language and question-based phrasing.
Lead with Clarity
State the main point early and directly.
AI engines prioritize content that answers questions clearly and concisely.Prioritize Context and Authority
Provide facts, citations, examples, and named sources.
AI engines use attribution as a trust signal, showing the content is credible enough to quote.Structure for Machines and Humans
Headings, lists, tables, and schema markup help AI understand meaning.
Each paragraph should stand alone so it can be extracted as a snippet or reference.Encourage authorship
AI models reward expertise, transparency, and human authorship. Named experts are more likely to be referenced in AI-generated answers so include contributor bios, credentials, and LinkedIn profiles. Encourage thought leaders to publish under their real names.
Integrate endorsements
External endorsements (media mentions, citations, awards) reinforce credibility. AI agents see these as confirmation that your content is reliable and reputable.
Preparing for the future
The future of visibility belongs to those who can express ideas clearly enough for humans and intelligently enough for machines. In this article, for example, I’ve included:
Hierarchical headings for semantic segmentation
Tables and lists for extraction
Credible citations and author bio
Compact, stand-alone sentences suitable for AI referencing
What’s more, research from University of California Irvine professor Gloria Mark shows our attention span for a single screen is 47 seconds (down from 2.5 minutes in 2004) - not because we care less, but because we’re processing more.
That’s why writing for AI isn’t just a strategy for visibility; it’s a strategy for comprehension.
The same principles that help intelligent systems read, reason, and recommend also help humans absorb ideas faster and with more trust.
When evaluating whether to optimize for agentic search, don’t crawl...run.
Search Has Grown Up. Why are you writing for babies?
If Google were a baby learning to crawl, AI is a 40-year-old PhD who reads, reasons, and recommends. For two decades, we’ve written for machines that crawled our content by scanning keywords, backlinks, and metadata to decide who ranked where.
That era is ending as the baby that was search, is growing into something more mature.
Today’s grown-up AI search engines interpret tone, logic, and credibility. They synthesise insights from multiple trusted sources to generate direct answers, which means Visibility will come from being referenced, not ranked.It is now more important to write for agentic search as it may overtake organic search traffic within two to four years according to data from Semrush.
From Crawling to Reading
Traditional search is like an infant: it spots familiar patterns (keywords, links), but does not understand, quote or recite meaning.
AI agents, by contrast, are like mature readers: they assess intent, context, and credibility to infer understanding.
You are no longer writing for an algorithm’s crawl, you now write for a model’s comprehension. Content must be clear, contextual, and credible enough to be quoted, not just indexed.
The New Framework for Visibility
To navigate this evolution, it helps to understand the four layers of modern discoverability. SEO fundamentals cannot be eliminated, as they provide value in the ecosystem of search. Each layer a progression, not a replacement.
Layer | Focus | Purpose |
SEO | Search Engine Optimization | Rank higher to ensures your content is found. |
AEO | Answer Engine Optimization | Be “the answer” to ensure it’s understood. |
GEO | Generative Engine Optimization | Be featured in AI answers to ensures it’s cited |
AIO | AI Optimization | Make content readable for all AI to ensure it’s integrated |
Writing for AI Comprehension
So how do I go from talking to a baby to an adult? Here’s how to evolve your writing for agentic search:
Think in Concepts, Not Keywords
AI interprets meaning. Build each article around a central idea and related themes. Use variations of natural language and question-based phrasing.
Lead with Clarity
State the main point early and directly.
AI engines prioritize content that answers questions clearly and concisely.Prioritize Context and Authority
Provide facts, citations, examples, and named sources.
AI engines use attribution as a trust signal, showing the content is credible enough to quote.Structure for Machines and Humans
Headings, lists, tables, and schema markup help AI understand meaning.
Each paragraph should stand alone so it can be extracted as a snippet or reference.Encourage authorship
AI models reward expertise, transparency, and human authorship. Named experts are more likely to be referenced in AI-generated answers so include contributor bios, credentials, and LinkedIn profiles. Encourage thought leaders to publish under their real names.
Integrate endorsements
External endorsements (media mentions, citations, awards) reinforce credibility. AI agents see these as confirmation that your content is reliable and reputable.
Preparing for the future
The future of visibility belongs to those who can express ideas clearly enough for humans and intelligently enough for machines. In this article, for example, I’ve included:
Hierarchical headings for semantic segmentation
Tables and lists for extraction
Credible citations and author bio
Compact, stand-alone sentences suitable for AI referencing
What’s more, research from University of California Irvine professor Gloria Mark shows our attention span for a single screen is 47 seconds (down from 2.5 minutes in 2004) - not because we care less, but because we’re processing more.
That’s why writing for AI isn’t just a strategy for visibility; it’s a strategy for comprehension.
The same principles that help intelligent systems read, reason, and recommend also help humans absorb ideas faster and with more trust.
When evaluating whether to optimize for agentic search, don’t crawl...run.