5 things every marketer should know about SEO in the age of AI
Plus a roundup of what's been going on this week in digital marketing
This summer, rather than diving in every week where sometimes stories don’t warrant it, I’ll be pulling together a few tips, tricks and how-to guides based on my experience from the front line of digital marketing. This is the first in a series of what will hopefully be many. A little round-up from what’s been going on this week is included at the conclusion of the main article. Thank you!
Last week, Google officially went all-in on generative AI in search. AI Overviews are now live in over 200 countries and more than 40 languages.
The idea for users is a faster, more helpful search experience. However, for marketers, that realistically means fewer clicks to websites.
Search impressions are going up. However, according to recent research, Clickthrough Rates are going down - by around 30% in some categories.
If you’ve spent the last decade measuring performance by where you rank and how many people clicked, this is a real concern - but also, a real opportunity to reframe and readjust. Here’s what you need to know.
1. Ranking isn’t what it used to be
You can still “rank first” and see barely any clicks. Why? Because users now get a neat AI summary (the AI Overview) that pulls in bits of your content - along with a dozen others - and gives people the answer directly in the results.
The proportion of queries triggering an AI Overview jumped from 6.5% in January to 13.1% in March - and that was before last week’s global rollout.
2. Zero-click searches are the new normal
More than 60% of searches now end without a single click. Not because the content’s bad - but because the user already got what they needed on the search results page.
So the old “rank high = get traffic” model doesn’t really hold any more. And that means it’s time to look at different kinds of performance metrics - visibility, brand mentions, structured data - not just clicks and sessions.
3. You need to think about both AEO and GEO (or, WTH is AEO? What about GEO?)
Let’s start with AEO - Answer Engine Optimisation. It’s not mainstream (yet), but it’s fast becoming relevant. As users start asking questions to ChatGPT, Perplexity, or Google’s AI-powered search rather than typing keyword strings, the goal isn’t just to rank anymore. It’s to be seen as a trustworthy source that AI can pull from.
AEO is all about creating clear, structured, genuinely helpful content that language models understand and trust. We need to think less about keyword density, more about topical coverage, clarity, and credibility.
Then there’s GEO - Generative Engine Optimisation. This is about being selected by AI engines when they assemble their answers, especially in things like AI Overviews. Here, it’s not just about the words on the page. You need robust metadata, clear authorship and citations, and a site that commands trust.
Another potentially overly simplistic way of framing it all is that AEO is the evolution of keyword-first SEO, while GEO is the evolution of technical SEO. As is currently the case, both matter when it comes to being seen on SERPs.
4. Everyone’s using AI to write - just not very well
Generative AI means anyone can now spin up content in seconds. But that doesn’t mean it’s any good.
What LLMs still can’t do - at least not reliably - is speak from real experience, inject brand tone, or make genuine value judgments. That’s why Google’s E-E-A-T framework (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trust) is more relevant than ever.
If you’re briefing or writing content, don’t just write keyword-stuffed copy with SEO in mind. Write something that actually has something to say.
5. Websites still matter - just not in the same way
Websites aren’t dead. But they’re not always the destination. Increasingly, they’re the source - where AI pulls data from to build its summaries. So the job of your website might not be to “convert” in the traditional sense, but to signal authority and relevance for conversions or shortlisting further down the line.
Structured content, FAQs, plain language, and a clear brand presence all matter more now than how many times you used a target keyword. But then again, is any of this so different to what’s been best practice for the last few years?
So, what does this all mean?
If you’re not managing SEO directly, don’t worry. You don’t need to become an expert in LLMs or metadata overnight. But it’s worth doing some digging and asking yourself;
Are we being picked up in AI Overviews?
Are we tracking brand visibility beyond clickthrough?
Is our content actually helpful/adding value - or just “optimised”?
The way I see it, this is all an evolution of SEO, rather than ripping things up and starting again.
What’s been going on elsewhere?
Meta’s FTC antitrust trial came to an end this week. It could be broken up based on the verdict of the judge, I’ll obviously look at this more when we know more.
Google Marketing Live 2025 took place this week; the main takeaway is that yes, AI is going to become a bigger part of its marketing tools. But you probably knew that anyway.
A good addendum to the above, but ChatGPT’s traffic continued to rise to new highs in April.
LinkedIn has added more insights to post analytics, meaning that it’s easier to track how many profile visits or follows were driven from personal posts.
Finally, YouTube logged an astonishing 22 billion copyright claims in 2024, 99.7% of which were automated. Interestingly, fewer than 1% of these were challenged.
That’s it! If you found this interesting, I would appreciate it if you shared it with your friends and colleagues.
If you’re feeling particularly generous and enjoyed this edition, I won’t stop you from buying me a coffee. Otherwise, I’ll see you next week 🫶