How AI can support every stage of the content lifecycle

Ensuring your content is scannable for AI (content structure) 

Like humans, AI scans for information and looks for consistent, logical structures. So, the good news is, all the content structure best practice principles that content designers already use as part of their design work make content more scannable for AI too.  

There are a couple of additional considerations when it comes to how to structure content: 

• use headings that answer real user questions  

• ensure each chunk of content makes sense on its own 

• use common questions in subheadings (for example ‘what is…’).

Content style and AI 

Again, good news – following content style best practice helps content be found and prioritised by AI. 

Some additional considerations for content style to consider specifically for AI include: 

• How you name things matters: be consistent and use language of your users, otherwise your content won’t get picked up when users are searching for things.  

• Use clear, explicit language with low inference: AI systems work best when meaning is explicit, not implied. Clear nouns and verbs reduce ambiguity and improve retrieval. 

Content accessibility and inclusivity with AI 

This is a well-documented weak spot for AI currently, so it’s just as well content designers are accessibility and inclusivity ninjas! 

It’s important to take care when using AI because: 

• it learns from biased data

• content that sounds inclusive doesn’t always mean it is inclusive

• it does not take responsibility for harm.

How to use AI safely for inclusive content 

AI can be helpful when used deliberately for: 

• drafting, sense checking, or widening options (not final decisions) 

• reviewing outputs with consideration for, or research with, people who have lived experience and accessibility needs.

The key message here is you should treat inclusive guidance from AI as hypotheses, not truths. 

Content findability and AI 

When considering how findable a content item is for AI, ask yourself the following questions: 

• Does the content item clearly answer a real user question?  

• Is the purpose obvious in the title and summary?  

• Would AI confidently extract a correct answer to the most common questions users ask about this topic?  

• Is the language user-centred, not organisational?  

• Is it connected to related content meaningfully? 

Again, these are similar considerations that content designers have been asking for years when trying to make their content findable in search engines.