AI search ranking factors
A tempting list (authority, freshness, unique data, entity clarity). None are published the way Google’s old leaks get treated.
Use the list as a checklist, not a religion. If a factor cannot be tested on your prompt set, it is entertainment.
Reddit consensus behaves like a factor in consumer niches whether or not a paper named it.
Examples
- A vendor PDF of 87 AI ranking factors, 80 of which are SEO factors with “AI” pasted on.
Related terms
How a system picks which passage to quote. Authority, freshness, uniqueness, and whether the chunk answers the sub-query.
Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness — Google’s quality lens. AI search borrows the vibe even when it does not use the rubric.
What your page adds that wasn’t already on the SERP or in the model’s memory: a number, a method, a counterexample.
FAQ
What’s the one factor? +
There isn’t one. If forced: be the source other sources already believe, and be fetchable.
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