Voice search has grown from a novelty to a significant traffic source — and it's now more closely tied to AI search than ever.
With the increasing popularity of voice-activated assistants like Siri, Alexa and Google Assistant, alongside AI assistants like ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity, optimising your website for conversational queries has become integral to a complete SEO strategy. In this post, we cover how voice search works, why it matters and the strategies that will get you found.
Understanding the Impact of Voice Search
Voice search has transformed how users interact with search engines. Instead of typing out short-form queries, users ask full questions in natural language — "What are the best Italian restaurants in Liverpool?" rather than "Italian restaurants Liverpool." This shift has significant implications for keyword strategy and content structure.
Voice queries also skew heavily towards local and immediate intent. A user asking their phone "where can I buy running shoes near me?" is ready to visit a store — meaning local SEO and voice optimisation directly influence in-person footfall and conversions.
The connection to AI search is increasingly important: ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity all respond to voice queries on mobile devices, and they cite sources just as their web interfaces do. Voice optimisation and GEO (Generative Engine Optimisation) increasingly overlap.
Strategies for Voice Search Optimisation
Focus on Long-Tail Keywords
Voice search queries are conversational and question-based. Target long-tail keywords that mirror how people actually speak — "how do I improve my website speed?" rather than "website speed." Conduct keyword research specifically for question-format queries using tools like Answer The Public or Ahrefs' question filter.
Create FAQ Pages and Sections
FAQ sections are one of the most effective tools for voice search visibility. Anticipate the questions your customers are likely to ask and provide clear, concise answers. This increases your chances of appearing in featured snippets — the primary source for voice search responses — and in AI Overviews. Implement FAQPage schema markup to give search engines a structured signal.
Optimise for Local Search
Voice search is particularly dominant for local queries. Ensure your Google Business Profile is fully optimised with accurate NAP details (name, address, phone number), opening hours and recent posts. Local structured data — LocalBusiness schema — helps both traditional and voice search surfaces display your business information correctly.
Improve Page Load Speed
Voice assistants prioritise fast-loading websites for quick, seamless responses. Compress images, minify code, use a CDN and eliminate render-blocking resources. Check your Core Web Vitals in Google Search Console and aim for a fast LCP on mobile specifically.
Implement Structured Data Markup
Structured data (schema.org markup) helps search engines and AI systems understand your content's context. For voice search, the most relevant schema types include FAQPage, HowTo, LocalBusiness and Product. This structured information is directly used by Google's answer features and AI assistants when generating voice responses.
AI Voice Assistants: The Next Frontier
Traditional voice search — asking Alexa, Google Assistant or Siri a question and getting a spoken result — has now been joined by a new generation of AI voice assistants that are fundamentally more capable. ChatGPT Voice allows users to have extended spoken conversations with GPT-4o, which can browse the web and cite sources in its responses. Gemini Live on Android provides a similar conversational AI experience integrated directly into Google's ecosystem. Apple's enhanced Siri, powered by Apple Intelligence and ChatGPT integration, can now answer complex questions by reasoning across apps and web sources rather than simply triggering a web search.
These AI voice assistants differ from their predecessors in one critical way: they reason about sources and cite them. When a user asks ChatGPT Voice "which [type of service] companies are most recommended?" the model draws on its training data and live web browsing to construct a cited response. This means that appearing in AI voice responses requires the same approach as appearing in text-based AI search — strong topical authority, well-structured content, distributed brand mentions across trusted publications, and clean structured data.
For brands, this makes Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO) inseparable from a complete voice search strategy in 2026. A business optimised for traditional voice search (local schema, FAQ pages, fast load times) is well-positioned to extend that visibility into AI voice — but GEO adds the additional layer of brand authority and citation-readiness that AI models specifically reward. Businesses that combine both disciplines will have the most comprehensive voice and AI search presence available.
As voice search and AI assistants become further intertwined, the same content quality and structure that wins in voice search increasingly wins in AI-generated answers too. Optimising for one now means optimising for both.
If you need support with voice search, GEO or broader SEO strategy, get in touch.
