Google changed its AI guidance in May. We changed what we tell clients.

In May, Google published something quietly important. It said, in effect: there are no special tricks required to appear in AI Overviews or AI Mode. No magic schema. No special files. The fundamentals — a fast site, clear content, real expertise — are the whole game.

Some agencies would ignore this. They'd keep selling "AI-optimization secrets" because secrets sell.

We did the opposite. We read it, we argued with it, we tested it against what we see in the field, and then we changed what we tell clients.

Here's the honest before-and-after

Before: "Add an llms.txt file, it'll help AI systems read you." We said this a lot. And it's a genuinely fine file to have — it tells AI tools which pages matter. We still like it.

After: "An llms.txt file is a small signal, not a ranking switch. Google's own guidance says don't treat it as one. We'll add it because it costs nothing and helps agents, but we'll spend our real effort on the fundamentals."

We didn't stop recommending it. We stopped overselling it. Those are different things, and the difference is trust.

Same story with schema. Structured data is genuinely useful — it's how you tell machines "this is a business, here's what we do, here's where we are." We still install it on every site we touch. But we stopped pretending it's a secret weapon. It's a handshake. Helpful, polite, and not a bribe.

Why tell you this?

Because most agencies won't. It's easier to keep selling the mystery. But here's what we've learned in years of this work: the moment you stop overselling, you stop being just another agency. You become the one people actually believe.

A plumber doesn't keep using an old layout when the building changed. A doctor updates their advice when the research changes. We updated ours when Google changed. That's not a weakness. That's the job.

The practical version

Make sure your site loads fast, your pages say what you do in plain words, your business details are correct and consistent everywhere, and your content is written by people who actually know the subject. That's it. That's the "secret." It's not glamorous. It works.

We still run free audits because the fundamentals are worth checking properly. Run one on your site. See what's actually there — not what someone's selling you.

Want to know how your own website measures up?

Run the free Website QA — ninety seconds, no signup, honest results. Or ask Sage on the bottom-right of any page.