The UK government built an AI tool that saved £9 million in one year. Last week, I was in London teaching government officials how to rethink search in the age of AI, and Simon Baugh CBE, the former head of Communications in the UK Government, was one of our guest speakers. And the learning was so valuable, I thought I’d share five takeaways from that executive training programme.
I’ve just delivered a five-day AI and SEO programme for a government agency, with guest speakers from UK Government Communications, Oxford University, and leading European SEO agencies. Five lessons came out of that week that go well beyond government. They apply to anyone trying to stay visible when AI is now the middleman between you and your audience.
#1 Being cited is the new ranking
People are not clicking 10 blue links anymore. They are asking ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, and Gemini. The question is no longer “are we on page one?” It is “Does AI quote us as the trusted source?” If AI doesn’t cite you, a growing number of your audience will never find you.
#2 Technical SEO is the foundation AI actually needs
AI crawlers cannot render JavaScript. They don’t see your homepage design. They read your HTML, your heading structure, your schema markup, and your internal links. Clean structure, fast pages, and government-specific schema like GovernmentService and FAQ markup are the baseline for AI visibility. Good SEO equals good AI visibility.
#3 Write for AI citation, but verify everything
Structure content so AI selects and cites you. Clear paragraph answers, FAQ format, named authors, dates on every page. But our Oxford guest speaker, Howard Leong, was blunt – he said don’t confuse fluency with correctness. AI hallucinates. It shows bias. It tells you what you want to hear. His line? AI sees things in data we cannot. Humans understand the hidden meaning. Together, that is the partnership. But treat it as a drafting partner, never an authority.
#4 multilingual discovery needs intentional authority
Not all languages are treated equally by AI. Did you know English and French are the most popular languages of the main AI models? But it’s not simply translations that matter; context matters too. So, the same query in different languages triggers completely different expectations. Translation is not a strategy. Intent alignment is.
#5 people first, technology second, governance always
Simon Baugh, the former head of UK Government Communications, built the world’s first AI tool for public sector comms. It reached 6,200 users across 232 organisations. But he was clear: success was 50% technical and 50% cultural. Use AI for dialogue, not output. And conduct a crisis pre-mortem, assume failure before it happens.
Tom Cochran, former Chief of Digital under President Obama, put it simply: governance is the braking system that allows safe acceleration. When the technology moves faster than your policy, what do you actually control?
Five lessons. 17 government executives. One week in London.
You’ve got to remember that AI amplifies what already exists. Get the strategy and governance right first. Then the technology accelerates everything.
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About the Podcast Host
AI and Communications Specialist | Author | Podcaster | International Speaker
Joanne Sweeney is a recognised leader in digital marketing and digital transformation, specialising in the practical application of AI to enhance communication strategies. The founder of Digital Training Institute, Joanne, empowers leaders and communications professionals to leverage AI responsibly and effectively, ensuring transparency, trust, and tangible results.
She completed the Harvard Kennedy School Executive Programme in AI and Public Policy this summer before launching her fourth book AI Playbook, in September. Joanne has also published two editions of Public Sector Marketing Pro, which were preceded by her first title, Social Media Under Investigation Law Enforcement and the Social Web.
Her books have become go-to resources for governments, public sector and policing agencies, as well as marketing and communications professionals, all navigating the challenges of the changing Internet.
Joanne is the host of the AI SIX Podcast, a daily six-minute podcast that provides actionable insights, expert interviews, and practical advice to help professionals navigate the new world of work.
