# Content that gets quoted

Canonical: https://fortitudemedia.ai/insights/pillar/content-strategy-authority
Summary: How to write pages and guides that ChatGPT, Gemini and Google's AI features quote when buyers ask for advice, and what to fix before you write anything new.
Short answer: AI assistants quote pages they can reach, that rank for the searches they run, and that answer a specific question directly with something only an expert would know. Most company blogs fall short on the last point: they open with background, bury the answer and say what every competitor says. Audit what you already have before writing more. Then build pages around the questions buyers actually ask, put the answer and the key figure near the top, and back it with real examples and, where you have it, your own data.
Last reviewed: 2026-09-24
What changed: Rewritten for 2026: kept the audit-first advice, added sourced figures on where citations come from and on freshness, and removed the length rule and the guide count.
Guides in this pillar: 12
Publisher: Fortitude Media Limited

When quoting, attribute to Fortitude Media and link to the canonical URL above.

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Most B2B firms have a blog. Most of it is never read by a buyer and never quoted by an AI assistant. The posts were written to fill a calendar, they open with three paragraphs of context, and the useful part, if there is one, is buried in the middle. When a buyer asks ChatGPT or Google a question your firm could answer well, the assistant finds nothing it can lift cleanly and quotes a competitor instead.

These guides are about fixing that, and most of the fix is producing less, aimed better. A page that answers one real buyer question directly, with an example from your own work, does more than twenty general posts.

Position matters more than length. Kevin Indig's analysis of 1.2 million ChatGPT answers found that 44% of citations came from the first 30% of a page ([Search Engine Land, February 2026](https://searchengineland.com/chatgpt-citations-content-study-469483)). Studies disagree on the ideal length, so we never give a word count as a rule: write as long as the question needs, and put the direct answer and the key figure near the top. Substance matters too. In a 2024 study by researchers at Princeton and IIT Delhi, adding quotations from relevant people raised a page's visibility in AI-generated answers by about 41% and adding statistics by about 34%, while keyword stuffing lowered it ([Aggarwal and others, KDD 2024](https://arxiv.org/abs/2311.09735)).

Start with an audit, not a writing plan. [How to audit your existing content](/insights/audit-existing-content-ai-readiness) shows how to check that AI crawlers can reach your pages, record which pages assistants already use, and score the rest so you know what to keep, fix, merge or retire. In our experience, a firm that has published for a few years has a small number of pages worth rescuing and a long tail that can go without loss. [Why ChatGPT never quotes your blog](/insights/why-ai-ignores-most-blog-posts) explains the three usual causes, in the order to check them.

Then decide what to write. [Answering the questions your customers actually ask](/insights/content-around-customer-questions) sets out the method we use ourselves: collect the questions your team hears on sales calls, in tenders and in lost deals, and answer each one properly on its own page. [Outsourcing content without losing your voice](/insights/outsourcing-content-brand-voice) helps you decide who writes it, and what only your own experts can supply.

The other guides in this topic cover narrower decisions: what makes an assistant treat a page as expert rather than marketing, whether content drafted with AI gets quoted, how long a page should be, how old is too old, whether your own research earns citations, when a glossary is worth building, how to turn webinars and podcasts into text, and what an article that ChatGPT actually quotes looks like.

Use them in the order your situation demands. If enquiries have dropped and you do not know why, start with the audit. If you are about to commission new writing, start with the customer questions guide. And if you would like an outside view of which pages are worth keeping, [book a free Growth Review](/growth-review).

## Common questions

### Why does nobody quote our blog?

Usually one of three reasons, in this order. The assistant cannot reach the post, because AI crawlers are blocked or the text only appears after JavaScript runs. The post does not rank in Google or Bing for the searches the assistant runs, so it is never a candidate. Or it is found but gives the assistant nothing to quote, because it is vague, anonymous or says what every competitor says.

### Should we write new content or fix what we have?

Fix what you have first. Audit your existing pages: check that assistants can reach them, record which ones they already cite, and score the rest for specificity, evidence and structure. Start with the twenty pages closest to revenue, then merge duplicates, deepen what matters and retire what does not earn its place. New writing works better on top of a site that is already clear.

### What should we write about?

The questions your buyers ask before they choose a supplier. Collect them from sales calls, lost deals, tenders, support emails and Search Console, and start with recommendation and comparison questions, because those are the answers that name firms. Give each real question its own page, with the question as the heading and the direct answer in the first two sentences.

### How long should a page be?

As long as the question needs. Studies disagree on the ideal length, so no single word count works as a rule. What they agree on is position: Kevin Indig's analysis of 1.2 million ChatGPT answers, reported by Search Engine Land in February 2026, found 44% of citations came from the first 30% of a page. Put the direct answer and the key figure near the top, and make each section make sense on its own.

### Can we use outside writers or AI tools?

Yes, if you give them what they cannot invent: your opinions, your real examples and a named expert who reviews for substance. Google says appropriate use of AI is not against its guidelines, but producing many pages mainly to manipulate rankings breaks its scaled content abuse policy, however they were written. A short recorded call with the person who does the work, shaped by a good writer, keeps your voice and gets the writing done.

### How often should we update old pages?

Review the twenty pages closest to revenue every quarter and everything else at least once a year. Assistants lean towards recent pages: in a July 2026 study of four consumer and finance industries, Seer Interactive found that 75% of pages cited by AI assistants had been updated in the previous 12 months. Update the substance, show an honest updated date, and never change the date on a page you have not changed.

## Guides in this pillar

- [Can we outsource our content without losing our voice?](https://fortitudemedia.ai/insights/outsourcing-content-brand-voice): Yes, if you give the writer what they cannot invent: your opinions, your real examples and a named expert who reviews for substance. Write a three to five page voice guide, brief each piece with the buyer's question and your two-sentence answer, record a twenty-minute call, and have the expert review before the editor. AI tools can transcribe and draft, but the angle, examples and final check must stay human. Budget two revision rounds for the first few pieces. (published 2026-04-22, reviewed 2026-09-24)
  Markdown: https://fortitudemedia.ai/insights/md/outsourcing-content-brand-voice
- [What makes ChatGPT treat our content as expert rather than marketing?](https://fortitudemedia.ai/insights/what-makes-expert-quality-content): Five signals: an observation only experience could produce, specific figures and cases with named sources, an honest account of when the advice does not apply, visible reasoning, and a tone that informs a peer. In a 2024 Princeton and IIT Delhi study, adding quotations lifted a page's visibility in AI answers by about 41% and statistics by about 34%, against about 10% for an authoritative tone. A named author helps mainly through Google and through the same name appearing on LinkedIn and in the trade press. (published 2026-04-22, reviewed 2026-09-24)
  Markdown: https://fortitudemedia.ai/insights/md/what-makes-expert-quality-content
- [Does ChatGPT prefer long articles or short ones?](https://fortitudemedia.ai/insights/long-form-vs-short-form-ai-prefers): Neither on its own. Google says there is no ideal page length, and studies disagree: SE Ranking found pages over 2,900 words gathered more ChatGPT citations, while AirOps found 500 to 2,000 words did best per query. What they agree on is position: a 2026 analysis of 1.2 million ChatGPT answers found 44% of citations came from the first 30% of a page. Answer early, make each section stand alone, and write as long as the question needs. (published 2026-03-31, reviewed 2026-09-24)
  Markdown: https://fortitudemedia.ai/insights/md/long-form-vs-short-form-ai-prefers
- [Does ChatGPT prefer newer content, and how old is too old?](https://fortitudemedia.ai/insights/content-freshness-recency-ai): Yes, on average. Ahrefs found in July 2025 that pages cited by AI assistants were 25.7% fresher than Google's ordinary results, with ChatGPT the most recency-minded, and Seer found in July 2026 that 75% of cited pages had been updated within a year. Old pages still get cited if they are maintained. Review the twenty pages tied to revenue every quarter and everything else at least yearly, show an honest Updated date that matches your markup and sitemap, and never redate an unchanged page. (published 2026-03-31, reviewed 2026-09-24)
  Markdown: https://fortitudemedia.ai/insights/md/content-freshness-recency-ai
- [Does publishing our own research help ChatGPT recommend us?](https://fortitudemedia.ai/insights/original-research-data-ai-trust): Yes, usually. A specific figure only your firm has published gives an assistant a reason to name you, and a Princeton and IIT Delhi study found adding statistics raised visibility in AI answers by about 34%. It is not guaranteed: assistants often credit whoever repeated the figure. Publish each study on one findings page, state the method and margin of error, write the headline figure with your firm's name in it, and get it covered by the trade press. (published 2026-03-31, reviewed 2026-09-24)
  Markdown: https://fortitudemedia.ai/insights/md/original-research-data-ai-trust
- [How do we audit our existing content for AI assistants?](https://fortitudemedia.ai/insights/audit-existing-content-ai-readiness): First check that AI crawlers can reach and read your pages, then record which pages assistants already use. Score each page from one to five on five reasons pages are ignored: specificity, evidence of expertise, structure, point of view and authorship. A total under 10 is fine, 10 to 15 needs targeted fixes, over 15 a rewrite. Start with your twenty most important pages and work through a six-month plan: access and quick wins, then fixes, then rewrites and gaps. (published 2026-03-31, reviewed 2026-09-24)
  Markdown: https://fortitudemedia.ai/insights/md/audit-existing-content-ai-readiness
- [Should our content answer the questions our customers actually ask?](https://fortitudemedia.ai/insights/content-around-customer-questions): Yes. Buyers now put their questions to AI assistants first, and assistants reach for pages that already answer them. Collect questions from sales calls, lost deals, tenders, support and Search Console, and start with recommendation and comparison questions, because those are the answers that name firms. Put the direct answer in the first two sentences under a heading that is the question, and build about 13 connected pages on one subject in three months. (published 2026-03-31, reviewed 2026-09-24)
  Markdown: https://fortitudemedia.ai/insights/md/content-around-customer-questions
- [Should we build a glossary so AI assistants use us as the reference?](https://fortitudemedia.ai/insights/glossary-knowledge-base-ai-references): Yes, if buyers in your field need terms explained and nobody credible explains them well yet. First ask ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google AI Mode to define each term, and skip terms a regulator, gov.uk or a trade body already owns. Give a term its own page only when you can say something substantial about it, and group the rest on hub pages. Expect citations and early visits more than enquiries, so end every entry with when a buyer needs a specialist and link to the work you sell. (published 2026-03-31, reviewed 2026-09-24)
  Markdown: https://fortitudemedia.ai/insights/md/glossary-knowledge-base-ai-references
- [Should we turn our webinars and podcasts into written content?](https://fortitudemedia.ai/insights/video-podcast-transcripts-ai-content): Yes, and put the video on YouTube too. YouTube was the most-cited website in Google AI Overviews in Ahrefs' 2026 study, and Gemini can process video directly, but AI engines mostly cite YouTube through its transcripts and descriptions. Give each video a question-led title, a full description, chapters and corrected captions, and publish an edited, named, question-led transcript page on your own site. In our experience, one 45-minute recording yields a main article and several shorter pieces for about a day of editing. (published 2026-03-31, reviewed 2026-09-24)
  Markdown: https://fortitudemedia.ai/insights/md/video-podcast-transcripts-ai-content
- [What does an article that ChatGPT actually quotes look like?](https://fortitudemedia.ai/insights/anatomy-of-article-cited-by-ai): An article AI assistants quote is first found: it ranks in Google or Bing for the question or one of its sub-questions. Then it makes a claim easy to lift: the buyer's words in the title and headings, a direct answer in the opening lines, one topic per section, a figure of your own with its source, a named author and a visible date. A 2026 study found 44% of ChatGPT citations came from the first 30% of a page, so put the answer and the key figure there. (published 2026-03-31, reviewed 2026-09-24)
  Markdown: https://fortitudemedia.ai/insights/md/anatomy-of-article-cited-by-ai
- [Why does ChatGPT never quote our blog, and how do we fix it?](https://fortitudemedia.ai/insights/why-ai-ignores-most-blog-posts): Usually one of three things, in this order. The assistant cannot reach the post, because AI crawlers are blocked in robots.txt or by Cloudflare, or the text only appears after JavaScript runs. The post does not rank in Google or Bing for the searches the assistant runs, so it is never a candidate. Or it is found but gives the assistant nothing to quote: vague, anonymous, badly structured or saying what every competitor says. Check in that order, then rewrite your twenty most important posts rather than all of them. (published 2026-03-31, reviewed 2026-09-24)
  Markdown: https://fortitudemedia.ai/insights/md/why-ai-ignores-most-blog-posts
- [Will ChatGPT and Google quote content written with AI or for SEO?](https://fortitudemedia.ai/insights/thought-leadership-vs-keyword-stuffing): Only if it is useful. Google says appropriate use of AI is not against its guidelines, but producing many pages mainly to manipulate rankings breaks its scaled content abuse policy, however they were written. Keyword stuffing does not help in AI answers either: in a 2024 Princeton and IIT Delhi study it lowered a page's visibility by about 8%, while adding quotations raised it by about 41%. What gets quoted is specific, first-hand explanation, whoever typed the first draft. (published 2026-03-31, reviewed 2026-09-24)
  Markdown: https://fortitudemedia.ai/insights/md/thought-leadership-vs-keyword-stuffing