How do you optimize content so AI models cite it as a source?

Content that wins AI citation slots shares specific characteristics. The structure is built for extraction: H2 and H3 headings framed as the actual questions a reader would ask, with a clean two-to-three-sentence direct answer below each one before any expansion. The content is fact-dense: real numbers, named entities, specific dates, identifiable sources, not abstract claims. The page carries appropriate schema markup (Article, FAQPage, HowTo, Organization, Person) so the structure is machine-readable. Authorship is explicit and credentialed – named expert with a bio that contextualizes the expertise – because the engines weight identifiable authority. Recent updates signal currency. And the content cites authoritative third-party sources within the text, because the engines weight sources that themselves cite credibly. Beyond any single page, topical authority across the domain compounds: an engine is more likely to cite from a site that consistently demonstrates depth on a topic than from one that publishes scattered content.