What changes
More home buyers now start by asking an AI assistant, such as “Can I get a mortgage if I’ve been self-employed for a year?” or “Do I need life insurance with my mortgage?”. The assistant answers, and sometimes names firms that can help. In time, AI agents acting for clients may shortlist advisers on their behalf. Becoming the firm AI recommends means your website and wider presence are written so these tools can find you, understand exactly who you help and trust what you say.
This is sometimes called answer engine optimisation (AEO). It overlaps with good search practice, but the emphasis is different. AI tools look for clear, specific, well-structured answers from sources that show real expertise, and they pick up on consistent information across your site, reviews and directory listings.
Why it matters now
Estate agent and past-client referrals will stay important, but they aren’t the only way people find an adviser any more. If an AI assistant can’t tell what you specialise in, it can’t suggest you. Firms that describe their work clearly, answer real client questions and show who is accountable for the advice give these tools something to work with. The work also improves your site for human visitors.
Checklist
- Ask the assistants about yourself. Put ten questions your clients ask into two or three AI assistants, including your town and specialism, and record whether your firm appears and what is said.
- Write one page per specialism. For example, self-employed borrowers, later-life lending or protection for new parents. Say who it’s for, what you do and what the client needs to bring.
- Answer real questions plainly. Turn your most common client questions into short, accurate answers with a named adviser as author, reviewed for compliance as financial promotions where they need to be.
- Make your details consistent. Check your firm name, address, regulatory status and specialisms match across your site, review platforms and directories.
- Repeat the test each quarter. Use the same questions, compare the answers and adjust the pages that aren’t being picked up.
Illustrative example
Illustrative example: a two-adviser firm in a market town specialises in mortgages for self-employed tradespeople, but its website only says “whole of market mortgage advice”. In the first test, none of the assistants mention it. The firm writes a page explaining how it helps tradespeople with one or two years’ accounts, adds answers to six common questions with an adviser’s name on each, and updates its directory listings. By the next quarterly test, the firm appears in some answers for local self-employed mortgage questions. The team keeps a log of the questions and answers so it can see what changed.
Common mistakes
- Writing for keywords instead of people. Pages stuffed with phrases read badly to clients and give AI tools little to trust.
- Vague claims with no evidence. “Expert advice” says nothing. Say who you help, how, and who the named adviser is.
- Treating it as a one-off project. AI tools change often, so the quarterly test and update needs to become a habit.
Coaching your clients
Clients are learning to use the same AI tools for their own decisions. Show them how to ask good questions about their mortgage or cover, and how to check what they’re told. An adviser who helps a client test an AI answer, rather than dismissing it, earns trust and shows exactly where human advice adds something.