Meta tags provide essential information about your pages to AI platforms. They help AI understand your content’s purpose, context, and relevance when generating responses.
Key Insight : AI platforms often use meta descriptions and titles as primary sources for understanding page content before crawling the full page.
1. Title Tag The most important meta tag for both SEO and AI search:
< title > Lantern - AI Search Analytics Platform | Track ChatGPT & Perplexity </ title >
Best Practices:
✅ 50-60 characters optimal
✅ Include primary keyword
✅ Brand name at end
✅ Unique for every page
✅ Descriptive and clear
Examples: <!-- Homepage --> < title > Lantern - AI Search Analytics | Monitor Brand Mentions in ChatGPT </ title > <!-- Product Page --> < title > AI Search Monitoring Tool - Track Brand Visibility | Lantern </ title > <!-- Blog Post --> < title > How to Optimize Content for AI Search - Complete Guide | Lantern </ title > <!-- Documentation --> < title > Structured Data Guide - AI Search Optimization | Lantern Docs </ title >
Summarize your page content:
< meta name = "description" content = "Track your brand visibility across ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, and Claude. Real-time monitoring, attribution tracking, and content optimization for AI search." >
Best Practices:
✅ 150-160 characters optimal
✅ Include target keywords naturally
✅ Write compelling copy
✅ Include a call-to-action
✅ Accurately describe page content
Examples: <!-- Homepage --> < meta name = "description" content = "Monitor your brand across AI platforms. Track mentions in ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Gemini. Get insights, attribution data, and optimize for AI search. Start free trial." > <!-- Feature Page --> < meta name = "description" content = "Discover which websites AI platforms cite when discussing your brand. Track citation sources, identify content gaps, and improve your AI search visibility with Lantern." > <!-- Blog Post --> < meta name = "description" content = "Learn how to optimize your website for AI search engines. Complete guide covering structured data, meta tags, content structure, and technical SEO for ChatGPT and Perplexity." >
Not recommended for modern SEO but can help some AI platforms:
< meta name = "keywords" content = "ai search, chatgpt analytics, perplexity tracking, ai seo" >
Google ignores meta keywords, but some AI platforms may still reference them. Use sparingly and naturally.
4. Canonical URL Tell AI which version of a page is authoritative:
< link rel = "canonical" href = "https://asklantern.com/products/ai-analytics" >
When to use:
Multiple URLs for same content
Paginated content
Similar pages
HTTP vs HTTPS
www vs non-www
Control indexing and crawling:
<!-- Allow indexing and following links (default) --> < meta name = "robots" content = "index, follow" > <!-- Prevent indexing but follow links --> < meta name = "robots" content = "noindex, follow" > <!-- Allow indexing but don't follow links --> < meta name = "robots" content = "index, nofollow" >
AI-specific robots tags: <!-- OpenAI (ChatGPT) --> < meta name = "gptbot" content = "index, follow" > <!-- Google Extended (Gemini) --> < meta name = "google-extended" content = "index, follow" >
Optimize how your content appears when shared and cited:
<!-- Basic Open Graph --> < meta property = "og:title" content = "Lantern - AI Search Analytics Platform" > < meta property = "og:description" content = "Track your brand visibility across ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, and Claude with real-time monitoring and attribution." > < meta property = "og:type" content = "website" > < meta property = "og:url" content = "https://asklantern.com" > < meta property = "og:image" content = "https://asklantern.com/images/og-image.jpg" > < meta property = "og:image:width" content = "1200" > < meta property = "og:image:height" content = "630" > < meta property = "og:site_name" content = "Lantern" > < meta property = "og:locale" content = "en_US" >
Open Graph for Different Content Types Website/Homepage
Article/Blog Post
Product
< meta property = "og:type" content = "website" > < meta property = "og:title" content = "Lantern - AI Search Analytics" > < meta property = "og:description" content = "Monitor brand mentions in AI search" > < meta property = "og:url" content = "https://asklantern.com" > < meta property = "og:image" content = "https://asklantern.com/og-home.jpg" >
< meta property = "og:type" content = "article" > < meta property = "og:title" content = "How to Optimize for AI Search" > < meta property = "og:description" content = "Complete guide to AI SEO" > < meta property = "og:url" content = "https://asklantern.com/blog/ai-search-guide" > < meta property = "og:image" content = "https://asklantern.com/blog/ai-guide-og.jpg" > < meta property = "article:published_time" content = "2026-01-21T10:00:00Z" > < meta property = "article:modified_time" content = "2026-01-21T15:30:00Z" > < meta property = "article:author" content = "Jane Smith" > < meta property = "article:section" content = "AI Search" > < meta property = "article:tag" content = "AI SEO" >
< meta property = "og:type" content = "product" > < meta property = "og:title" content = "AI Search Analytics Platform" > < meta property = "og:description" content = "Track brand visibility across AI platforms" > < meta property = "og:url" content = "https://asklantern.com/products/analytics" > < meta property = "og:image" content = "https://asklantern.com/products/analytics-og.jpg" > < meta property = "product:price:amount" content = "99.00" > < meta property = "product:price:currency" content = "USD" >
Optimize for Twitter/X sharing:
<!-- Summary Card --> < meta name = "twitter:card" content = "summary_large_image" > < meta name = "twitter:site" content = "@asklantern" > < meta name = "twitter:creator" content = "@asklantern" > < meta name = "twitter:title" content = "Lantern - AI Search Analytics Platform" > < meta name = "twitter:description" content = "Track your brand visibility across ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, and Claude" > < meta name = "twitter:image" content = "https://asklantern.com/images/twitter-card.jpg" > < meta name = "twitter:image:alt" content = "Lantern AI Search Analytics Dashboard" >
Card Types: <!-- Large Image Card --> < meta name = "twitter:card" content = "summary_large_image" > <!-- Small Summary Card --> < meta name = "twitter:card" content = "summary" > <!-- App Card --> < meta name = "twitter:card" content = "app" > <!-- Player Card (for video/audio) --> < meta name = "twitter:card" content = "player" >
Help AI understand your content’s language and target region:
<!-- Page Language --> < html lang = "en" > <!-- Alternate Language Versions --> < link rel = "alternate" hreflang = "en" href = "https://asklantern.com" > < link rel = "alternate" hreflang = "es" href = "https://asklantern.com/es" > < link rel = "alternate" hreflang = "fr" href = "https://asklantern.com/fr" > < link rel = "alternate" hreflang = "x-default" href = "https://asklantern.com" > <!-- Content Language --> < meta http-equiv = "content-language" content = "en-US" > <!-- Geographic Target --> < meta name = "geo.region" content = "US" > < meta name = "geo.placename" content = "United States" >
Establish content authority:
<!-- Author Information --> < meta name = "author" content = "Jane Smith" > < link rel = "author" href = "https://asklantern.com/authors/jane-smith" > <!-- Publisher Information --> < link rel = "publisher" href = "https://asklantern.com" > <!-- Copyright --> < meta name = "copyright" content = "© 2026 Lantern" >
Content Type Tags Help AI understand your content format:
<!-- Content Type --> < meta http-equiv = "Content-Type" content = "text/html; charset=UTF-8" > <!-- Article Type --> < meta property = "article:content_tier" content = "free" > <!-- Reading Time --> < meta name = "reading_time" content = "5 minutes" > <!-- Content Rating --> < meta name = "rating" content = "general" >
<! DOCTYPE html > < html lang = "en" > < head > < meta charset = "UTF-8" > < meta name = "viewport" content = "width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0" > <!-- Primary Meta Tags --> < title > Lantern - AI Search Analytics Platform | Track ChatGPT & Perplexity </ title > < meta name = "title" content = "Lantern - AI Search Analytics Platform" > < meta name = "description" content = "Track your brand visibility across ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, and Claude. Real-time monitoring, attribution tracking, and content optimization for AI search." > < meta name = "keywords" content = "ai search analytics, chatgpt tracking, perplexity monitoring, ai seo" > < meta name = "author" content = "Lantern" > < meta name = "robots" content = "index, follow" > < link rel = "canonical" href = "https://asklantern.com" > <!-- Open Graph / Facebook --> < meta property = "og:type" content = "website" > < meta property = "og:url" content = "https://asklantern.com" > < meta property = "og:title" content = "Lantern - AI Search Analytics Platform" > < meta property = "og:description" content = "Track your brand visibility across ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, and Claude" > < meta property = "og:image" content = "https://asklantern.com/og-image.jpg" > < meta property = "og:image:width" content = "1200" > < meta property = "og:image:height" content = "630" > < meta property = "og:site_name" content = "Lantern" > < meta property = "og:locale" content = "en_US" > <!-- Twitter --> < meta name = "twitter:card" content = "summary_large_image" > < meta name = "twitter:site" content = "@asklantern" > < meta name = "twitter:title" content = "Lantern - AI Search Analytics Platform" > < meta name = "twitter:description" content = "Track your brand visibility across ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, and Claude" > < meta name = "twitter:image" content = "https://asklantern.com/twitter-card.jpg" > < meta name = "twitter:image:alt" content = "Lantern Dashboard Screenshot" > <!-- Language & Regional --> < link rel = "alternate" hreflang = "en" href = "https://asklantern.com" > < link rel = "alternate" hreflang = "x-default" href = "https://asklantern.com" > <!-- Favicon --> < link rel = "icon" type = "image/png" href = "/favicon.png" > < link rel = "apple-touch-icon" href = "/apple-touch-icon.png" > <!-- AI Platform Tags --> < meta name = "gptbot" content = "index, follow" > < meta name = "google-extended" content = "index, follow" > </ head > < body > <!-- Your content --> </ body > </ html >
Use optimal sizes for different platforms:
Open Graph : 1200 x 630 pxTwitter Large Card : 1200 x 628 px (or 2:1 ratio)Twitter Summary : 240 x 240 px minimumFavicon : 32 x 32 px, 192 x 192 px, 512 x 512 px
Always include descriptive alt text: < meta name = "twitter:image:alt" content = "Lantern AI Search Analytics Dashboard showing real-time brand monitoring" >
View Page Source
Manually check your HTML source code
Lantern Dashboard
Monitor how AI platforms interpret your meta tags
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Duplicate Tags Don’t use same title/description across pages
Too Long/Short Keep titles 50-60 chars, descriptions 150-160 chars
Missing Images Always include OG and Twitter images
Wrong URLs Use absolute URLs, not relative paths
No Canonical Always specify canonical URL
Keyword Stuffing Write naturally, don’t over-optimize
Basic tags
✅ Title, description, canonical, robots
Open Graph
✅ og:title, og:description, og:image, og:url, og:type
Twitter Cards
✅ twitter:card, twitter:title, twitter:description, twitter:image
Language
✅ lang attribute, hreflang tags
Images
✅ Proper dimensions, alt text, optimized file size
AI-specific
✅ AI platform meta tags (gptbot, google-extended)
Keep them updated : Review and update meta tags quarterly, especially dates, prices, and statistics.
Next Steps
Master Heading Structure Learn how to use heading tags (H1-H6) for optimal AI understanding
