We've been deep in the world of Answer Engine Optimization, running the CiteMET playbook across our best content. The initial results were solid - we saw users engaging with our AI Share Buttons, and we knew we were successfully seeding our content into AI platforms. But with our team's background in AI, we saw this as just the first step.
We understood that for a Large Language Model (LLM), a single, quick interaction is a whisper. A true signal of authority, one that builds lasting memory, comes from a deeper conversation. We saw an opportunity to transform that initial whisper into a meaningful dialogue.
Introduction
I spend plenty of time staring at dashboards and crawler logs. Fun, but here's the quiet truth: the strongest lever you have with AI isn't a tweak to metadata. It's people actually doing things with your work.
Models keep chewing through mountains of text. Still, they watch for human fingerprints: real usage, real tasks, real extraction. You can help them see your stuff as signal instead of noise by making it ridiculously easy for real readers to put your content to work.
Not hype. Not tricks. Just organized, useful interaction.
What "crowdsourcing" means here
In AEO context: you invite lots of genuine users to run purposeful prompts against your pages inside AI tools. Summaries. Conversions. Lists. Data pulls.
Each time someone asks "Turn this guide into a step list" or "Pull the table data" the model gets a tiny nudge: this page solved a task. One person? Small ripple. A few hundred? It starts to look like authority instead of coincidence.
Turn the AI button into a tool
If your AI Share Button looks like a decorative badge, it's wasted. Treat it like a power feature. Pair it with prompts that save time.
The user should feel: I click, I get something usable in under 10 seconds.
Skip vanity prompts.
Bad: "Ask if this site is reputable." (Boring. Zero utility.)
Better ideas:
"Make a 5 tweet thread from the key points." "Convert the numbered steps into a printable checklist." "Extract all figures into a clean table." "Summarize pros vs cons into two columns."
A good prompt gives the reader an asset they can reuse in a post, doc, deck, sprint board. You receive genuine interaction, not charity.
Mobilize, don't hope
Just placing buttons is passive. You need a rhythm.
- Start with your insiders
Newsletter readers, long time Discord or forum members, folks who reply to your posts. They'll test first and forgive rough edges. Tell them exactly what to try.
- Bake prompts into launches
Ship a report? Include three ready tasks:
"Find the most surprising stat." "Generate a TLDR for exec slide 1." "List actions for Q1 based on section 3."
Run a light challenge: "Use the button to draft a LinkedIn summary of the new case study. Post with #humanSignal. Best one gets a toolkit." Simple reward, clear action.
- Be openly clear
Tell people why this matters. Sample copy:
"We think this guide genuinely helps. When you use the AI button to generate a checklist or summary you help surface good sources above junk. Thanks for pushing quality forward."
That framing turns readers into collaborators. Shared mission beats silent tactic.
The rule you do not bend
If you fake usage you poison the well.
No paid click farms. No bot scripts. No dark pattern prompts.
Platforms flag inorganic bursts. You risk throttling or quiet down ranking.
The real path: keep shipping useful, reference worthy content, then invite the people who already trust you to amplify it through genuine tasks.
Your strongest optimization layer isn't another line of schema. It's a community turning pages into outcomes.