Why a designated reviews page is your shortcut to AI search success
- 22 hours ago
- 5 min read
by Natalie Khoo
88% of Google AI Overviews are triggered by informational queries like “definitions” and “comparisons – key moments when potential customers are weighing options. In our experience, this is where brands can win, lose, or simply not show up.
As AI-driven search becomes more conversational and decision-focused, reviews are emerging as a powerful differentiator. Generative tools like ChatGPT and Google's AI Overviews increasingly surface customer feedback to help users decide who to trust and what to buy.
Furthermore, Shopify and ChatGPT have partnered to enable one-click purchases directly within the ChatGPT interface – highlighting how AI tools are becoming integral to the customer journey. In this scenario, brands must optimise their content for AI.
If you don’t have a designated reviews page (or at the very least, multiple meaningful reviews that are correctly coded in the back-end of your website as ‘reviews’), AI will struggle to index your trust signals while competitors outshine you.
This post breaks down why a well-structured reviews page is now one of the fastest ways to improve visibility in AI search.
Key takeaways
AI search relies on trust signals. Reviews and testimonials help AI tools understand credibility, quality, and relevance.
Centralising reviews on a designated page makes it easier for AI (and humans) to find and interpret your trust data, boosting visibility.
A well-structured reviews page enhances the user experience, builds confidence, supports conversions, and strengthens your brand story.
Adding appropriate schema markup helps AI recognise and display your content accurately.
Treat your reviews page as an AI-ready reputation hub – link to it across your site and update it regularly to maintain strong AI search performance.
How did user reviews become a core driver of AI optimisation?
Search used to be simple:
Rank on Google.
Get the click.
Build trust once the user arrives.
Now, before they click, users ask AI tools questions like:
“What’s the best copywriting agency for regulated industries?”
“Who has the most trustworthy safety training programs?”
“Which insurance providers are rated highly by customers?”
“Who’s the best obstetrician in Melbourne with good patient reviews?”
And AI tools like Google Overviews and ChatGPT will synthesise these answers using:
third-party review sites
scattered snippets around the web
old reviews from forums
Google Business profiles
whatever structured data it can find
your own website’s review content… if it exists.
In our view, this is where Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO) matters most. AI is looking for signals like:
What was it like to actually work with you?
What changed as a result of your product or service?
Are other people choosing and recommending you?
Who is vouching for you (clients, experts, industry bodies)?
If you don't provide this clearly, AI fills the gaps with:
outdated or redundant reviews from many years ago
irrelevant commentary from Reddit
Google reviews with no context
competitor comparisons
neutral or vague summaries.
That means you lose visibility in AI-led search journeys, even if your reputation is excellent.
One fast way to optimise for AI search: Build a reviews page
When we assess AI optimisation strategies for our clients, a centralised reviews page almost always emerges as a quick win.
It boosts conversions.
It builds brand authority.
It increases trust signals.
It improves representation in LLMs (large language models).
It enhances visibility across AI tools.
You might be thinking, “We already have testimonials across our site. Isn't that enough?” We don’t think so. Here's what we advise instead:
Centralise and structure your reviews
Scattered testimonials on homepages or case studies create friction for AI. It can't easily:
locate them
assess relevance
summarise sentiment
detect consistency.
A designated reviews page offers a single, structured source of truth.
Add structured markup (schema) to boost GEO visibility
AI tools rely on structured data to interpret content. A designated reviews page allows you to apply key schema markup types. Without a schema, AI sees only "text on a page." With it, AI reads a trust-rich data set.
What is schema markup?Schema is behind-the-scenes code that tells AI what your content is and why it matters. For a reviews page, the most relevant schema types include:
You don’t need to know code to implement this. Tools like RankMath, Yoast or Schema Builder make it easy. |
Protect your brand’s narrative
Without a clear reviews page, AI pulls from:
Google Business listings (often focused on logistics or customer service)
random LinkedIn comments
Reddit threads
aggregator sites
If you don’t shape your story, AI will – using whatever it can find.
What we recommend for a high-performing reviews page
If you’re building or refreshing a reviews page, here’s a structure we suggest.
A clear headline and positioning statement
For example, “Why clients choose XYZ: real results, real experiences.” This helps AI immediately understand the page's purpose.
Review filters
If you have lots of reviews to leverage, why not allow users to filter by:
industry
service type
role (such as marketing, digital, founder)
product
problem/situation.
This also gives AI clarity on what you’re good at and who you’re a good fit for.
A mix of short testimonials and longer narrative reviews
Short provides quick credibility, while long showcases deep expertise. LLMs love longer, narrative reviews because they give more semantic richness to your brand story.
Source attribution
Clearly label the source of each review, such as:
Google
Facebook
Email
Survey
Client interview
Structured data
At a minimum, implement these schema markups:
Review
AggregateRating
Product, Service, or LocalBusiness
An aggregate rating (if applicable)
For example, “4.9/5 based on 132 reviews”. Use structured data to make this machine-readable.
Next steps for content producers
If you already have reviews across your website, you can still create a dedicated reviews page. Here’s what you can do:
link to it from key service pages
link to it from your navigation
reference it in your footer
use it as the source of truth for testimonials used elsewhere
encourage customers to leave new reviews directly on the page
update it with fresh proof quarterly.
Think of it as your AI-ready reputation hub.
If you don’t have reviews at all, start sourcing them by:
pulling quotes from existing case studies
using anonymised client feedback
running a customer feedback survey
collecting testimonials post-project
repurposing customer feedback from Net Promoter Score (NPS) surveys
pulling quotes (with permission) from email praise
asking long-term clients for a short story.
You don’t need hundreds. You just need meaningful, specific proof.
AI-driven search is reshaping how people discover and evaluate brands. If you want to take control of how you're represented, now is the time to prioritise a reviews page.
We believe it's one of the most underused yet impactful tactics you can implement today.
