What makes content more likely to be used by AI? What the research shows
A controlled study of 'generative engine optimisation' found that statistics, quotations and cited sources raised visibility in AI answers by up to 40%. Keyword stuffing didn't help.
Short answer: in the best-known controlled study, adding quotations (+41%), statistics (+31%) and cited sources to a page made it more visible in AI-generated answers. Stuffing keywords didn't help.
The study
'GEO: Generative Engine Optimization' (Aggarwal and colleagues, Princeton and IIT Delhi) was presented at KDD 2024. The researchers built a benchmark of thousands of queries, rewrote source pages with nine different methods, and measured how much each rewritten page was used in the generated answers (paper).
| Method | Effect reported in the study |
|---|---|
| Quotation addition | +41% position-adjusted word count, +28% subjective impression (the best method) |
| Statistics addition | +31% and +23% |
| Cite sources | Close behind the two above |
| Overall | Visibility gains of up to 40%; up to 37% on Perplexity, a live engine |
| Keyword stuffing | Little or no improvement |
What it means in practice
- Numbers AI can quote: concentrations, test results, years in business, units sold, ratings, with their source.
- Named quotes: a dermatologist, an expert, a customer, attributed by name and role.
- Sources on the page: link the study, the standard, the certificate.
- Answer first: the direct answer in the first lines, then the detail.
What it doesn't mean
The study measured how content is used once a page is among the sources. It doesn't make a page appear in the sources in the first place. That depends on being findable and trusted: in the lists, directories, retailers and expert pages AI reads for your category. A complete plan needs both.