Using AI For Search And Its Influence On SEO.

Search Is Shifting From Links To Answers, And That Changes How Your Brand Gets Found

Search is shifting from links to answers, and that changes how brands get discovered. Instead of scrolling through pages of blue links, people now ask AI assistants direct questions and expect clear, conversational replies. That feels faster and more convenient for users, but it also means fewer chances for them to click through to your website in the first place.

Traditional SEO (Search Engine Optimization) focused on ranking web pages in SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages). In a classic search journey, someone might type "how to descale a coffee machine," scan the top links, then choose a site to visit. With AI powered results, the same question triggers an instant answer card. The assistant summarizes the steps, mentions a brand as a source, yet keeps the entire interaction inside the search app. Local searches are especially affected. A query like "best coffee near me" or "best coffee shop in Austin, TX" often produces an answer box that lists a few spots, ratings, and maps without the user ever opening a website. That is why presence in local directories and a complete Google Business Profile now directly influence whether your business appears in these answer cards.

Here’s what’s actually changing under the hood.

How Do AI Search Results Really Work Compared To Classic Google Pages?

Traditional search engine results pages behave like a directory. You type a query and get a list of blue links, ads, and rich snippets. You scan titles and descriptions, then decide what to click. This creates a high click propensity because users must visit external pages to get full answers. Snippets are short and rely heavily on keywords and basic structured data like titles, meta descriptions, and simple schema markup. The search engine mostly organizes content. It does not fully rewrite or synthesize it for you.

AI assistants such as ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini or Copilot act more like a conversational guide. You ask a question and get a direct, synthesized answer on the screen. This is known as a single answer experience. It often leads to a zero click result because the user may not visit any site. These assistants still need sources. They tend to highlight a few citations that they consider trustworthy, recent, and well structured. That means content with clear entities, strong topical focus, and machine readable data has a better chance of being chosen.

In this new landscape, visibility is no longer only about appearing in a long list of links. It is about becoming one of the few sources that AI assistants trust enough to quote.

What Is AEO And How Does It Connect To SEO And GEO For Smarter AI Answers?

AEO (Answer or AI Engine Optimization) = optimizing your content and web presence so AI assistants select, summarize, and cite you as the answer. It builds on what you already do for SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and GEO (Geographical Engine Optimization) but focuses on how AI tools read, trust, and present your information. With AEO your content is written so that assistants can easily find clear questions and short, confident answers that feel safe to recommend to users. This means structured pages, obvious expertise, and consistent signals of trust across your brand.

You can think of the relationship like a stack. SEO is the foundational discoverability layer that helps search engines find and index you. GEO is the location-aware layer that tells systems who you serve and where. AEO is the AI-facing layer that consumes both SEO and GEO signals and adds answer-first formatting and authority cues. For example: structured data helps SEO rich results, AEO citations, and GEO visibility; strong reviews and profiles help local rankings and AI recommendations; clear Q&A sections support featured snippets, local search queries, and conversational assistant responses.

Brands should care because this changes how people discover and trust them. AI answers create upper funnel awareness without clicks, so watch KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) like share of AI answers that mention your brand. There is traffic cannibalization risk when assistants answer without a visit, so monitor organic sessions versus assisted conversions. Citations inside AI responses influence brand trust. Track brand mention lift in assistant transcripts and shifts in lead quality or attribution.

For GEO, adapt AEO to local markets with focused steps. Create city specific answer pages with concise Q&A style content around key services and neighborhoods. Register and maintain a Google Business Profile in each market you serve, and secure mentions in local news sites and directories. Ensure schema LocalBusiness and geoCoordinates are present so AI systems can connect you to places users care about. Improve localization by using local currency formats, regional phone numbers, and natural references to well known local landmarks that your audience recognizes as genuinely local.

When deciding where to invest, start with implementation priorities. In the first 30 days, strengthen core authoritative pages and add relevant schema markup so AI systems can interpret your offers and expertise. By 60 days, build or refine local pages for your top performing markets. By 90 days, focus on syndicated third party citations and conversational Q&A assets such as FAQs, chat transcripts, and support content that mirror real customer questions. Together these steps create a layered strategy that supports SEO, GEO, and AEO at the same time.

You can even use AI tools to refine your approach. Prompts like “Summarize AEO and how it relates to SEO and GEO in 3 bullets with short examples for a non technical marketing team” or “List practical AEO actions that reuse existing SEO and local SEO work for a service business” help you generate clear internal guidance. The key is to treat AEO as a natural extension of your current search strategy that focuses very directly on how AI assistants choose and quote you in front of your future customers.

How Do You Build AI‑Ready Content that Actually Gets Cited?

To build content that AI assistants trust and cite, you first need a clear map of real user questions. Start by pulling prompts from conversational tools like PromptScout, customer support transcripts, GA4 (Google Analytics 4) site search, and People Also Ask results. Organize everything in a simple CSV with columns for Question, Intent, Frequency, Best source URL, and Priority. This shows you what people really ask, how often, and which pages should answer those questions.

Next, turn each priority question into an AI‑ready page. Use an answer‑first lead that gives a direct, simple response in one or two sentences. Follow with supporting bullets, a short step list for “how” queries, a compact FAQ, and a clear source attribution block. Add structured data like FAQPage, QAPage, HowTo, and WebPage using JSON LD. Always fill in fields such as name, description, author, datePublished, mainEntity, url, and address for local content. Include image alt text with local place names to boost GEO relevance and help assistants understand where you are most relevant.

Authority signals make this framework stronger. Build topic clusters on your site, maintain consistent author bios, and pursue mentions in trusted publications. Use simple outreach and micro PR to secure citations on high authority sites. Then test and refine with PromptScout by running standard prompts and tracking how often assistants mention or link to you. Capture these results in a small reporting sheet so you can iterate on what works and steadily increase your AI visibility over time.

How Do You Treat AEO As A Core Visibility Layer And Actually Measure It?

Treat AI Engine Optimization (AEO) and Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) as a new visibility layer, not a side project. Start by tracking a few core KPIs. "Share of AI Answers" is the percentage of your tracked queries where an AI assistant cites your brand. "AI citation Count" is the number of unique mentions across assistants. "Assistant driven conversions" track enquiries, sign ups or sales that start from AI assisted journeys. Pair these with changes in organic sessions and a simple local visibility score that compares how often your brand appears in local style answers. Early programs focus on getting any mentions at all. Mature programs aim for consistent presence across branded and non branded queries.

To measure this, combine tools that see both search and AI layers. Use PromptScout to track AI answers and model behavior. Use Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster to understand classic SERP visibility. Add Perplexity, Search Generative Experience (SGE) and other assistant snapshots through APIs or screenshots. Feed all of this into GA4 (Google Analytics 4) with custom events plus server logs and local citation crawlers. Create an automated weekly report that pulls citations, traffic and conversions into one simple dashboard and that flags queries where you appear in search but not in AI answers.

Operationalize AEO with clear roles and a simple 90 day plan. Assign an AEO owner, a content engineer, a local SEO (Search Engine Optimization) lead and a PR or outreach partner. In the first 30 days audit content, schema and assistant answers. In the next 30 days roll out structured question driven content and fix obvious gaps. In the final 30 days launch outreach, refine local pages and improve entity clarity. Use a steady cadence. For example, run biweekly content sprints and monthly authority outreach. Retire duplicated FAQ content that confuses assistants and create focused city pages only when there is clear local intent and enough unique value.

Attribution changes when people get answers inside assistants instead of clicking through. Update your models to include assisted conversions and micro conversions such as newsletter sign ups, phone calls and store direction clicks as tracked events. Run simple experiments. Pick a control set of queries. Improve citation quality on selected pages by clarifying entities and questions. Then measure the change in AI mentions and related traffic over a few weeks. The goal is not to chase every click. The goal is to prove that stronger AI visibility supports your full funnel, from awareness to action.

Your next step is simple. Run this PromptScout query today. "Search our top 50 branded and non branded questions across major AI assistants. Return all answers that cite our domain and capture the full text of those answers." From there, build the assets you need. A full content inventory export that maps existing pages to questions. A prioritized question map that shows where assistants already trust you and where they do not. A 30, 60 and 90 day rollout plan that sequences audits, content and outreach. Finally, set up an initial PromptScout tracking dashboard so your team can see AEO performance at a glance every single week.

References

• AI Overviews expand to over 200 countries and territories, more than 40 languages
• Google users are less likely to click on links when an AI summary appears in the results
• We Studied 200,000 AI Overviews: Here's What We Learned
• The Great Decoupling (or Why Your Clicks Are Down and Impressions Up)
• Google AI Overviews are hurting clicks: Pew study
• What Is Answer Engine Optimization? The SEO’s Guide to AEO
• Quick Guide: Show Up in AI Search with Answer Engine Optimization (AEO)
• Schema and AI Overviews: Does structured data improve visibility?
• Perplexity Is a Bullshit Machine
• How to Get Your Content Featured in AI Overviews: A Step-by-Step Guide