ChatGPT and other AI assistants quote passages of a few sentences, so content that gets quoted answers one question per section, puts the answer in the first sentence, names its subject, and includes the number or condition that makes the claim true. The ten rewrites below show the most common problems in business website copy and how to fix each one. They apply equally to featured snippets in Google.
The principles behind the rewrites
- Answer firstThe first sentence answers the heading.
- Name the subjectNo “it”, “this” or “we” without context.
- Be specificNumbers, ranges, conditions, names.
- Stand aloneMakes sense without the paragraph before.
The research behind these principles is covered in our guides to the lost-in-the-middle effect and quotability. All examples below are written for this article; the companies are fictional.
1. The slow introduction
| Before | After |
|---|---|
| In today’s fast-changing digital world, businesses face many challenges when it comes to choosing the right accounting software. There are many factors to consider. | Small businesses in India usually choose accounting software on three factors: GST compliance, bank reconciliation and whether their accountant already uses it. For a team of under ten people, a cloud tool with GST filing built in covers most needs. |
The first version has no fact an assistant could quote. The second answers the question in its first sentence.
2. The pronoun that loses its subject
| Before | After |
|---|---|
| It usually takes two weeks and includes everything you need. | The Northwind website audit takes about two weeks and covers crawling, page speed, structured data and content gaps. |
Retrieved on its own, “it” means nothing. Repeat the name.
3. The price that is hidden
| Before | After |
|---|---|
| Pricing depends on your requirements. Contact us for a quote. | Website maintenance plans start at Rs 8,000 a month for sites under 50 pages. The price rises with the number of pages, update frequency and whether content writing is included. |
Buyers ask assistants about cost. A page that never mentions it cannot be cited for those questions.
4. The unsupported superlative
| Before | After |
|---|---|
| We are the leading provider of industrial valves in Maharashtra. | Kaveri Valves has manufactured industrial ball and gate valves in Pune since 2004 and supplies about 300 customers in chemical and water treatment plants. |
“Leading” is a claim no one can check. Founding year, product types, location and customer count are facts.
5. The answer buried in the third paragraph
| Before | After |
|---|---|
| (Heading: How long does a website migration take?) Migration is a complex process. Many things can go wrong… (the answer appears three paragraphs later) | A website migration of under 200 pages usually takes two to four weeks, including testing. Larger sites, or moves to a new platform, can take two to three months. |
6. The list with no context
| Before | After |
|---|---|
| Speed. Security. Support. | Three things decide whether a hosting plan suits a small business: page speed in India (servers in Mumbai help), automatic security updates, and support that answers within a working day. |
A bare list gives an assistant nothing to attribute. Introduce it with a sentence that says what the list is.
7. The comparison written as prose
| Before | After |
|---|---|
| Our basic plan is good for small teams, while the business plan offers more users and the enterprise plan has everything plus support. | A table with columns for plan, users, storage, support and price per month. |
Comparisons and specifications are easier to extract correctly from an HTML table. See tables and data-dense formatting.
8. The vague heading
| Before | After |
|---|---|
| Heading: “Overview” | Heading: “What does a GST software subscription include?” |
Headings phrased as questions match how people ask and give retrieval systems a clear topic for the section below.
9. The statistic with no source
| Before | After |
|---|---|
| Studies show that most searches now end without a click. | A 2024 study by SparkToro and Datos estimated that 58.5% of Google searches in the United States ended without a click to another website. |
“Studies show” is unverifiable. A named source, year and figure can be checked and quoted.
10. The FAQ answer that avoids the question
| Before | After |
|---|---|
| Q: Does Northwind work with clients outside Pune? A: We love working with clients from all backgrounds! | Q: Does Northwind work with clients outside Pune? A: Yes. Northwind delivers most projects remotely and runs on-site workshops in Mumbai and Bengaluru. |
A quick self-check for any section
- Does the first sentence answer the heading?
- Would the section make sense if it were the only thing someone read?
- Is there at least one number, name or condition?
- Is every claim something a reader could verify?
Frequently asked questions
How long should an answer be?
Long enough to be complete. A useful guide is one to three sentences for the direct answer, followed by detail. Studies of featured snippets often cite 40 to 60 words for paragraph answers, but that is a pattern, not a rule.
Does this make writing sound robotic?
It should not. Answer-first writing is how good journalists and technical writers have always worked. The rest of each section can explain, give examples and tell stories.
Should every page be rewritten?
Start with the pages that answer your buyers’ most common questions: services, pricing, comparisons and key guides.