We recently welcomed special guest Ariel Hudnall, Managing Director of Serif, for a conversation about crafting book descriptions in the age of AI discovery. The session was packed with insights, from how AI is overtaking organic search to keywords vs prompts to the discoverability of your books, and much more.

We are pleased to share a brief recap of the session with key takeaways. We encourage you to watch the full webinar when you can.

Huge thanks to Ariel for her time and expertise on this emerging topic. And a special thank you as well to Sara Reeves, the marketing manager at New Society Publishers, for being so generous is sharing her insights on this important topic—along with a great “before and after” example.

Key Takeaways

Changes in search

  • New studies show that 75% of users are not leaving AI mode in search
  • 60% of searches end without a click
  • Users are writing queries in AI search tools that are three times as long as traditional keyword searches

How can book descriptions respond?

  • An optimized description is organized around questions that a reader might ask
  • Transition from marketing copy to searchable, answer-oriented content
  • Avoid “keyword stuffing” and be strategic about keywords by selecting terms that people actually use
  • Structure for improved AI readability with clear sections set off with descriptive headings
  • Tailor your descriptions to different platforms, such as AI search (ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, etc.) and specific retail environments such as Amazon, where search is increasingly AI-powered

Case studies

  • Ariel and Sara shared a few specific case studies of books that received special attention to prepare them for AI discovery; we looked at the descriptions both before and after optimizing for AI
  • We also looked at a number of easy to use tools, such as Google Trends, which can be used for strategic keyword selection

• Dying Together (New Society Publishers): Amazon listing
• Dying Together (New Society Publishers): Publisher's listing
• Sag̱aytg̱awdi (Portage & Main Press): Publisher's listing
• Taking Care of Where We Live (Orca Book Publishers): Publisher's listing 

Where to start with optimizing your descriptions

Revamping descriptions for all of the books in your list can seem like a pretty daunting task, but here is how you can make it more manageable:

  • Choose up to 10 of your bestselling titles to start—the kind of books that keep the lights on 
  • Then, work on your frontlist titles for an upcoming season, and make this part of your approach for each new season thereafter
  • Lastly, look at backlist titles that may be underperforming and give them a boost with a fresh AI-friendly description

Watch the full webinar: