ChatSearch Optimization (CSO): A New Approach to Accelerate GTM

If you’re an SEO specialist, imagine going back to 2010 with all the knowledge you have today.

Now be honest: How freakin' hard would you dominate the SERPs? That’s the exact opportunity sitting in front of us with ChatSearch Optimization (CSO).

It’s not better than SEO. It’s not worse. But it is different, and it’s only going to get more popular over the next few years. And the people who win won’t just be the most experienced SEOs (though they’ll have an edge).

Like building any successful strategy, it will all come down to time, testing, and curiosity.

What Is ChatSearch Optimization (CSO)?

CSO—ChatSearch Optimization—is how you get found in AI-driven search engines like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and DeepSeek.

It’s not SEO. It's more like SEO's even nerdier cousin. The one who answers in precise, no-fluff sentences, and makes you feel slightly underqualified to be in the conversation because it's so damn knowledgable.

Here's a 30,000-foot view of both:

• SEO = Optimizing for traditional search (Google, Bing, etc.). Keywords, backlinks, domain authority.
• CSO = Optimizing for AI search (ChatGPT, Perplexity, DeepSeek). Direct answers, structured readability, conversational clarity.

AI search engines don’t care about backlinks or domain age. They care about:

• Answer Quality – AI ranks clear, direct, helpful responses.
• Conversational Clarity – If it reads like a human, it ranks.
• Structured Readability – AI loves headings, lists, and scannable content.

To be fully transparent: there is not an official CSO guide from any of these ChatSearch providers.

So it would come as no surprise to me if you're reading this and asking yourself, "Is CSO really worth keeping an eye on, or is it another piece of LinkedIn jargon?"

Let's jump back to last week, when I was on a flight to our company offsite and this whole CSO thing became a mini-obsession.

How We Came to Explore CSO at Copy.ai

I can't sleep on airplanes and, for whatever reason, I'm rarely in the mood to watch movies. Fortunately, and I'll die on this hill, WiFi on airplanes keeps getting better and better. During the flight, I read a post by Rand Fishkin on LinkedIn that sent me down a long, long rabbit hole.

(I can't find the original post of his, but I refuse to pretend like he didn't spark my curiosity here).

In that post, he broke down Stephen Wolfram’s deep dive on how ChatGPT works. He also gave a few glimpses of how this works at a practical level. But I wanted more than a glimpse.

I took that article and did a little exercise with Copy.ai Chat. I had it break down the best practices of getting cited on Copilot Search products, like ChatSearch. The only problem? It would be just as likely that ChatGPT structured something from that post that sounded really good without being technically accurate.

Put differently, since I'm not the technical expert, it's not right to pretend like I'd make the best technical editor.

This led me to create a little worksheet and pass it along to our rep at OpenAI rep, who confirmed:

We’re on the right track with ChatSearch Optimization, at least, in theory.

But then, the next day, I got our SEO reporting by John-Henry Scherck. Traffic and demos from ChatSearch, Perplexity, and DeepSeek are growing. Not just by a little, either:

Turns out, it's not just working in theory, but working to drive pipeline, too. We had 138 demos from ChatSearch in January 2025, and we're starting to see more traffic from Perplexity and DeepSeek.

Which leads us to the point of this article: how can you replicate the same?

CSO Best Practices: How to Actually Do This

If you want to rank in AI search, stop writing like an SEO from 2010.

1. Query Matching & Intent Optimization

• Use high-probability phrasing. AI doesn’t match keywords like traditional SEO—it recognizes patterns of speech. Instead of “B2B marketing AI,” say “AI-powered B2B marketing strategies.”
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• Write how people talk. Nobody searches for “best AI for sales automation.” They ask, “What’s the best AI tool for automating sales?”
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• Cover multiple angles. If you’re writing about ABM AI, mention predictive analytics, personalized content, and sales alignment. AI search engines connect concepts, not just words.

2. Authority & Trustworthiness

• Cite your sources. AI prefers content backed by facts. Instead of:
  • “AI can increase revenue.”
  • “According to Forrester, AI-driven sales enablement can increase revenue by 30%.” (add the URL, of course)
    ‍
• Include case studies. AI search ranks proof over opinions. Instead of:
  • “AI is changing content marketing.”
  • “HubSpot cut content production time by 40% using AI workflows.”
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• Stop hedging. AI prioritizes confident answers. Instead of:
  • “AI workflows might help with automation.”
  • “AI workflows eliminate inefficiencies and speed up execution.”

3. Conversational Structure & Readability

• Use headings, lists, and short paragraphs. Nobody likes a wall of text. Not readers. Not AI.
• Answer first, explain later. AI search engines pull answers first, details second.
• Bad:
  “There are many ways AI can help with sales automation…”
• Good:
  “AI automates sales tasks by analyzing data, generating personalized outreach, and scoring leads.”

4. AI-Friendly Formatting

• Write in prompt-ready sentences. AI pulls clean, structured responses. Instead of:
  • “AI is useful for research, writing, and distribution.”
  • “AI automates research, writing, and content distribution, making it essential for scaling marketing.”
• Anticipate follow-up questions. AI search engines love content that flows naturally into the next topic. If you write:
  • “AI is transforming sales.”
  • Follow it with: “Want to know how AI personalizes outbound messaging?”

What We Know about CSO (& What We Don’t)

We know CSO is already driving results.

The data from our own SEO reporting proves that ChatSearch traffic isn’t just real—it converts. 138 demos in January came from Chat-based search.

And we’re not the only ones seeing this.

More marketers are starting to notice AI-driven search creeping into their analytics. More CROs are asking where these leads are coming from. The trend is clear: users are searching differently.

But, like all things in life, there's a catch: CSO is still new. The rules aren’t set in stone.

Nobody has an official playbook. No one’s cracked the “Google algorithm for ChatSearch” because, right now, there isn’t just one algorithm. These AI search models are changing constantly, and waiting for a perfect guide means waiting to fall behind.

That’s why testing simply has to be the name the game right now. The same way SEOs experimented in the early days of Google, the winners in CSO will be the ones who:

• Track results aggressively—watch traffic, conversions, and ranking patterns in Chat search.
• Test content variations—which answers get surfaced? What structures perform best?
• Stay ahead of the curve—because what works today might shift next quarter.

And that brings us to the real question: Are you going to sit back and wait for someone else to figure it out first?

Bake in Your CSO without Breaking Down Your SEO

Right now, most marketing teams are still stuck optimizing only for Google. They create content for search rankings, run it through an AI tool for polishing, and hit publish—without stopping to ask:

• Does this content actually answer the question directly?
• Is it structured in a way that’s AI-friendly?
• Would ChatGPT surface this as a top response, or is it too long-winded and buried under fluff?

Instead of treating CSO as an afterthought, bake it into your content creation porcess as an editing step.

Here’s how:

‍1. Use AI to Surface Gaps in Your Content

The simplest option would be to run your draft through a Chat tool like we have at Copy.ai, or something similar to ChatGPT. Then ask: “Summarize the main points of this article in two or three sentences.” If the summary doesn’t match your intended message, your content is too vague or buried under unnecessary details.

Fix it before you publish.

2. Test How Your Content Ranks in AI Search

‍Before publishing, ask ChatSearch or Perplexity:

“What are the best AI tools for [your topic]?”

If your brand doesn’t show up, you’ve got a problem.

• Are you structuring answers clearly enough?
• Are you using the right phrasing?
• Are competitors getting mentioned while you’re invisible?

Then, just like you dd with Google, you can see who is getting cited and try to learn from how they're structuring their content.

3. Add a CSO Optimization Pass to Your Editing Workflow

‍Before publishing, run your content through a CSO checklist:

✅ Does the first sentence answer the question?
✅ Are key points formatted as skimmable lists or bolded takeaways?
✅ Would an AI model be able to summarize this in one clear response?

If the goal of SEO is getting found, then the goal of CSO is getting cited. Both matter.

‍4. Structure for Google and Chat-Friendly Search at the Same Time

‍Instead of picking one format over the other, merge the two best practices:

• SEO Headings & Keywords – Use structured H2s and natural keyword placement to help Google index your page.
• CSO Direct Answers & Readability – Make sure every section gets to the point fast so AI models pull the right data.
• Internal Linking & Entity Optimization – Google still relies on internal linking, while AI search favors well-defined concepts. Do both.

5. Treat This Like the Start of a Moving Target

‍The first SEOs who figured out keyword density, backlinks, and on-page optimization built empires.The first marketers who figure out how AI search models pull and rank information will do the same.

Right now, no one fully owns this space. But give it a year? Two?

Someone will.

Final Thoughts

The worst mistake you can make right now is thinking CSO is some passing trend.

People made the same mistake with SEO in the early 2000s. They called it a gimmick.

That’s where we are right now with ChatSearch Optimization.

This is NOT an either/or decision. This falls under the "when given a choice, choose both" category.

The biggest companies in the world already see what’s happening. Ask OpenAI. Ask Perplexity. Ask any AI researcher—they’ll tell you the same thing:

The way people find information is shifting from search engines to AI-driven assistants.

At Copy.ai, we refuse to wait.

We build. We test. We break. We rebuild. We optimize.

CSO isn’t just something we talk about—it’s already part of our AI workflows. Because it has to be.

The companies that figure this out first will dominate the next decade of organic search.

The only question is: Do you want to be one of them?