We can no longer start blogs with “the rise of AI” – AI has been rising for some time, and now is the time to embrace it or get left behind. It is changing the way that we create, consume, and search for content, and this in turn, is impacting SEO.
While there’s plenty of truth in the idea that AI use in search engines is changing our search behaviours, it’s not as scary as some of the headlines (at least the one’s we’re seeing!) will have you believe. This blog is here to remind you that SEO isn’t the only tool in your marketing arsenal, and a little bit of refinement to your current strategy will go a long way.
In case you’ve been living under a rock, here’s what’s changed in search:
Since last year, Google has been rolling out its AI Overviews – part of their Search Generative Experience (SGE) – a feature that uses generative AI to summarise results and provide quick answers at the top of the page.
AI tools scrape internet content and present it in a conversational format that answers questions, often eradicating the need for users to click through to individual sites. The good news is that as advances happen, these tools are beginning to recognise higher quality content and favour it in their responses.
What does this mean for marketers?
One of the main concerns around AI at the moment, is how it will impact SEO and volume of site visitors. Many questions being asked include, ‘will people stop visiting my website’, ‘how will I know if my content appears in AI answers’, ‘how can I stay visible in search’?
The answer to most questions is in fact still the same; as long as you’re offering genuine and valuable content, you’re doing the right thing. The truth is that AI doesn’t create content – it takes content from trusted sources and summarises, so the key is being/becoming one of those trusted sources. And in addition to this, it’s important to cover all bases – consider where the opportunities lie for your business and dedicate your efforts there.
Making sure your content performs in AI-driven search:
AI hasn’t taken your marketing job; it still needs you to provide high quality content that it can reference in its summaries. This is why following Google’s E-E-A-T guidelines is essential. Follow the basic principles to demonstrate experience, expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness.
Once you’ve nailed those guidelines, there’s some hints and tips for formatting and structure that will help your content get picked up by the AI Overview.
- Focusing on using the correct H1s, H2s, and summarising with bullet points makes your content more easily referenced. Small bitesized chunks and succinct summaries (including short, to the point sentences) are more likely to be picked up.
- One of the main pieces of advice we offer our clients is to work hard on FAQs. Use Google’s ‘people also asked’ as your gospel. It will provide endless insights into the questions being asked about your brand, product, or service. By ensuring you provide answers to these commonly asked questions, you are much more likely to be serving your audience and therefore be referenced in the prized position.
- It’s worth noting that real experiences are difficult for AI to authentically replicate. Including personal insights, case studies and examples will help provide unique content. It’s also essential to offer named authors and bios on your site, as this gives your content credibility and helps build a picture of the person/people behind the insights – now more than ever, people want authenticity, and something as simple as an em dash could signal to users that you’re using AI, so make it personal.
- According to our research, AI is increasingly prioritising more recent content, recognising fast moving industries and the need for up to date information. Keep it fresh, consistent, and share regularly!
- Finally, speak with your website developer to make sure you have Schema Markup in use. This is structured data on your website that helps search engines understand the content on your pages.
While it’s frustrating to have to put all this effort in for search engines, these tactics will not only improve your chances of being cited by AI, they’ll also make your content more useful for real human readers.
For our next section, we asked AI for input…
How to monitor AI’s impact on your organic traffic
It’s easy to feel in the dark about how AI might be affecting your website — but you can track its impact with the right tools and indicators.
Here’s where to look:
- Google Search Console: Check if your impressions remain stable but clicks have dropped — this may indicate zero-click searches.
- Branded vs. non-branded queries: If branded traffic is holding steady while non-branded declines, AI could be intercepting generic queries.
- Click-through rate (CTR): Watch for significant drops in CTR on high-ranking pages — especially those targeting FAQs or quick answers.
- Keyword volatility tools: Platforms like Semrush and Ahrefs are tracking SGE-specific changes and keyword fluctuations over time.
- You may also want to monitor traffic sources more broadly — are people finding you directly, via email, or through social media? These alternative routes are about to become more important than ever.
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Now that we’ve covered SEO (and you should also read about GEO), here’s your reminder not to neglect other marketing channels – in fact, it’s more important than ever to focus on the other tools in your belt:
Email marketing – your subscriber list gives you direct communication with people interested in your content. Whether it’s regular newsletters, nurture campaigns, or personalised offers, email remains one of the most powerful elements of the marketing mix.
Social media marketing – a much more casual environment, social media gives you the chance to share regular updates with your audience. It’s great for sharing personality, one-off messages and encouraging two-way communication. You can benefit from both organic and paid social media, so it’s important to build that audience and remain consistent.
Direct mail – it’s easy to sway towards digital tactics – they’re often cheaper, quicker and easier to track. But don’t forget that direct mail is still an option. A beautifully designed piece of print can really stand out, so if you’re targeting a niche, high-value audience the cost could be justified and the impact could be great.
More content formats – at the moment, AI is great at scraping and summarising text, but there’s still lots of opportunities with media such as original video, podcasts, webinars and downloadable information. Be sure to use a variety of media formats – particularly video, as this has been proven to increase engagement rates.
Branding – a key differentiator is your brand. While AI makes it easy to find basic information, why customers/clients choose to work with you could come down to brand trust and recognition. Now is the time to consider strengthening your brand, your tone of voice, making your business memorable, and engaging with your audience in new ways. After all, when someone actively types your brand name into Google, you no longer need to rely on the algorithm to send them to you – they already know the destination they’re after.
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We know that AI is bringing change that not all consider to be positive, but we also don’t believe this is the ‘death of SEO’ as we know it. As with every algorithm update, it’s just time to adjust your strategy and tactics accordingly.
As our marketing efforts evolve with new technologies, there’s an opportunity to embrace new tools and use them to our advantage. We can use AI to help with research, outlines, and automation, as long as it is then layered with human insights, values and tone of voice.
TL;DR
Yes, things are changing. But no, it’s not the end of organic traffic or content marketing as we know it. Adapting, staying informed, focusing on quality, and making use of the full marketing mix, will help you to succeed. AI is here to stay. But so is the value of great content.