AI Search changed the rules. Here's how marketers win now
Since ChatGPT launched in late 2022, change has come fast. AI search updates keep rolling out, and feeds are flooded with AI slop. On paper, we have answers for everything. In practice, we have more questions than ever.
Does branded content still matter if LLMs give answers without a click? Yes. Is GEO just SEO for AI? No, but they're connected. How do you show up in AI answers? Train the models with focused, high-signal content and measure your Share of Model. Is this an AI bubble? Time will tell, but the tech is here to stay-use it to your advantage.
Clicks are down. Search intent isn't
The neat list of blue links is gone. Zero-click searches are rising as AI answers expand, and both organic and paid traffic keep taking a hit. That doesn't mean search is dead-or that you should abandon it.
Google still leads with roughly 5 trillion searches a year, an estimated ≈373x more than ChatGPT. AI engines are growing fast but account for less than 1% of referral traffic for now, while traditional search remains a key driver of conversions. People might discover products on social, but most still use Google to validate what they found elsewhere.
- Do: Optimise for both AI engines and traditional search. They work together.
- Don't: Treat search as a single channel. It's a behavior that happens across channels.
Content still runs search (including AI)
AI tools lean on the open web. Some prompts trigger live searches, and Google remains a primary destination from AI answers. Bottom line: content powers results-both links and summaries.
If you don't invest in useful, specific content that shows what your brand stands for, why it's different, and how it helps, you'll fade from both search engines and AI answers. The goal has shifted from "page one" to "answer one."
Give models rich signals. Write with semantic depth about your brand DNA, product benefits, and the problems you actually solve. Cover your category in breadth and depth to signal authority and plug into entity-based knowledge graphs that LLMs use to judge content.
- Do: Publish content that solves real problems, highlights your unique value, and is machine-readable (clear headings, schema where relevant, precise product data, citations).
- Don't: Rely on a single format or platform. Be present where people and models look: Google, YouTube, TikTok, Reddit, and AI engines.
From page one to answer one: GEO vs. SEO
SEO helps humans and crawlers discover, understand, and rank your pages. GEO (Generative Engine Optimisation) helps LLMs include your brand in answers and shortlists. They overlap, but they aren't the same.
- Target the questions LLMs summarise: comparisons, "best for [use case]," alternatives, how-to, buyer's guides, troubleshooting.
- Be explicit about entities: brand, products, features, ingredients, use cases, pricing tiers, pros/cons, and who it's for.
- Back claims with sources, reviews, demos, and clear evidence. Clean product data wins.
- Keep consistency across your site, help docs, PR, social, video, and retail pages. Models reward coherent signals.
Authority is earned across a fragmented internet
Your buyer gets inspired on TikTok, asks ChatGPT for options, checks Reddit for opinions, and reads reviews on Google. Meanwhile, YouTube has become a dominant media platform in the US and a top destination in the UK. Treat each surface as both distribution and training data for models.
Research across 2,000+ companies shows brands that are meaningfully different to more people enjoy higher penetration today, stronger growth over the next two years, and can command premium pricing. Don't just chase salience. Build meaning and difference-and reflect that in your content.
Audit your AI search visibility
You can't fix what you can't see. Traditional metrics won't tell the full story as clicks decline. You need visibility and quality indicators for AI answers, not just sessions.
- Track Share of Model (SoM): how often LLMs mention or recommend your brand for key queries.
- Monitor sentiment and associations: what themes you're tied to, how you're described, and how that compares to competitors.
- Map coverage: products, use cases, price points, and FAQs where you appear-or don't.
- Review sources cited by AI: are they yours, publishers, retailers, forums? Strengthen what wins.
- Do: Combine visibility metrics (SoM, coverage, citations) with brand-health signals (meaning, difference, salience).
- Don't: Wait. Set up your AI search measurement now and iterate.
Ride the hype. Don't get consumed by it
Usage is growing, providers are shifting, and features change weekly. Expect LLMs to get more personal, more experiential, and more transactional. Don't overcommit to one platform or tactic.
- Do: Set a clear AI search strategy, get the fundamentals right, then test and learn on top.
- Don't: Forget brand building. Make your brand more meaningfully different to more people, so you're less exposed to platform swings.
What to do next: a simple plan
- 30 days: Define priority journeys and queries. Audit SoM across key LLMs. List gaps by product, use case, and stage (discovery, evaluation, purchase, support).
- 45-60 days: Ship 10-20 high-signal assets: comparison pages, "best for [use case]" guides, problem/solution explainers, setup/troubleshooting, and honest pros/cons. Add precise product specs, pricing clarity, and schema where useful.
- 60-90 days: Expand into video and short-form, collect reviews, and seed credible third-party coverage. Refresh top pages based on what LLMs cite and how they describe you. Re-run SoM and sentiment. Double down where you gain ground.
Upskill your team
Give your marketers the skills to execute GEO and modern SEO together. If you need a fast track, explore focused AI learning paths built for marketing roles.
Final take
Search isn't gone-it's changing. Google still matters. AI engines are accelerating. Content still drives everything. Build meaning and difference into your content, optimise for both links and answers, measure your Share of Model, and keep iterating. That's how you stay visible while others get washed out.
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