AIs prefer to cite content that has three characteristics: a direct answer (the first paragraph after the heading delivers the answer with no fluff), concrete data (numbers, percentages, real examples) and a clear structure (hierarchical headings, lists, tables).
In practice, this means abandoning the "stall before getting to the answer" style that was common in old SEO blogs. Instead of writing 300 words of introduction before answering the question, answer it in the first paragraph and then go deeper. This format is more useful for the reader and more quotable for the AI.
Beyond the content itself, the way it is published matters. Article schema markup with author and datePublished, descriptive URLs, an accurate meta description and coherent internal links help the AI understand and trust the content. Anonymous content, with no clear authorship and no date, gets cited less.