A few years ago, SEO was relatively simple to explain to the common man (sorry, that’s you).
You identified keywords your customers searched for, created good content around those topics, and then optimised your website and earned links. It wasn’t easy, but it was simple, and you’d climb the rankings if you gave it some time.
Gone are the days! Not because SEO stopped working (we’ll die on that hill), but because search itself is changing.
For the first time since the rise of the internet, consumers aren’t clicking the first option or scrolling the SERPs. Instead, they're asking ChatGPT their questions. They're researching products through Perplexity. They're comparing services with Gemini and Copilot. And even when they use the good old-fashioned search bar, Google's AI Overviews pop up before any site has a chance to be seen.
It’s a huge shift.
We’re going to explore that shift in full below to give you some clarity over all of this. And then we’re going to send this article over to our web developers and IT guys, so we’re all on the same page.
Let's start with the obvious question.
AI SEO isn't about optimising AI-written content or stuffing ChatGPT-generated blogs on your website and hoping for the best (we know it’s tempting, but don’t do it, folks).
Really, AI SEO is about helping Large Language Models (LLMs) and other AI systems understand, trust and reference your business. Because SEO isn’t about organic visibility or traffic acquisition any more - it’s about discoverability and trustworthiness.
Historically, search engine optimisation focused on helping search engines rank your pages. AI SEO, on the other hand, focuses on showing AI-powered search systems that you really know what you’re talking about so that they include your content within their answers.
So while SEO used to ask: "How do I rank for this keyword?" AI SEO asks: "How do I become a trusted source for this topic?"
Those two goals overlap, but aren't identical.
Traditional search engines retrieve information; AI search engines interpret it.
When someone searches "best CRM software" on Google, they're shown a list of pages. When they ask ChatGPT the same question, they're often presented with a summary, recommendation or comparison table.
Basically, the AI is carrying out the research on behalf of the user. This creates a completely different visibility challenge. Instead of competing only for clicks, brands now need to compete to become one of the sources that AI systems choose to reference.
To us, this has been a rather fascinating new element to the internet. Granted, algorithms are always on the move, and we’ve seen some big changes in our time (we’ve been working in the digital marketing industry for over 25 years). But Google's AI Overviews are probably the biggest change we’ve yet seen, and the clearest example of where search is heading.
If you’re not yet sure what’s cooking - rather than simply displaying links, Google increasingly generates direct answers at the top of search results, pulling “reliable” information from multiple trusted websites.
For users, this is convenient. For businesses, it's disruptive.
A lot of searches that used to require a couple of clicks can now be answered immediately. Research becomes faster, comparisons become easier, decision-making speeds up, and meanwhile, no sites are actually engaged with.
This doesn't mean websites become irrelevant. Google and its AI’s can’t create information from thin air - every AI-generated answer still relies on source material. So instead of the customer doing so, it's selecting, evaluating and synthesising information from websites it trusts.
Which raises a critical question: Would Google consider your website trustworthy enough to use as a source?
So, Google has been very straightforward that it's still figuring things out and will continue to launch new features to help users discover the insights they’re looking for.
The most recent of which is Preferred Sources.
This new feature, which sits within AI Overviews, allows users to actually select websites they trust and want to see more of in AI-generated results. The idea is that then users are in greater control, and if your site is truly valuable to your readers or clients, you’ll make the cut.
Google says users are already twice as likely to click content from a Preferred Source, and users have already selected more than 345,000 unique websites.
Google is also introducing what it’s calling a “Prominent Carousel” for developing topics within AI results. This feature aims to highlight fresh reporting, genuine creator insights, forum discussions, and first-hand perspectives to provide a more useful, genuine search experience that doesn’t rely solely on summarised AI responses.
And then there’s the expansion of Google's "Highly Cited" label. This badge identifies articles that have been widely referenced by other publications, helping users find the original reporting that influenced broader coverage. In effect, Google is creating a stronger distinction between those who break information and those who simply repeat it.
At this point, a lot of you are probably wondering whether you need to throw your SEO strategy out the window and start again.
Thankfully, no.
Despite all the headlines, most of the fundamentals are actually exactly the same. The difference is that they're becoming more important, not less.
Think about what AI systems are trying to do. Whether it's Google's AI Overviews or Perplexity, they're all attempting to answer questions using information they believe is accurate, trustworthy and useful.
In other words, they're looking for the same things that good search engines have always looked for. The businesses most likely to thrive in this environment are those that do the following (we’re sneaking in some of our top AI SEO tips here, so feel free to pull out a pen and paper for this one):
Demonstrate genuine expertise in their field
Publish original insights rather than rewording existing content
Keep information accurate and up to date (!)
Earn mentions and links from reputable websites
Build recognisable brands that people actively search for
Create content that solves real problems for real customers
Notice how none of those involves trying to game an algorithm.
For years, SEO has been shifting more and more to rewarding genuine quality over shortcuts. AI is simply speeding up that timeline.
And while some may use AI to create average content, average content has never been less valuable. So, rather leave the AI to the crawling. Humans will be the ones making the content worth finding and citing.
We’ve picked up on an interesting misconception surrounding AI search: that it somehow levels the playing field. We understand how some might come to this conclusion, since we can now all write blogs, all optimise pages and, and, and. But actually, the opposite rings more true.
As discussed, LLMs are heavily influenced by signals of trust and authority. They tend to favour sources that are frequently referenced, widely cited, consistently accurate, and recognised within their industries.
Which might make you feel like only big brands will win out in the SERPs, but no. Businesses with a clear point of view, genuine expertise and a strong reputation will have more of an opportunity to stand out.
For example, a specialist retailer with detailed buying guides, product testing data and years of hands-on experience is likely to become a more useful source than a giant competitor publishing generic product descriptions and content at scale.
Likewise, an industry expert sharing original insights will be considered more valuable than the dozens of websites repeating the same information in slightly different words.
As AI search evolves, we're likely to see a greater shift towards featuring businesses that create something genuinely worth referencing.
