AI-powered search is changing how people discover information online. Platforms such as Google AI Overviews, ChatGPT Search, and Perplexity can identify useful information from websites and present it in conversational answers.
However, having good content is not always enough. If a website has technical SEO problems, search engines may struggle to crawl, access, understand, or index its pages.
This can reduce the website's chances of being discovered and considered as a source in AI-powered search results.
Let's explore some common technical SEO problems that can affect a website's visibility in AI search and how developers can fix them.
- Incorrect Robots.txt Configuration
One common technical SEO problem is an incorrectly configured robots.txt file.
This file provides instructions to search engine crawlers about which parts of a website they can access.
If important pages, directories, or resources are accidentally blocked, search engines may have difficulty discovering the content.
How to fix it:
Review the robots.txt file regularly.
Avoid blocking important website sections.
Make sure important CSS and JavaScript resources are accessible when needed.
Test important URLs using Google Search Console.
- Important Pages Are Not Indexed
A website page must generally be indexed by a search engine to appear in its traditional organic search results.
Sometimes, developers accidentally add a noindex directive to important pages or configure canonical tags incorrectly.
Other issues, such as duplicate content and poor internal linking, can also affect indexing.
How to fix it:
Check indexing reports in Google Search Console.
Review meta robots directives.
Use correct canonical URLs.
Submit an updated XML sitemap.
Ensure important pages have internal links.
Being indexed does not guarantee inclusion in AI-generated answers, but it provides an important foundation for Google Search visibility.
- Heavy JavaScript Rendering Issues
Modern websites often use JavaScript frameworks to create interactive experiences.
However, if important page content depends entirely on JavaScript and is not rendered or accessible correctly, some crawlers may struggle to understand it.
This can create problems when search engines cannot easily access important text, navigation links, or product information.
How to fix it:
Consider server-side rendering or static rendering.
Make important content available in crawlable HTML.
Avoid relying entirely on client-side JavaScript for essential information.
Test rendered pages using Google's URL Inspection tool.
- Poor Website Speed and Core Web Vitals
A slow website can negatively affect the user experience and make browsing difficult.
Common performance problems include large images, unnecessary scripts, unoptimized CSS, and slow server response times.
Developers should monitor Google's Core Web Vitals:
Largest Contentful Paint (LCP)
Interaction to Next Paint (INP)
Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS)
How to fix it:
Compress and optimize images.
Reduce unnecessary JavaScript.
Enable browser caching.
Use a content delivery network where appropriate.
Improve server response times.
Good performance supports a better user experience, although fast loading alone does not guarantee AI search visibility.
- Missing or Incorrect Structured Data
Structured data helps search engines understand the information presented on a webpage.
Without appropriate structured data, search engines may have less explicit information about certain entities, products, articles, and businesses.
Developers can use relevant Schema.org markup, such as:
Organization Schema
Article Schema
Product Schema
LocalBusiness Schema
BreadcrumbList Schema
How to fix it:
Implement accurate JSON-LD structured data that matches the visible content of the page. Test it using Google's Rich Results Test and Schema.org Validator.
Remember that structured data helps communicate context but does not guarantee AI citations or rich search results.
- Poor Internal Linking Structure
Internal links help crawlers discover important pages and understand relationships between different topics.
If important pages have no internal links pointing to them, they can become orphan pages.
For example, a website offering digital marketing services should connect relevant articles about technical SEO, local SEO, keyword research, and content optimization.
How to fix it:
Create a logical website hierarchy.
Link related pages naturally.
Use descriptive anchor text.
Avoid unnecessary broken links.
Ensure important pages are accessible within a reasonable number of clicks.
- Duplicate and Thin Content
Websites sometimes publish multiple pages with nearly identical information or pages that provide very little value.
This can make it harder for search engines to identify the most useful version of a page.
For AI search, generic content that provides no meaningful information may also be less useful as a source.
How to fix it:
Consolidate duplicate pages where appropriate.
Use canonical tags correctly.
Publish original and informative content.
Add practical examples and relevant details.
Remove or improve low-value pages.
- Incorrect Canonical Tags and Redirects
Canonical tags tell search engines which URL should be treated as the preferred version among duplicate or similar pages.
Incorrect canonical tags can cause important pages to be overlooked in favor of unrelated URLs.
Redirect chains, broken redirects, and redirect loops can also create crawling and accessibility problems.
How to fix it:
Use self-referencing canonical tags where appropriate.
Point duplicate pages to the correct preferred URL.
Use permanent 301 redirects when content has permanently moved.
Avoid unnecessary redirect chains.
Fix redirect loops and broken URLs.
- Poor Mobile-Friendly Design
Most people access websites through mobile devices, so a website should provide a consistent experience across different screen sizes.
A poor mobile experience can make important content difficult to read or interact with.
How to fix it:
Use responsive website design.
Make text readable without zooming.
Ensure buttons and navigation are easy to use.
Avoid intrusive pop-ups.
Test important pages on different screen sizes.
- Blocking AI Crawlers Unintentionally
Some website owners may restrict crawlers through robots.txt rules, firewall settings, security plugins, or server configurations.
Depending on the platform, this can prevent certain AI search crawlers from accessing website content.
For example, OpenAI uses different crawlers for different purposes. OAI-SearchBot is associated with search discovery, while GPTBot is used for potential model training.
How to fix it:
Review which crawlers your business wants to allow.
Check robots.txt rules.
Review firewall and bot-protection settings.
Verify crawler requests where possible.
Understand the different purposes of individual AI crawlers before changing access rules.
Allowing an AI crawler does not guarantee that a website will appear in AI-generated answers.
How Can Developers Check Their Website's Technical SEO Health?
Here are some useful tools for identifying and fixing technical SEO problems:
Google Search Console: Monitor indexing, crawling, and search performance.
PageSpeed Insights: Identify website performance issues.
Screaming Frog SEO Spider: Audit broken links, redirects, metadata, and other technical issues.
Google Rich Results Test: Check eligible structured data.
Schema Markup Validator: Validate Schema.org structured data.
Bing Webmaster Tools: Monitor website crawling and search performance on Bing.
Final Thoughts
Technical SEO plays an important role in making websites accessible, crawlable, and understandable to search engines.
Problems such as blocked crawlers, indexing errors, JavaScript rendering issues, incorrect structured data, poor internal linking, and slow website performance can create barriers to search visibility.
However, there is no single technical SEO trick that guarantees inclusion in AI search results.
Developers should focus on building technically healthy websites, publishing reliable information, maintaining clear content structures, and allowing the relevant search crawlers to access their pages.
The goal is simple: make website information easy for both people and search engines to find, access, and understand.
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