We Rewrote a Service Page - To Optimise for AI Overviews: Before and After
We Rewrote a Service Page - to optimise for AI Overviews: Before and After
Most advice about getting cited in AI answers stays abstract: be clear, be authoritative, be structured. True, and almost impossible to act on.
So here is a concrete exercise. Below is a service page of the kind nearly every agency has, rewritten step by step. Our guide to generative engine optimisation covers the theory; this is the workshop.
A note on the example: the "before" is a composite of the generic copy we see across agency sites, not a particular company's page. The "after" is the approach we apply to our own web design and development page.
The "before"
Web Design Services We are a passionate team of designers and developers delivering innovative, bespoke digital solutions. Our award-winning approach combines cutting-edge technology with creative excellence to elevate your brand and drive results. Whether you are a start-up or an enterprise, we tailor our services to your unique needs. Get in touch today to find out how we can transform your online presence.
It is 60 words, grammatically fine and completely interchangeable. Swap the logo and it belongs to any of ten thousand studios.
This is not a style complaint. It is a functional one. An AI system building an answer to "how long does a corporate website take to build?" or "what does a web design studio actually do?" can extract nothing from this paragraph. There is no claim to quote, no number, no definition and no named source.
What is wrong with it
Problem | Why it fails an AI answer | The fix |
No direct answer | The opening does not say what the service is or who it is for. | Open with a plain definition and audience. |
Empty adjectives | "Innovative", "bespoke" and "cutting-edge" are not claims anyone can verify or cite. | Replace each with a fact. |
No numbers | Nothing to quote on timing, process or scope. | Add timelines and stages. |
No evidence | "Award-winning" is unnamed and unsourced. | Name the work and link to it. |
No author or owner | No one is accountable for the information. | Name who runs the service and show their experience. |
No questions answered | The reader's real questions go unaddressed. | Add an FAQ in the customer's own words. |
The "after"
Web Design and Development for Businesses That Sell Considered Services
We design and build websites for businesses whose customers take time to decide: manufacturers, institutions, professional firms and B2B companies. A typical corporate site takes four to six weeks, a campaign landing page one to two weeks, and a custom web application six to ten weeks.
How a project runs. Every project follows four stages: discovery and strategy, structure and wireframes, design, and build with launch. We agree what the site must achieve before anyone opens a design tool, because most redesign problems start with an unclear brief.
What we need from you. Access to your analytics, an hour with the people who speak to customers, and a named person who can approve decisions.
Recent work. We rebuilt Bangur Cement's website around two audiences, dealers and end customers, so each reaches what they need in under three clicks (case study). For GSI GmbH we built a dual-market site serving Germany and India (case study).
Pricing. Every project is scoped and quoted individually after we understand the requirements. We will tell you honestly if a simpler option would serve you better.
Led by Ayudh Reyaz, founder and strategist, Bulb Studio, Kolkata.
That is around 190 words, and every sentence could be lifted into an answer.
What changed, and why it works
The first two sentences answer "what is this and for whom?" An AI answer to a "who does X" query needs exactly that, and so does a human skimming on a phone.
The timelines are specific. "Four to six weeks" is a quotable fact. "We work to your schedule" is not. Specific, true numbers are the most citable thing a service page can contain.
The process has named stages. A short list of steps is easy to extract, and gives the reader confidence about what happens next.
Evidence is named and linked. Real clients, a specific design problem and a link to the full case study. Claims you can check are worth far more than adjectives.
Pricing is handled honestly. We do not publish rates, and the page says why. A transparent policy is better than an evasive one, and it saves unqualified enquiries.
A person is accountable. A named lead with a role gives the page an author, which is part of how both people and systems judge reliability.
A five-minute test you can run on your own page
Highlight a paragraph on your service page and ask:
1. Could a competitor paste this onto their site unchanged?
2. Does it contain a number, a name or a date?
3. If an assistant quoted it, would the quote make sense out of context?
4. Can the reader check any claim in it?
If the answers are yes, no, no and no, rewrite it.
What this will not do
It will not guarantee a citation. No one can promise that, and anyone who does is selling something. AI answers draw on many sources, and which ones they choose changes constantly.
What it does is remove the reasons a page would be skipped, and it improves the page for human readers at the same time. That second benefit is the reliable one.
Frequently asked questions
How long should a service page be? Long enough to answer the questions a buyer has, and no longer. For most considered services that is 600 to 1,000 words plus an FAQ.
Does an FAQ help with AI Overviews? It helps when the questions are real ones that customers ask, with direct, self-contained answers. Google retired FAQ rich results in May 2026, so the markup no longer earns a search feature, but self-contained questions and answers still help readers and give AI answers clean passages to quote.
Should I put prices on my service page? That is a business decision. If you do not publish rates, say so plainly and explain how you scope projects, rather than leaving the question unanswered.
Is it worth rewriting old pages or only writing new ones? Rewriting your top service pages usually pays back faster, because they already have links, history and traffic to build on.
Can I use AI to rewrite my pages? You can use it for drafting, but the specifics (numbers, names, evidence) have to come from you. Generic output reproduces exactly the problem described above.
Related reading: what Google's new search box and AI Mode mean for your website.
Want us to look at your service pages? Our free audit includes a review of how clearly your key pages answer what a buyer needs to know.
