SEO in the AI Era: How to Talk to AI (and Get What You Want)

optimize-ai-for-search
September 9, 2025
Written by:
Jeff Selig
Edited by:
Tyler Rouwhorst
Fact Checked by:
Reviewed by:
Prompt engineering helps marketers get better results from AI tools by providing clear context, instructions, and iteration.

If you’ve ever used ChatGPT and thought , “That’s not quite what I meant,” you’re not alone.

Getting useful responses from AI comes down to one thing: how you ask.

That’s where prompt engineering comes in.

What is Prompt Engineering?

It sounds fancy, but really it just means giving AI the right instructions.

Think of a prompt like a creative brief. The more context and clarity you provide, the better the output.

Instead of saying:

“Write a blog post about SEO.”

Try this:

“You are an SEO expert writing for busy CMOs. Write an intro for a blog post about how AI is changing SEO. Make it conversational but informative.”

See the difference?

You’re telling the AI who it’s writing as, who it’s writing for, what the topic is, and what tone to use.

Simple Prompt Tips That Actually Work

  • Be specific: Include audience, goal, and format.
  • Use examples: Want a list? Say so. Want a 3-paragraph summary? Ask for it.
  • Add guardrails: “No jargon,” “Max 100 words,” “Include stats if possible.”
  • Iterate: If the first result is off, tweak the prompt and try again.

AI Is Smart, But It’s Not Psychic

Don’t expect perfection on the first try. Treat AI like a junior copywriter: it needs your guidance, and you’ll probably need to polish the results. And that’s okay. Prompt engineering isn’t about perfection—it’s about getting close faster, so you can spend more time editing and improving, and less time starting from scratch.

Shape

Need help scaling your SEO or content efforts with AI the right way?

Overdrive builds smart systems (and smarter prompts) that help marketing teams get more done, without sacrificing quality.

Next Up: In our next post, we’ll explore how to make your content not just readable, but watchable, scrollable, and shareable with AI-friendly multimedia strategies.

SEO in the AI Era: How to Talk to AI (and Get What You Want)

optimize-ai-for-search
Prompt engineering helps marketers get better results from AI tools by providing clear context, instructions, and iteration.

Download the guide to:

If you’ve ever used ChatGPT and thought , “That’s not quite what I meant,” you’re not alone.

Getting useful responses from AI comes down to one thing: how you ask.

That’s where prompt engineering comes in.

What is Prompt Engineering?

It sounds fancy, but really it just means giving AI the right instructions.

Think of a prompt like a creative brief. The more context and clarity you provide, the better the output.

Instead of saying:

“Write a blog post about SEO.”

Try this:

“You are an SEO expert writing for busy CMOs. Write an intro for a blog post about how AI is changing SEO. Make it conversational but informative.”

See the difference?

You’re telling the AI who it’s writing as, who it’s writing for, what the topic is, and what tone to use.

Simple Prompt Tips That Actually Work

  • Be specific: Include audience, goal, and format.
  • Use examples: Want a list? Say so. Want a 3-paragraph summary? Ask for it.
  • Add guardrails: “No jargon,” “Max 100 words,” “Include stats if possible.”
  • Iterate: If the first result is off, tweak the prompt and try again.

AI Is Smart, But It’s Not Psychic

Don’t expect perfection on the first try. Treat AI like a junior copywriter: it needs your guidance, and you’ll probably need to polish the results. And that’s okay. Prompt engineering isn’t about perfection—it’s about getting close faster, so you can spend more time editing and improving, and less time starting from scratch.

Shape

Need help scaling your SEO or content efforts with AI the right way?

Overdrive builds smart systems (and smarter prompts) that help marketing teams get more done, without sacrificing quality.

Next Up: In our next post, we’ll explore how to make your content not just readable, but watchable, scrollable, and shareable with AI-friendly multimedia strategies.

SEO in the AI Era: How to Talk to AI (and Get What You Want)

Prompt engineering helps marketers get better results from AI tools by providing clear context, instructions, and iteration.
optimize-ai-for-search

Download the guide to:

If you’ve ever used ChatGPT and thought , “That’s not quite what I meant,” you’re not alone.

Getting useful responses from AI comes down to one thing: how you ask.

That’s where prompt engineering comes in.

What is Prompt Engineering?

It sounds fancy, but really it just means giving AI the right instructions.

Think of a prompt like a creative brief. The more context and clarity you provide, the better the output.

Instead of saying:

“Write a blog post about SEO.”

Try this:

“You are an SEO expert writing for busy CMOs. Write an intro for a blog post about how AI is changing SEO. Make it conversational but informative.”

See the difference?

You’re telling the AI who it’s writing as, who it’s writing for, what the topic is, and what tone to use.

Simple Prompt Tips That Actually Work

  • Be specific: Include audience, goal, and format.
  • Use examples: Want a list? Say so. Want a 3-paragraph summary? Ask for it.
  • Add guardrails: “No jargon,” “Max 100 words,” “Include stats if possible.”
  • Iterate: If the first result is off, tweak the prompt and try again.

AI Is Smart, But It’s Not Psychic

Don’t expect perfection on the first try. Treat AI like a junior copywriter: it needs your guidance, and you’ll probably need to polish the results. And that’s okay. Prompt engineering isn’t about perfection—it’s about getting close faster, so you can spend more time editing and improving, and less time starting from scratch.

Shape

Need help scaling your SEO or content efforts with AI the right way?

Overdrive builds smart systems (and smarter prompts) that help marketing teams get more done, without sacrificing quality.

Next Up: In our next post, we’ll explore how to make your content not just readable, but watchable, scrollable, and shareable with AI-friendly multimedia strategies.

SEO in the AI Era: How to Talk to AI (and Get What You Want)

Prompt engineering helps marketers get better results from AI tools by providing clear context, instructions, and iteration.
optimize-ai-for-search

Key Insights From Our Research

If you’ve ever used ChatGPT and thought , “That’s not quite what I meant,” you’re not alone.

Getting useful responses from AI comes down to one thing: how you ask.

That’s where prompt engineering comes in.

What is Prompt Engineering?

It sounds fancy, but really it just means giving AI the right instructions.

Think of a prompt like a creative brief. The more context and clarity you provide, the better the output.

Instead of saying:

“Write a blog post about SEO.”

Try this:

“You are an SEO expert writing for busy CMOs. Write an intro for a blog post about how AI is changing SEO. Make it conversational but informative.”

See the difference?

You’re telling the AI who it’s writing as, who it’s writing for, what the topic is, and what tone to use.

Simple Prompt Tips That Actually Work

  • Be specific: Include audience, goal, and format.
  • Use examples: Want a list? Say so. Want a 3-paragraph summary? Ask for it.
  • Add guardrails: “No jargon,” “Max 100 words,” “Include stats if possible.”
  • Iterate: If the first result is off, tweak the prompt and try again.

AI Is Smart, But It’s Not Psychic

Don’t expect perfection on the first try. Treat AI like a junior copywriter: it needs your guidance, and you’ll probably need to polish the results. And that’s okay. Prompt engineering isn’t about perfection—it’s about getting close faster, so you can spend more time editing and improving, and less time starting from scratch.

Shape

Need help scaling your SEO or content efforts with AI the right way?

Overdrive builds smart systems (and smarter prompts) that help marketing teams get more done, without sacrificing quality.

Next Up: In our next post, we’ll explore how to make your content not just readable, but watchable, scrollable, and shareable with AI-friendly multimedia strategies.

SEO in the AI Era: How to Talk to AI (and Get What You Want)

Get the Complete Whitepaper

Fill out the form below to receive the full whitepaper directly to your inbox.
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Organic Media

SEO in the AI Era: How to Talk to AI (and Get What You Want)

If you’ve ever used ChatGPT and thought , “That’s not quite what I meant,” you’re not alone.

Getting useful responses from AI comes down to one thing: how you ask.

That’s where prompt engineering comes in.

What is Prompt Engineering?

It sounds fancy, but really it just means giving AI the right instructions.

Think of a prompt like a creative brief. The more context and clarity you provide, the better the output.

Instead of saying:

“Write a blog post about SEO.”

Try this:

“You are an SEO expert writing for busy CMOs. Write an intro for a blog post about how AI is changing SEO. Make it conversational but informative.”

See the difference?

You’re telling the AI who it’s writing as, who it’s writing for, what the topic is, and what tone to use.

Simple Prompt Tips That Actually Work

  • Be specific: Include audience, goal, and format.
  • Use examples: Want a list? Say so. Want a 3-paragraph summary? Ask for it.
  • Add guardrails: “No jargon,” “Max 100 words,” “Include stats if possible.”
  • Iterate: If the first result is off, tweak the prompt and try again.

AI Is Smart, But It’s Not Psychic

Don’t expect perfection on the first try. Treat AI like a junior copywriter: it needs your guidance, and you’ll probably need to polish the results. And that’s okay. Prompt engineering isn’t about perfection—it’s about getting close faster, so you can spend more time editing and improving, and less time starting from scratch.

Shape

Need help scaling your SEO or content efforts with AI the right way?

Overdrive builds smart systems (and smarter prompts) that help marketing teams get more done, without sacrificing quality.

Next Up: In our next post, we’ll explore how to make your content not just readable, but watchable, scrollable, and shareable with AI-friendly multimedia strategies.

optimize-ai-for-search

SEO in the AI Era: How to Talk to AI (and Get What You Want)

Get the Slides

Fill out the form below to receive the full Webinar directly to your inbox.
Personal Details
Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.
Organic Media

SEO in the AI Era: How to Talk to AI (and Get What You Want)

If you’ve ever used ChatGPT and thought , “That’s not quite what I meant,” you’re not alone.

Getting useful responses from AI comes down to one thing: how you ask.

That’s where prompt engineering comes in.

What is Prompt Engineering?

It sounds fancy, but really it just means giving AI the right instructions.

Think of a prompt like a creative brief. The more context and clarity you provide, the better the output.

Instead of saying:

“Write a blog post about SEO.”

Try this:

“You are an SEO expert writing for busy CMOs. Write an intro for a blog post about how AI is changing SEO. Make it conversational but informative.”

See the difference?

You’re telling the AI who it’s writing as, who it’s writing for, what the topic is, and what tone to use.

Simple Prompt Tips That Actually Work

  • Be specific: Include audience, goal, and format.
  • Use examples: Want a list? Say so. Want a 3-paragraph summary? Ask for it.
  • Add guardrails: “No jargon,” “Max 100 words,” “Include stats if possible.”
  • Iterate: If the first result is off, tweak the prompt and try again.

AI Is Smart, But It’s Not Psychic

Don’t expect perfection on the first try. Treat AI like a junior copywriter: it needs your guidance, and you’ll probably need to polish the results. And that’s okay. Prompt engineering isn’t about perfection—it’s about getting close faster, so you can spend more time editing and improving, and less time starting from scratch.

Shape

Need help scaling your SEO or content efforts with AI the right way?

Overdrive builds smart systems (and smarter prompts) that help marketing teams get more done, without sacrificing quality.

Next Up: In our next post, we’ll explore how to make your content not just readable, but watchable, scrollable, and shareable with AI-friendly multimedia strategies.

optimize-ai-for-search