How to keep content fresh (and why the 90-day window matters)

AI Search Score flags when a page’s most recent date is older than about 90 days. AI citations drop off sharply for stale content — this is the “freshness cliff.”

Why this matters

Generative engines favour content that’s demonstrably current. Research through 2026 shows citations fall away significantly once content passes roughly 90 days without a genuine update. Freshness isn’t about gaming a date field — it’s about the content actually being current and the dateModified honestly reflecting that.

How to fix it

• Genuinely review and update the page: refresh facts, prices, examples, anything time-sensitive.
• Make sure your schema’s dateModified updates to reflect the real edit (most SEO plugins and themes handle this automatically when you update the page).
• Don’t just bump the date without changing anything — engines and readers can tell, and it doesn’t help. Real updates do.
• For pages that change rarely, a light but genuine review every couple of months keeps them in the citation window.

How to check it worked

Re-scan. “Content updated within 90 days” should turn green, showing the age in days. Set a reminder to revisit key pages before they age out again.

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