I suspect we’re not alone in finding that our search habits have changed. We still use Google, but increasingly, if we have a complicated question, we’ll ask ChatGPT, Claude or another AI platform. And depending on the answer, we might check whether it’s actually right.
That’s the interesting part for insurance businesses.
A potential customer might once have searched for ‘landlord insurance’ or ‘home insurance comparison’. Now they can ask a much more specific question, explain their circumstances and follow up if the first answer doesn’t quite cover it.
The question for insurers and brokers is whether their existing content is keeping up.
More people are using AI to find information
This isn’t just another marketing prediction.
Research published by Which? in December 2025 found that 51% of UK adults used AI search tools in their personal lives to look for products, services or advice online.
The research, based on a survey of 4,189 adults, also found that 24% used AI search frequently, either daily or several times a week.
Traditional search is certainly not disappearing. But AI is becoming another place where people look for answers.
And insurance is particularly interesting because customers rarely have straightforward questions.
Someone looking for landlord insurance might want to know whether their existing policy covers a tenant who has started running a business from home. Another might be worried about a property standing empty between tenancies.
Neither necessarily wants a general explanation of landlord insurance. They want to know what applies to their situation.
Keywords still matter, but customer questions matter too
For years, insurance SEO has concentrated on identifying keywords, understanding search intent and creating content around them.
That work remains important.
However, conversational AI makes it easier for customers to ask detailed questions rather than relying on a few search terms.
Consider these examples:
- ‘Will my landlord insurance still cover me if my tenant starts working from home?’
- ‘What’s the difference between accidental damage and malicious damage by tenants?’
- ‘My home insurance has increased again, even though I haven’t claimed. Why?’
- ‘Will my buildings insurance pay for a leaking roof if the damage happened gradually?’
- ‘Do I need different insurance if I let my holiday home to paying guests occasionally?’
These are illustrative prompts, not a ranking of the most frequently asked insurance questions.
But they show how much information a customer can now include in a single query.
An insurer’s website might contain the answer somewhere, perhaps across several pages. The problem is that the customer may struggle to find it, or the explanation may be too general to be useful.
What makes insurance content useful to AI search?
Google’s guidance on AI features and websites is worth reading because it cuts through some of the more extravagant claims about AI optimisation.
Google says its established SEO best practices remain relevant to AI Overviews and AI Mode. There is no special technical requirement or secret markup that guarantees inclusion.
Which makes sense. The fundamentals of good content haven’t changed just because the way people search has. An article still needs to answer the question, provide accurate information and make it easy for readers to understand what they should do next.
For insurance businesses, we’d concentrate on four things.
1. Answer the question early
If someone asks whether landlord insurance covers a property during renovations, don’t make them read 500 words about the importance of protecting their investment before giving them an answer.
Explain that significant building works may affect cover, depending on the policy and the nature of the renovations. Then explore the circumstances in which the insurer should be contacted.
2. Explain the exceptions
Insurance rarely lends itself to unconditional answers.
Cover may depend on the policy wording, exclusions, limits, endorsements and the circumstances of a claim.
Content that ignores those qualifications might appear simple, but it can also be misleading.
3. Use real examples
A practical example can explain a complicated point much more effectively than another paragraph of general information.
For instance, there’s a difference between a tenant occasionally working on a laptop at home and someone operating a business that involves customers visiting the property or storing commercial equipment.
That distinction helps readers understand why their insurer might need to know.
4. Keep existing content up to date
Insurance products, policy conditions and regulatory requirements change.
An article written several years ago may still attract visitors while containing information that is no longer accurate.
We’d rather see an insurance business maintain a smaller collection of genuinely useful articles than publish hundreds of near-identical pieces that nobody revisits.
How can insurance businesses identify the right AI prompts?
We’d start with the information the business already has.
Customer service teams know which questions keep coming up. Claims teams understand where expectations and policy terms don’t always match. Brokers hear the same concerns during renewals and when customers’ circumstances change.
These are useful sources of content ideas.
The FCA’s March 2026 review of consumer understanding specifically identifies complaints, call listening, chat transcripts, website analytics and customer feedback as sources of insight into where customers struggle.
That seems a sensible starting point for content planning too.
We’d also review existing search data, customer FAQs and the questions being asked on relevant forums.
AI tools can help generate possible prompts, but those suggestions should be checked against real customer needs rather than assumed to represent actual search demand.
Don’t forget the person reading the answer
There’s a temptation to approach AEO as another technical exercise: add question headings, insert concise answers and hope an AI tool quotes the website.
But insurance customers are making decisions that can have significant financial consequences. Insurance customers need to understand what they’re buying, what might not be covered and when they should contact their insurer. If your content helps them do that, it has value whether they find it through Google, ChatGPT or your website.
And that’s where we’d put the effort.
