The evolution of SEO

The world of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is in constant motion, but with AI tools like ChatGPT becoming mainstream and Google pushing AI-features directly into search (AI overviews & AI mode), the SEO landscape has fundamentally changed. The strategic initiatives unveiled at Google I/O 2025 clearly indicate Google’s commitment to regaining a competitive position when it comes to conversational search.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai recently emphasized the company’s vision, stating that AI Mode features and responses will gradually be integrated into the main search experience.

The impact of generative AI on search

While past Google updates like Panda and Penguin certainly shook up the SEO community, the current shift, driven by AI, is fundamentally altering how we perceive and approach search.

Although AI has been part of search algorithms for years, operating behind the scenes, users can now directly interact with AI through features like conversational search and AI-powered overviews, creating an entirely new interactive search experience.

1. Rankings vs Citations

Instead of just competing to be the first result, you’re now also competing to be the source that AI trusts enough to quote when answering questions. Unlike traditional rankings where only the top results matter, AI systems may cite multiple sources within a single response, creating new opportunities for visibility.

2. Keywords vs. Natural Questions

Users have the ability to ask conversational questions that include context, budget constraints, and specific use cases.

This doesn’t mean complex queries will dominate entirely. Users typically choose the most efficient search method for their immediate needs — keyword searches remain valuable for quick, straightforward information retrieval.

3. Content sections vs. pages

AI doesn’t just look at your entire webpage—it picks out specific paragraphs or sections that best answer a user’s question. This means every section of your content needs to be well-written and self-contained. This means every section of your content needs to be well-written and self-contained. Structure your content so that individual sections can answer specific questions completely. Well-structured content that incorporates proper HTML markup and structured data schemas enables AI crawlers to accurately interpret and retrieve relevant information that matches specific user requests.

4. Traffic decline

When AI answers a question directly in the search results, it’s very likely for a user to not click on any websites at all. Research (recent study by Ahrefs) shows click reduction of up to 35% in Google search when AI overviews appear.

5. Data blind spots

The growing adoption of LLM (Large Language Models) based search platforms (ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude) creates significant measurement challenges, as traditional tools cannot track content citations, user interactions, or performance metrics within these AI-driven environments.

Similarity between SEO and GEO

{SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and GEO (Generative engine optimization)}

1. Search for bots and humans

Search serves as the fundamental entry point for the web, important for users seeking information and AI models requiring data for training and optimization. Whether it’s Gemini using Google Search for training data and grounding its responses or ChatGPT utilizing Bing to access real-time web content and provide up-to-date answers.

2. Crawlability

Content accessibility is crucial for both search engine crawlers and AI that need to discover, access, and process your content effectively. This means technical SEO will remain essential, including:

3. Topic Relevance

For optimal visibility in both search engine results and AI-generated responses, strong topic relevance is essential. Both technologies prioritize delivering the most relevant results and answers to users. By ensuring your brand is directly associated with a specific topic, you significantly improve your chances of being discovered, referenced, and recommended across all platforms.

4. Authority and trust

Authority and trust are fundamental for both traditional search optimization and AI visibility. Search engines have long prioritized authoritative content by rewarding websites that demonstrate deep subject matter knowledge, credible authorship, and reliable information sourcing, while Google’s algorithms favor content from recognized experts and established domains. Similarly, LLMs are trained to identify and prioritize authoritative content to minimize hallucinations and prevent the spread of misinformation.

5. User intent

Search engines and generative AI all aim to satisfy user intent, though they employ different methods to achieve this goal. When creating content, understanding and addressing specific user intent is essential for success across all platforms.

How your SEO strategy should evolve

Focus on making your brand the trusted authority in your field, as both traditional and AI driven search engines prioritize recognizable, credible sources when serving results and generating responses.

Develop content that directly addresses your audience’s pain points and questions, providing comprehensive solutions that demonstrate your expertise while serving genuine user intent. Read more about the research from Kevin Indig and his recommendations on How to improve visibility in AI overviews.

Utilize new technologies like AI Agents to streamline reporting, automate research, and feed your AI factual data to prevent hallucinations by using MCP (Model Context Protocol) servers.

Discover more how to give your AI agent access to real-time backlink data, search volume and traffic estimates with the SEO Review Tools MCP server.

AI content optimization tools:

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