Retrievable
If a crawler can't fetch your page, nothing else matters. You'll check indexing, robots rules and speed first, before you touch a single sentence.
✦ Free · No signup · Self-paced
AI SEO Course Learn how to get your pages cited in AI Overviews, AI Mode & Google
This is a free AI SEO course for anyone who publishes on the web and has noticed that search results now open with an AI answer. Across seven modules you'll learn how Google's AI Overviews and AI Mode pick the pages they link to, how to write passages that are easy to quote, and which parts of classic SEO still do most of the work. Beginners are fine. If you can edit a web page, you can follow along.
- No signup
- 7 modules
- 20 guides
- Updated Sept 2026
What you'll learn in this AI SEO course
The whole course rests on four ideas. If a page fails any one of them, an AI system has a good reason to skip it.
Structured
Question headings, a direct answer under each one, and schema that matches what's on the page. It's easier for people to read and easier for machines to parse.
Trustworthy
Named authors, real sources and a record of knowing the topic. We cover what seems to earn trust from AI systems and where it's still guesswork.
Quotable
A self-contained answer of about 40 to 60 words reads well as a citation. That's our rule of thumb, not a Google requirement.
What is AI SEO?
AI SEO is the work of getting your content found, understood and cited by AI search systems such as Google AI Overviews, AI Mode, ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity. It builds on normal SEO and adds one goal: making individual passages clear enough that an AI can quote them accurately.
Classic SEO asks how to get a page to rank. AI SEO asks a second question: how do I get named inside the AI answer that sits above the links? Both matter, because plenty of people read the answer and never scroll. The two share most of their groundwork, which is why the course starts with fundamentals before it gets to anything AI-specific.
One honest caveat. Google hasn't published a ranking formula for AI Overviews. It says a page only needs to be indexed and eligible for a snippet to be shown as a link, and that no special markup or AI-specific files are required. So we stick to what we can observe and test, and we label guesses as guesses. Brand new to all this? Read what GEO is first, or go straight to AI SEO for beginners.
0
modules, from fundamentals to advanced
0
guides that go deeper on each topic
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of reading if you go through it all
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to start. No signup, no card
AI SEO course modules
Seven modules, in the order we'd learn them. Each links to a deeper guide where we have one. The full curriculum has the details.
- 01
AI search foundations
How AI Overviews, AI Mode and assistants like ChatGPT differ from ten blue links, and why being cited is now a goal of its own next to ranking. Read: how AI Overviews choose sources.
- 02
Generative Engine Optimization (GEO)
The core framework: make a page retrievable, structured, trustworthy and quotable. Most of the practical habits in the course come from here. Read: GEO vs SEO.
- 03
Query fan-out & intent mapping
AI Mode splits one question into many smaller searches. You'll break a target keyword into those sub-questions and check whether your page answers each one. Read: query fan-out explained.
- 04
Citation-worthy content
Answer first, then explain. This module is about writing passages that still make sense when they're pulled out of the page. Read: writing citation-worthy content.
- 05
Structured data & schema
Course, FAQPage, Article and BreadcrumbList markup, with examples you can adapt. Schema won't force a citation, but it removes the guesswork about what a page is. Read: structured data for AI SEO.
- 06
Technical SEO for AI search
Crawl access, page speed, clean HTML and sitemaps, plus a straight look at llms.txt and whether it deserves your time. Read: what llms.txt does.
- 07
Authority & E-E-A-T
Real expertise and mentions from sites people already trust carry weight with readers and with AI systems. You'll plan where to earn them. Read: entity SEO and brand mentions.
Who this AI SEO course is for
It's written for marketers, SEO freelancers, site owners and content writers who want a clear picture of how AI search treats their pages. You don't need to know SEO already, but a basic feel for how a website works will help.
It's probably not for you if you want a certificate, live coaching or a community. These are written lessons you can read in an afternoon and apply the same day. If you want to learn alongside other people, communities like AI SEO Rainmakers are worth joining. Their habit of testing things in the open and sharing the results is a good model for anyone learning this stuff.
Start with these guides
Six good entry points if you'd rather pick a topic than follow the modules in order. See all 20 guides →
Fundamentals
What is Generative Engine Optimization (GEO)?
GEO explained without the jargon, and how it differs from classic SEO.
Read guide →AI Overviews
How to rank in Google AI Overviews
How Google picks the links it shows, and which parts of that you can influence.
Read guide →LLM Visibility
Optimize for ChatGPT, Perplexity & Gemini
What each assistant seems to favor when it chooses which sources to cite.
Read guide →Fundamentals
Answer Engine Optimization (AEO)
AEO in practice: getting your brand named in AI-generated answers.
Read guide →Checklist
The AI SEO checklist
A page-by-page checklist you can run on your own site this week.
Read guide →Beginner
AI SEO for beginners
Never touched SEO before? Start here, then move on to Module 1.
Read guide →AI SEO course FAQ
What is an AI SEO course?
An AI SEO course teaches you to make your content visible in AI-powered search, including Google AI Overviews, AI Mode and ChatGPT, as well as normal organic results. It covers Generative Engine Optimization (GEO), query fan-out, structured data, and how to write passages that AI systems can quote.
Is this AI SEO course really free?
Yes. Every module and guide is free to read, with no signup and no card. There's nothing to buy here. Start at Module 1 and go in order, or jump straight to the topic you need.
How long does the AI SEO course take?
The 20 guides add up to about two hours of reading, so a weekend is enough if you only want the ideas. Add a few weeks if you're applying each module to a real site, because pages take time to be recrawled and re-evaluated.
Do I need to know SEO before I start?
No. Module 1 covers the basics before anything AI-specific. If you already publish on the web, or you're comfortable editing a page, you'll be able to follow along and pick up the terms as you go.
What's the difference between AI SEO, GEO and AEO?
They overlap heavily. AI SEO is the broad term. GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) and AEO (Answer Engine Optimization) describe the same job, getting cited in AI-generated answers, with a slightly different emphasis. This course uses AI SEO as the umbrella and covers both.
Can you rank in Google AI Overviews?
Not the way you rank a blue link, because there's no position to win. What you can do is make your page indexed, trustworthy and clear on the exact sub-question being asked, which improves your odds of being cited. Nobody can guarantee a citation, so be wary of anyone who does.
Do I need coding skills for AI SEO?
No. You'll edit a page and, for schema, paste in a block of JSON-LD. The structured data guide has examples you can copy and adapt. If you use WordPress or Shopify, a plugin or theme setting often handles the markup for you.
Does the course come with a certificate?
No. It's a set of free written lessons meant to be applied, not a credential. The proof is your own pages getting indexed, ranked and cited.
Start with Module 1
Pick one page on your own site and apply each module to it as you go. Reading takes an afternoon. Seeing what changes takes a few weeks.
Open the course →