How has SEO changed in the era of AI, and how does Google’s AI overview and AI platforms like Chat GPT, Perplexity, Gemini, and Claude impact your business’s visibility online?
Background
This article looks at what is happening in the world of online marketing and how businesses can take advantage of what is now working.
The arrival of generative AI has rewritten the rules of visibility on the web. AI tools like ChatGPT, Google’s AI Overviews, and other conversational engines have sparked what experts now call the “Great Decoupling”, a moment where the long-standing connection between being found and being visited begins to break down.
Digital realignment?
For businesses, this shift demands a rethinking of SEO, a complete realignment of digital strategy.
After developing web solutions for businesses for over 12 years, and running EnspireFX Websites since 2019, this article, guides on how local SMEs can rank better on Google and in AI platforms.
Visibility without the click
At the heart of this transformation lies a striking trend. Businesses and publishers have begun to report that impressions across search platforms continue to rise while clicks decline sharply.
SEOs describe this sort of analytics graph as “a jaw,” where visibility climbs but engagement vanishes.
In Google’s AI Overviews, organic traffic can drop by over 37 per cent and the click-through rate for the top organic result has plummeted to below 10 per cent.
By mid-2025, nearly 65 per cent of all Google searches ended without a click.
The cause is clear. Search engines have evolved into answer engines. AI-generated summaries often satisfy the query without requiring users to click through to a source.
As a result, impressions have lost their value as a performance metric. The traditional cornerstone of SEO, the click, has become a vanishing commodity.
Search everywhere optimisation
Businesses can no longer treat Google as the only search platform that matters. The modern search journey often begins on YouTube, Reddit, Amazon, or directly within AI chat tools like ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, and Gemini.
This shift marks the emergence of a broader discipline: Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO), also called “Search Everywhere Optimisation.”
Rather than optimising solely for blue links, the goal is now to become part of the AI’s answer. Brands must influence the information that generate AI tools pull into their responses.
This requires reshaping content and web presence in ways that attract AI attention and citation during the research phase of a user’s journey.
Traditional SEO remains essential. Most AI engines still source from high-ranking, credible websites. Without strong organic performance, a brand stands little chance of inclusion in an AI response.
What Content Works for AI?
To succeed in the AI-driven web, content must be optimised for clarity, credibility, and AI comprehension.
Plain, human-sounding language improves the odds of being selected.
Content should open with concise summaries and use clear subheadings to guide structure.
AI tools also favour content broken into question-answer blocks, clearly labelled lists, and well-formatted tables that present structured data.
A rich semantic network within the content helps machines understand context.
Instead of keyword stuffing, effective content uses related terms, synonyms, and relevant entities that build a web of meaning.
Hyperlocal detail is also gaining importance. AI tools can now generate locally relevant content and customise responses based on location-specific language. For local businesses, this offers an edge when they incorporate regional terms, nearby landmarks, or references to community interests.
E-E-A-T and Trust in the Era of AI Optimisation
AI platforms increasingly rely on indicators of Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness, collectively known as E-E-A-T. Content that reflects lived experience, industry expertise, and diverse perspectives stands out.
When authors cite reputable sources, present evidence, or reference firsthand use of products and services, they boost the chances of being included in AI-generated summaries.
E-E-A-T extends beyond the page. AI models look for off-site trust signals, backlinks from respected publications, industry mentions, high review scores, and consistent brand presence across platforms. Brands that fail to cultivate this credibility risk being ignored by AI engines entirely.
Technical SEO for Machine Readability
Machine-readable content is now a necessity. Websites must ensure that vital content is accessible in raw HTML, not hidden behind scripts or embedded in images. Robots.txt files should allow access to AI crawlers like GPTBot or Bingbot.
Schema markup has become critical. Organization schema helps AI understand the identity of a business. Article schema clarifies the author and publication details. Product and review schemas provide the structured information that supports credibility and visibility in both traditional and AI search.
AI systems also read images and videos in context. Product photos, for instance, can influence AI perception based on layout, background objects, and packaging style. Brands should deliberately curate the visual knowledge graph surrounding every piece of content they release.
How to build a brand AI can recognise
AI tools pull answers not just from a brand’s website, but from forums, review platforms, blogs, and niche publications. Digital PR, consistent messaging, and widespread brand presence are no longer optional. AI models need to see repeated signals from multiple sources to develop confidence in a brand.
Customer reviews have gained strategic importance. AI references them directly when determining who leads a category.
Brands that engage with reviews, by replying or resolving issues, reinforce trustworthiness and visibility.
Topical authority is now a competitive advantage. Brands that thoroughly cover every aspect of their niche, answering a wide range of user questions, are more likely to be cited across multiple AI-generated responses.
A New SEO Strategy for a New Era
Today’s SEO requires a two-pronged approach. At the top and middle of the funnel, businesses should focus on being mentioned in AI answers and guides. At the bottom of the funnel, they must ensure their site is primed to convert users who are ready to take action.
Small businesses have a unique opportunity to embrace AI tools as strategic partners. Platforms like ChatGPT, Bing Chat, and Poe.com allow business owners to draft articles, generate social content, automate repetitive tasks, and gain insights without large budgets.
These tools can handle much of the groundwork, freeing up teams to focus on refinement and strategy.
Success metrics are also changing. Traditional click tracking provides an incomplete picture in a world dominated by LLMs. Businesses must begin monitoring brand mentions across AI responses and tracking sentiment and visibility in emerging AI-focused analytics platforms.
Semrush’s AI toolkit, for example, offers new ways to evaluate market share, performance, and strategy based on AI behaviour.
AI Optimisation for SMEs
While the Great Decoupling has disrupted traditional SEO models, it has also opened up an unprecedented opportunity for businesses that can move quickly. Companies that offer products, services, or experiences that resist easy summarisation will continue to draw traffic.
Others may find new monetisation pathways by licensing content or building communities that add value beyond a quick AI-generated answer.
AI tools are becoming a new layer between customers and brands. They don’t just influence the search journey; they shape the narrative around every business. In this new reality, visibility is earned not through keywords alone, but through trust, authority, and strategic omnipresence.
This is how businesses are discovered, understood, and trusted.
By Rev. Dennis Gyamfi Bediako, CEO of EnspireFX Websites, a web design and development company in Accra, Ghana.
Source: GNA
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