AI Search for Accountancy Firms

Part of the Growing Inside Accountancy Firms Series

Welcome back to Growing Inside Accountancy Firms, the series where I bring together experts to discuss the topics that matter to accountancy firms right now.

In this edition, the second in our two-part SEO and AI Search series. I’m again joined by Liam Saunders from VIP IT to explore the topic: AI search.

In this article, we’re focusing on how AI search tools and platforms like ChatGPT, Gemini and Google’s AI Overviews are changing the way potential clients find accountancy firms, and what you can do about it.

If you missed Part 1: What Accountancy Firms Need to Know About SEO, you can read it here.

How AI search results changing SEO for accountants?

This is the big one, and it’s a shift that firms need to start preparing for.

There’s quite a big change for accountants and businesses more generally to adapt to, a change in focus from just trying to rank in Google and other search results, to being cited by AI platforms. AI platforms read websites in a different way to search engines, and they’re not quite as advanced in their crawling techniques. Google has had years to perfect how it reads websites, whereas most of the AI platforms like ChatGPT have quite new systems.”— Liam Saunders, VIP IT

One critical and often overlooked issue: AI crawlers can accidentally be blocked from your website. It’s worth checking with your web developer that they have full access to read your content.

Some websites are also starting to adopt the llms.txt text file, in order to highlight their most valuable content to AI platforms. This is worth considering, as it can help to make content easier to discover. Some SEO plugins, including Yoast SEO for WordPress have in-built functionality to help you create an llms.txt file. It is important to note that the llms.txt file has not been officially adopted by major platforms at this stage.

This is a really important shift for accountancy firms to understand from a marketing perspective too. It’s no longer just about being found on Google, it’s about being the firm that gets recommended by AI when a potential client asks a question. That changes how we think about content, positioning, and how clearly a firm communicates what it does and who it serves. — Sarena Harwood, Marketing with Sarena

How to make your accountancy firm website AI-friendly

A good way to make your content more readable to AI platforms is to use structured data and schema on your website. If an accountant has a WordPress site and uses an SEO plugin like Yoast SEO or Rank Math, some types of structured data can be added automatically. There’s separate schema types for your organisation, web pages, a contact page, about page, service pages, blog posts, and FAQs, so AI can easily identify what the question and answer is. — Liam Saunders, VIP IT

Key schema types to have in place:

• Organisation schema
• AboutPage schema
• ContactPage schema
• Service page schema
• Blog post/article schema
• FAQ schema: which is particularly valuable for AI citations

What type of content is most likely to appear in AI-generated search answers?

It’s not just about blogs, all types of content can be cited by AI, including service pages, about pages, and FAQs.

It’s most likely to be a small snippet or short extract rather than a really long section of text. The best way to appear more in AI results is to create hyper-relevant content that directly answers specific questions. For example, if someone’s using an AI platform to look for an accountant that specialises in the veterinary sector, they’re much more likely to be cited if they have a dedicated veterinary page with specific content about that sector, rather than just more general content. — Liam Saunders, VIP IT

The message is clear: Niche, targeted and unique content wins, both in traditional search and AI search.

Will AI reduce the importance of traditional SEO?

There’s a lot of scaremongering out there on this topic. But here’s a more grounded perspective:

AI is unlikely to overtake traditional SEO anytime soon. Predictions vary, but they tend to suggest somewhere between 2028 and 2030 and they’re quite unsure, as it depends how much people take to using AI and how quickly habits change. For most sites currently, AI traffic is likely to contribute no more than 20% traffic as a maximum, while traditional organic search is going to be much higher, at around 50–60%. — Liam Saunders, VIP IT

This doesn’t mean that ignoring AI is a good strategy, forward-looking firms will need to adapt to AI, but in a way that doesn’t sacrifice traditional SEO. A hybrid approach is recommended. The firms that will be best placed are the ones that get their SEO foundations right now, while also starting to think about how their content and positioning translates into AI search. It’s about building on what works, not starting again from scratch.

How do accountants make sure their expertise is visible in AI tools like ChatGPT and Gemini?

It would be a case of ensuring that you have a good, clear about page with good schema markup, so that AI can understand the profiles of different team members accountants in the practice. Showcasing each team member’s qualifications, experience and expertise in these profiles is an effective way to build trust with AI platforms and make it more likely that your website is seen as an authoritative source of information. Also having clear FAQs on your website that are marked up with schema is key, so  AI platforms can read the answer to each of your questions easily. — Liam Saunders, VIP IT

A checklist for AI visibility:

• Have clear and detailed About Us and team pages. Using Schema markup on team profiles to showcase team members qualifications, experience and expertise
• FAQ sections on key service and sector pages. Also using FAQ schema markup to make questions and answers easily readable for AI platforms
• Make sure AI crawlers are not blocked from your website.

Is niche positioning becoming more important for SEO & AI Search in accountancy firms?

Absolutely, and this is something that connects SEO and marketing strategy very closely. This is something I feel strongly about from a marketing perspective. A lot of accountancy firms are very generic in how they present themselves, and that’s where it gets most competitive, because they’re all saying the same things.

The firms that stand out are the ones that get really clear on their ideal client, the services they want to deliver, what results they get for those clients, and whether there’s a genuine niche they can own. That clarity doesn’t just make for better marketing; it makes for better SEO and better AI visibility too. — Sarena Harwood – Marketing with Sarena.

Do your ideal clients know you’re the right firm for them? Read my latest article on how to define your firms positioning and niche.

Are blogs still worth it for accountants?

Yes, but the focus has shifted. Blogs are still worth it. But the focus has changed a bit, it’s more about the quality content, and not just churning out something just to try and game Google or the AI platforms. It needs to be helpful, unique, good quality, and backed up with real insights from specialists in the business.

There’s also a growing risk with over-reliance on AI-generated content:

Heavily AI-generated content can be a bit of a risk if it doesn’t have that crucial human input and oversight. If you’re just using AI to churn out reams of content, it just doesn’t help your website become more visible. — Liam Saunders, VIP IT

What does work? Real people’ Real insights. Real photos.

From a marketing point of view, I’m seeing this play out across social media too. Content that feels human, that shows the people behind the firm, their opinions, their expertise, gets far more engagement than content that sounds generic or AI-written. Authenticity is what builds trust, and trust is what wins clients. — Sarena Harwood – Marketing with Sarena

I have shared more on Why People-Led Marketing Works for Accountancy Firms here.

What content should accountancy firms prioritise in 2026/2027?

I’ve seen quite a lot of success with very targeted sector pages and service pages for AI, because  as that content is really hyper-relevant to a particular audience, it tends to get cited quite well by AI platforms. Making sure you have pages for your target sectors that you specialise in can really help you with traditional search and also AI visibility. — Liam Saunders, VIP IT

A summary of AI search for accounting firms

AI search is not something to fear but is something to prepare for. The good news is that the fundamentals that make a great accountancy website for traditional SEO, are the same things that make you visible in AI search too. The firms that start getting this right now will be the ones best placed as AI search continues to grow.

This is Part 2 of our two-part SEO and AI Search series. If you missed What Accountancy Firms Need to Know About SEO you can read it here.

Thinking about getting outsourced marketing support for your firm?

I work with a small number of accountancy firms on a retained monthly basis, helping them build their marketing strategy, manage their activity, and attract the right clients consistently.

If you would like to find out whether outsourced marketing director support could work for your firm, I would love to have a conversation.