What does conversion rate optimization (CRO) and discovery look like for an AI agent versus a human, and how different do your tactics really need to be?
More and more sellers are adopting the web of agents, and discovery is happening based on AI-powered experiences. That raises a valid question: what does CRO and discovery look like for an AI agent compared to a human?
There are many considerations, but the bottom line is clear: serving people supports the discovery of AI. AI systems are designed to produce useful, human-based information. Technical devices are still important, but you don’t need completely different strategies to discover or improve CRO for AI compared to humans.
What does CRO look like beyond the website
If a consumer is doing business directly with an agent or AI assistant, your business needs to make the right information available in a way that will be understood and used. Your products or services need to be represented by clean, well-structured, informative data formatted in ways that downstream systems can reliably process.
As more people explore doing business with AI assistants, part of the job involves making sure your products and services can connect cleanly. Standards, such as the Model Context Protocol (MCP), can help by enabling agents to interact with shared sources of information.
In many cases, one can still decide to engage directly on the brand’s site. In that context, the choice of content and formatting is important. Whether you’re focusing on paid or organic communications, making sure your people can — and will — take the action you want is important.
Dig deeper: Are we ready for the web of the agent?
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Optimization 1: How much text is on the page?
Old school SEO promoted the idea that more keywords and bigger walls of text would do better. That approach is no longer acceptable.
Both human and AI systems tend to work better with clearly designed, modular content. Large blocks of uninterrupted text can be difficult for humans to scan and understand. Clear sections, space, structure, and visual section help users quickly understand what they can do and how to achieve the goal that brought them to the page.
There is no fixed minimum or maximum amount of text that works best. You should use the amount of content necessary to clearly explain what you offer, why it’s useful, and what makes it different.
A technical topic will require more text, divided into smaller sections. There are great calls to action as well.
Visual components can be useful when paired with useful alternative text. Lead generation forms should be easy for people to fill out and regularly checked for spam or conflicts. Content that is difficult for humans to use is also difficult for automated systems to interpret as useful or relevant.
Dive deep: Lead gen PPC: How to optimize conversions and drive results
Development 2: How do you communicate with your people?
One of the best ways to communicate clearly with programs is to communicate clearly with people. Focus on what makes you an expert, but avoid unnecessary jargon or overly complicated language. Descriptions should always be specific, accurate, and on brand.
A simple gut check: if a 10-year-old can’t fully understand what you’re doing, why it’s important, and how to get involved, you’re probably making things more complicated than they need to be. Although AI systems are complex, clarity is still important because the ultimate goal is to support human output.
If you’re not sure, try putting your stop copy to an AI assistant and ask him to analyze it for clarity. Ask for simplification and clear explanations, not new claims or embellishments.
Visual components are important here as well. Comparison tables can be helpful when they genuinely support understanding, but they can be detrimental when used as a gimmick rather than a guide. Accessibility principles are important, too. Color consistency, readable font sizes, and choosing restricted fonts reduce the risk of someone being unable to process your site.
Images should be easy to understand and clearly linked to the surrounding text. Alt text helps people who use assistive technology and strengthens the relationship between visuals and written content.
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Promotion 3: Call to action
A user comes to your site to do something. They may want to make a purchase, request a quote, or talk to your team. That action should be clear.
If the intended action is unclear, it becomes difficult for both humans and automated systems to understand what your site allows.
The purchase experience often appears in conversations with purchase intent because the assistants are trying to complete the task assigned to them. If it’s not clear how to add an item to a cart or complete a purchase, you make it difficult for someone to do business with you. You also make it harder for systems to understand that you are a commercial site rather than a catalog with no clear path forward.
Lead generation requires the same clarity. If the goal is to talk to your team, enter a phone number that can be clicked to call. You can also include a form that sends directly to your lead system or email client opt-in flow. Forcing users through multiple form pages often frustrates people and adds unnecessary complexity to the experience.
Dig deep: 6 SEO tests to help improve traffic, engagement, and conversions
Update 4: Technical correction
I include technical considerations last for a reason. The most important job you can do is support the people you work for. Technological advances are helpful, but rarely successful by themselves.
Tips from the Microsoft AI guidebook. (Disclosure: I’m an Ads Consultant at Microsoft Advertising.)
Oversized images, low contrast between text and background, or unstable layouts can cause challenges.
Make sure your site offers consistently and profitably. Large layout shifts after loading, measured by cumulative layout shift (CLS), can frustrate users. Pages full of ads or hijackers can detract from why someone came here in the first place and may present trust concerns.
Safety is also important. Malware warnings, broken rendering, or incomplete page loading can raise red flags for both users and automated systems.
Tools like IndexNow can help notify search systems of content changes very quickly. Microsoft Clarity is a free tool that shows how users behave on your site, revealing conflicts you might have missed. This includes Brand Agents that help your people have the most beneficial chatbot experience.
One useful test is to check how your site appears when used as an input for ad platforms or auto-generated creative tools, such as Performance Max campaigns or audience ads.
This can provide a useful lens on how platforms are interpreting your content. If the resulting pose and creation match your intentions, you usually do a good job of serving both reptiles and humans. If they don’t, it’s usually a signal to visit clarity, design, or user flow.
Dive Deeper: CRO for PPC: Key areas to improve beyond landing pages
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What does CRO look like for AI and humans?
Humans and AI systems need many things in common when it comes to CRO:
- Information must be clear and accurate.
- It should be easy to do something the user comes to do.
- The site should avoid deceptive or misleading patterns.
- The experience should build trust rather than undermine it.
Keep these CRO basics in mind:
- Humans and AI benefit from the same transparency-first approach to CRO.
- Information should be clear, concise, and easy to understand.
- Actions should be clear and easy to complete.
- Technology choices should support, not undermine, experience.
Once those foundations are in place, you support human results and AI-driven discovery.
Contributing writers are invited to create content for Search Engine Land and are selected for their expertise and contribution to the search community. Our contributors work under the supervision of editorial staff and contributions are assessed for quality and relevance to our students. Search Engine Land is owned by Semrush. The contributor has not been asked to speak directly or indirectly about Semrush. The opinions they express are their own.
