We’ve been deep in a technical SEO project lately, combing through server logs to understand how AI bots interact with the client’s site.
One key insight stood out: bots are spending a lot of time on video pages.
This might not come as a surprise if you’ve been watching how search is evolving, but it’s a signal that marketers can’t afford to ignore. In fact, platforms like Instagram, Facebook and YouTube AI systems are indexing public-facing Reels, Stories and video content. So what’s this mean for your marketing? Your captions, descriptions and transcripts are critical.
If video is part of your content mix, it’s time to start thinking beyond production value. Discoverability is now shaped by how AI reads your content.
Let’s break down what that actually means in practice.
Context Is Everything, Even to Machines
You wouldn’t publish a blog post with a vague headline and no subheadings or keywords. The same logic of course applies to video.
Descriptive, keyword-rich titles and detailed descriptions are about helping both people and algorithms understand what your video is and who it’s for.
For example, “Exciting Product Demo” tells us nothing. But “Live Demo: How Our EV Fleet Management Tool Cuts Charging Downtime by 30%” gives both your audience and AI-powered search engines something meaningful to latch onto. Even better? Use phrases people might actually type into a search bar: “How to reduce EV fleet downtime” or “Best tools for managing electric delivery commercial vans.”
In other words, think of your video’s metadata like you would a blog post.
AI Reads Everything Including Captions
What’s easy to overlook is that AI doesn’t stop at the title. It scans closed captions, transcripts and on-screen text, too. For marketers, that’s an opportunity.
Uploading transcripts to platforms like YouTube and LinkedIn is good for accessibility and it turns your video into a searchable, scannable asset. Bonus: those transcripts can also be repurposed into blog content, email copy or social media posts.
On platforms where people scroll with the sound off (like Instagram and Facebook), captions and subtitles are doing the heavy lifting. They improve both engagement and offer important context that AI uses to categorize and recommend your content.
Optimize What Your Have Already
Let’s be honest. Producing new video content is expensive and time-consuming. But most brands already have a backlog of great footage that’s sitting underused.
That hour-long webinar or podcast episode? Cut it into short, focused clips and upload them with clear, optimized descriptions. Past installation videos or product demos? Pull out key moments and reframe them with a new angle, fresh hashtags and relevance to current industry trends.
Even a quote from an employee video can be turned into an animated reel or a short-form Story. We’ve seen brands boost reach and engagement just by reintroducing existing content with better packaging. Simply recognizing the value in what you already have and presenting it in ways that AI systems (and readers) can rediscover.
Use AI Tools, but Don’t Lose Sight of the Strategy
Tools like Descript, Opus Clip, and yes, even ChatGPT, can absolutely help you optimize video content faster. They can generate transcripts, summarize interviews, suggest video titles or help you break up long-form content into shorter clips to share.
But here’s the thing: these tools don’t know your audience. They don’t understand the nuances of your brand that make it different. They can’t connect a customer pain point to a product differentiator the way a good strategist can. So yes, lean on automation. But use it to scale your strategy, not replace it.
What the Algorithms Want Varies by Platform
This part’s easy to miss, but critical: each platform has its own AI engine, and they all surface content differently. What performs well on LinkedIn probably won’t cut it on Instagram. YouTube favors retention-heavy, searchable content like tutorials and explainer-videos with consistent naming and clear thumbnails. LinkedIn performs best with thought leadership, especially shorter clips that get to the point quickly. Facebook still likes native uploads with captions, while Instagram thrives on vertical, human-centered content.
The best way to “optimize for AI” is to optimize for the context in which the AI is operating.
Semantic Keywords
We’re not just optimizing for search terms anymore. We’re optimizing for contextual meaning.
Semantic keywords are related terms and concepts that help AI understand what your content is really about. They’re part of how LLMs “think” about content, grouping together ideas, questions, and intent, even when specific words don’t match.
If your video is about “fleet electrification,” including references to “range anxiety,” “charging infrastructure,” and “route optimization” adds semantic depth. This helps AI know your content belongs in conversations beyond just your primary keyword.
In short: you’re helping machines make connections, so your content gets surfaced when and where it matters most.
Discoverability Is Crucial
To bring these strategies to life, we’ve broken down some practical tips and examples below summarizing key areas where you can start optimizing your video content for AI-driven discovery today.
Treat your video titles and descriptions like blog posts
LLMs thrive on context:
Descriptive, keyword-rich titles and detailed descriptions help AI understand what your content is about and who it’s for
Be specific:
Swap “Exciting Product Demo” for “Live Demo: How Our EV Fleet Management Tool Cuts Charging Downtime”
Add natural language:
Use phrases real people might search: “how to improve range anxiety in EV fleets,” not just “EV solutions”
Include a short summary that answers: What is this video? Why does it matter? Who should watch?
Optimize your captions and transcripts
AI reads everything:
Closed captions and transcripts make your content accessible and supercharge searchability
Create transcripts:
Upload clean transcripts to YouTube and LinkedIn. Bonus points for breaking them into logical segments
Use subtitles:
On Instagram and Facebook, use subtitles on screen to boost engagement (most users scroll with sound off)
Pro tip:
Transcripts can double as SEO-ready blog content or fuel for future social posts.
It’s OK to repurpose and not reinvent
Before investing in new video content, ask: What do we already have that we can optimize or slice up?
Turn long-form webinars into a series of 60-second clips tailored for LinkedIn or Instagram.
Animate stories:
Pull quotes or stats from past videos to create animated reels or vertical stories.
What’s currently trending?
Reframe older videos with new SEO-friendly descriptions and hashtags tied to current trends.
Pro tip:
Repackaging high-quality content can increase its reach all while reducing production costs, without sacrificing impact.
High production value doesn’t guarantee reach anymore. In this new AI-shaped ecosystem, discoverability is what matters. That means:
- Describing content in natural, detailed language
- Uploading transcripts and captions
- Repurposing strategically
- Thinking semantically
- Adapting per platform
We’re entering an era where how your content is structured is just as important as what you’re saying.
Need help making sure your video content is seen and found for all the right reasons? We help brands build video strategies that work across today’s AI-powered content landscape. Optimization, repurposing and strategic alignment all included. Chat with our team.