AI’s Impact on SEO: Your Top Questions Answered – February Client Insider
March 7th, 2025 by
Stay Competitive in an AI Search World
Worried About AI’s Impact? We’re Here to Help
The rise of AI in search engines – often referred to as AI Search or AI Answers – is transforming the digital landscape, reshaping how businesses approach SEO.
On Google, AI-generated snippets called AI Overviews appear at the top of search results and summarize information from various websites, creating a new opportunity to be found by searchers.
Meanwhile, AI chatbots (ChatGPT, Gemini) and search engines (Perplexity, SearchGPT) generate direct answers to user questions, further shifting search behaviors.
Our clients’ industries are impacted in varying ways. Sectors relying on informational content face the greatest challenges, as AI Answers are most often sought and generated for high-funnel, informational searches. Many clients’ traffic and revenue come from high-intent, local, and transactional searches – and the great news is that these remain less affected by AI Search.
As AI Search evolves, we are adapting your SEO strategy to maximize visibility and traffic. That’s why we’re sharing our perspective on the top questions our clients are asking:
1. Why should I care to show up in AI Answers?
AI Answers like Google’s AI Overviews provide brand impressions—even if you don’t get the click—giving you exposure that your competitors aren’t getting. With platforms like ChatGPT and Perplexity gaining popularity, appearing in AI-generated answers offers a chance to boost visibility, position your brand as an authoritative source, and drive audience trust and engagement.
2. How do I get AI to trust my website as a source?
Traditional SEO tactics remain essential for supporting visibility in AI Answers, because AI models value sites with authority, expertise, and trustworthiness:
- High-quality content that’s informative, relevant, and easy to digest and scan
- Technical SEO tactics like meta descriptions, title tags, and schema markup
- A seamless user experience including site speed, mobile optimization, and easy navigation
When our strategists identify queries (keywords) that are relevant to your business and produce an AI Answer, they will deploy tactics designed to improve your visibility:
- Use conversational language to match AI and voice queries
- Add FAQ sections that directly answer questions AI looks for
- Leverage long-tail keywords to answer specific queries that likely trigger AI responses
3. Why is it still important to rank in organic results?
It’s not all about AI Answers. For one client, of 312,000 keywords, only 464 generate AI Overviews. While AI is impacting informational searches, organic rankings are still critical for attracting qualified leads—not just for appearing in AI Answers, but for non-informational keywords. Organic results remain key for high-intent, local, and transactional searches where purchase decisions are made.
4. How will AI’s role in search evolve?
AI Search will continue to advance, and we’ll see more internet users trust and use these kinds of answers. Search engines like Google will focus even more on brand trust and authority, meaning it’s not just about optimizing content anymore—it’s about proving your expertise, reliability, and credibility. Strong performance in AI-driven results will be crucial, and we’ll likely see AI Answers expand further beyond search engines, as we’re already beginning to see on social media.
Reach out to your Account Manager today to discuss how we’re helping you stay competitive in the AI Search landscape.
