As high school students increasingly use AI-supported tools to research colleges, institutions are racing to ensure they appear in AI-generated overviews and question responses. The challenge is that colleges’ online visibility is changing from click-based search to “zero-click” answer systems. The piece highlights early outcomes from colleges that modified their web content to be more AI-friendly. Belmont University reported more than a sixfold increase in traffic from AI sources between March 2025 and March 2026, while Occidental College reported a 96% jump in AI-influenced enrollment-page actions and nearly a 10% uptick in AI citations for certain queries. Industry consultants warn this is not a simple advertising playbook, but an evolving discipline—answer-engine optimization (AEO)—that affects inquiry volume, application starts, and ultimately competitive positioning during enrollment cycles.