The Signals Got Smarter
- Joy Morales
- Jul 10
- 5 min read
July 10, 2025
When we introduced the Found First visibility framework, the goal was simple:
Help businesses become the answer AI is looking for.
That mission hasn’t changed. But as we know, AI is constantly changing.
So, we upgraded our system — to make it even better at getting your business Found First.
Originally built on five core visibility signals, Found First was designed to help you show up with clarity, authority, and relevance across AI search and generative systems like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Gemini.
But as we’ve worked with more clients, monitored shifts in AI behavior, and tracked how these platforms evaluate sources, one thing became clear:
Visibility isn’t just about structure.
It's also about signals of intent, identity, and inclusion.
So, we expanded the system — and strengthened it — with three additional signals and a major upgrade to a fourth.
The Core 4 Signals (Still Essential)
These four signals are still the foundation. If you're missing them, AI can’t see you — or trust you.
Digital Footprint – Are you visible at all?
Domain Expertise – Do you know your stuff?
AI Discoverability – Can AI read and recognize you?
Local Relevance – Are you contextually the right answer?
Now let’s look at the next phase — the signals that take your visibility from active to authoritative.
The New Signals: What We Added (and Why)
These additions strengthen your visibility.
Some of you may already be doing parts of this without realizing it. For others, this may be brand new. It might seem technical — but the effort is worth it.
Signal 5: Technical Signals
Even the most brilliant content won’t show up in AI search if the infrastructure behind it is broken.
Technical signals include the core web elements that AI systems (and search engines) rely on to crawl, index, and interpret your site:
Page speed and mobile responsiveness
SSL (secure browsing)
Schema markup
Clean URL structure
Crawl accessibility (no blocked pages or broken links)
A submitted sitemap that reflects your current content
If these aren’t in place, AI can’t reliably access your content — and that means it can’t learn from you, cite you, or recommend you.
Of all the new signals, this may be the most technical — but there are resources that can help. We’ll be releasing a free Schema eBook soon, and Your AI Wizards can support you through the process.
Bottom line: These behind-the-scenes techniques are what make your content readable — and reachable — by AI.
If AI can’t reach your content, it doesn’t matter how good it is.
Signal 6: Social Signals
AI is paying attention to the ripple effect of your online presence.
Social signals include:
Backlinks from reputable sources
Shared links on public platforms
Mentions of your brand
Consistent publishing across key social channels
The quality of engagement, not just the quantity
This isn’t about chasing likes or trends.
It's about showing up as an active, credible presence in your industry.
Clicks are fine, but AI is looking for clarity. Simple, helpful content in your voice — shared, linked, or quoted by others — signals relevance and trustworthiness.
Think of it this way: What was the TikTok trend in July 2024?
If you had to look it up, that’s the point. Don’t chase what disappears. Build what lasts.
Your goal isn’t to be transitory. Your goal is to be the trusted expert others turn to.
If no one’s linking to you, quoting you, or tagging you, AI assumes you're not worth citing.
And if you’re not being cited, you’re not being found.
Signal 7: AI-Specific Signals
This is the newest frontier of visibility — and it’s already reshaping how content gets surfaced.
AI-specific signals are content structures designed for retrieval and reuse. These include:
Clear questions with concise answers (Q&A blocks)
TL;DR summaries and overview sections
Listicles and bullet breakdowns
How-to formats and tutorials
Schema-marked content (like FAQs and definitions)
These formats don’t just help AI find your content — they help AI extract it, reference it, and include it in generative responses.
Structure is what AI craves. AI is trained to look for recognizable patterns. Your job is to make your answers easy to recognize.
If you want to be found first — and fast — be consistent about where key content lives across your site, posts, and blogs.
It’s not enough to publish content.
You have to publish it in a format AI can use.
Signal 8: The One We Strengthened (Bias in the Data)
This isn’t a new signal. It’s a reality we can’t ignore.
AI systems rely on biased, incomplete, and exclusionary training data.That affects who they consider “credible,” “typical,” or even visible.
Businesses that are woman-owned, Black-owned, LGBTQ+ led, rural-based, or that serve niche communities are often underrepresented — or missing entirely — from AI results.
So, we rebuilt this signal with the strength it deserves.
Bias in the Data now includes visibility strategies like:
Ownership signals – Name, face, and founder story
Audience cues – Who you serve and why it matters
Values in plain sight – Trust-building language and transparency
Narrative clarity – Real testimonials, emotional resonance, and clear POV
Bias counter-signals – Inclusive imagery, schema tags, and identity indicators
The models are trained. The gaps are real.
But your business can help change the input going forward — by becoming a clear, confident, visible answer.
You can’t fix AI’s training set — but you can shape the signals you send into it.
What This Means for Your Visibility
We’re still using the Found First framework with every client we support.
But it’s now smarter, more inclusive, and more strategic than ever before.
If you’ve already started building your digital footprint and domain expertise — good news: You’re ahead.
And if you haven’t?
There’s never been a better time to align with what AI is really looking for.
TL;DR: The Signals Got Smarter
Found First is now built on eight visibility signals — not five.
We added three and upgraded one to keep up with how AI actually finds you.
New Signals:
Signal 5 – Technical: Can AI access your site?
Signal 6 – Social: Are others quoting or linking to you?
Signal 7 – AI-Specific: Are you formatting content for retrieval?
Signal 8 – Bias in the Data: Are you sending the right identity and intent cues?
You don’t need to start over.
You just need to signal smarter.
Ready to see how your visibility holds up under the 8-signal system?
Let’s run your AI Visibility Audit.
Contact us to book your audit.
Coming Next Week:
We’ll show you why your technical signals might be the real reason AI can’t see you.
Hint: It’s not your content. It’s your crawlability.
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