It's all everyone's talking about in virtually every space—AI. Companies are either looking for ways to incorporate it or avoid it. Love it or hate it, you can't ignore it.
For businesses big and small, this begs the question: how does AI affect search visibility?
Web presence is the number one way many businesses drive sales. Now, brands are wondering whether they should shift focus from traditional search engines to large language models (LLMs), like ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Perplexity, and others so online traffic doesn't suffer.
We're navigating this shift in search trends by incorporating an AI strategy that complements SEO efforts and builds long-term value. Here's our take on AI in search, how to plan for it, and how we can help you capitalize on the opportunity.
How AI is Being Used for Search
Google’s results page has become more interactive, especially following the rollout of AI Overview. This has given users time to adapt to generative results, while also serving as a testing ground for LLMs.
According to a study by Semrush: How AI Tools Influence the Modern Buyer Journey, 77% of the 1,000 consumers surveyed use AI and traditional search together, meaning AI isn't replacing search—it's simply shifting how users search.
- 58% of survey respondents use AI to look up information or explanations.
- 46% use it to learn more about a topic.
- 38% use it to research a product or service before making a decision.
- 30% use it to compare products or services.
Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) is the process of optimizing content to perform well and be cited by AI search engines and LLMs. GEO is very similar to SEO as far how content should be optimized. In fact, if your website has a good, foundational SEO strategy, you're most likely already being cited by LLMs.
How AI Differs from Google and Traditional Search Engines
Brand Perception
Beyond the question of visibility, LLMs bring another layer entirely. Rather than Google search, which essentially provides the resources or "data", if you will, LLMs interpret the data, something users would otherwise be doing themselves. This means brands need to pay attention to mentions, but also overall sentiment.
The shift in focus toward brand perception alongside visibility forces businesses to look at their online presence holistically, rather than simply the next piece of content.
Testimonials, third-party reviews, and Google Business profile reviews build trust and improve how positively LLMs reference your brand. Topical authority and brand consistency are also important.
Product and Service Filtering
LLMs provide an opportunity to narrow down products or services quicker and with more precision than traditional search. Users rely on a series of prompts to further filter results. According the same study by Semrush:
- 47% of consumers surveyed use AI to narrow down their options before using Google search for reviews and other information.
- 52% begin their prompts with restraints and specifications, streamlining the process to finding a brand or product that fits.
This means brands must provide clear, specific information that effectively answer what customers look for. Keep in mind, these are your customers searching. Many brands overcomplicate SEO or GEO, and forget who they're writing for.
Focus on writing helpful content that answers what your existing audience asks or cares about. Detailed product pages, FAQs, or even blog posts linking back to service pages often do an effective job at providing helpful information that LLMs can easily scan.
Planning for Visibility in LLMs
If you want to start planning for visibility in LLMs, here are some quick tips before revamping your strategy.
1. Don't stop what you're already doing.
With the unknown AI brings, it can be easy for business owners or managers to switch gears completely to stay competitive. But those regular updates you're making—adding projects, updating testimonials, putting out blog posts on important topics in your industry—those matter.
2. Determine how you want your brand to be perceived.
Again, this goes back to foundation marketing and SEO practices. Who is your target audience? What makes your brand unique? What message do you want to portray to customers? You've likely already answered these questions. But it's worth taking a look at your website and making sure it comes across as effectively as possible.
3. Understand where you already show up, and where you want to show up.
A simple way to get an idea of where your brand is showing up in AI search is to create prompts yourself. In an LLM of your choice, act as though you are a customer. Ask questions related to your business, and see which results pop up. Analyze how different LLMs reference your website and competing sites. This will give you an idea of what LLMs prioritize, look for, and how they relay information.
How We Help You Adapt to AI
Improving visibility and traffic from generative search takes time and effort, but not capitalizing on this opportunity can be an even bigger loss. We provide GEO alongside SEO to maximize visibility from different types of search and get your brand in front of your customers. Below is our step by step GEO process.
1. Analyze existing performance.
First, we analyze how you're showing up in LLMs and traditional Google search. It's also helpful to see whether you're showing up in Google's AI overview, or other features (like the Question and Answer feature, Things to Know, etc.).
2. Identify visibility gaps.
Using Semrush's AI Tool, we are able to clearly see which prompts cite your website and how you stack up against competitors. More specifically, we look at the following:
- Prompts where your brand is mentioned and/or cited
- Prompts where you website is cited, but your brand is not mentioned
- Topic opportunities
- Total cited pages
- Which LLMs cite your website more frequently
Understanding these metrics indicate where we should focus our efforts first, and reinforce the holistic approach we're after.
3. Understand brand perception and sentiment score.
We determine how different LLMs talk about your business and identify areas where you're not favored as highly as competitors. Specifically, we pay attention to:
- Overall sentiment
- Share of voice
- Winning verticals
- Strategic opportunities
We also look at how accurately AI describes your brand. Even the smallest inconsistencies across platforms can be magnified in AI search. Especially when many users are specifying constraints upfront, making sure your information is clear and consistent is key.
4. Refine and implement strategy recommendations.
Next, we review the recommendations in Semrush and base our strategy on expected outcome, brand consistency, feasibility and ultimately, what will deliver the most value.
Most often, these strategies align closely with SEO goals and overall marketing objectives. Sometimes we follow the AI Tool's recommendation to a tee, other times, we refine the strategy if we believe it will have a greater impact.
5. Measure results.
We continuously track visibility prompts to see if your brand is cited or mentioned. We also track your sentiment score and how you're being mentioned in specific prompts. Over time, there should be measurable improvement.
Additionally, we also keep a good pulse on winning verticals (i.e. where your brand is being mentioned positively and most often) to make sure no traction is lost, but rather, consistent and growing.
Adopting an AI Inclusive Approach
AI is redefining how people search and failing to adapt will put your business behind. An AI strategy should complement your SEO strategy, not replace it or compete with it. We focus on an integrated plan that enables brand consistency, quality content and improved visibility in the most saturated spaces for your business. Allow your brand to grow as search trends evolve with a digital marketing plan that delivers on all fronts.
