There are some settings that you want to avoid. The AI doesn't do well with Revolutions, Surround&Destroy, Start as Minor, and in general, any settings that restrict economic output in general. Also, both settings "Aggressive AI" and "Ruthless AI" weaken the AI, so you want to avoid that as well.
I think that you can also guide the AI somewhat by selecting a single victory condition, which would then lead to the AI favoring that direction strongly. But I'm not completely sure about that.
Other than that, I am not too sure about the other options, but perhaps someone else can add to that.