Webinar Recap: How AI Is Changing Search and SEO
August 19th, 2025 by
Key Insights
- AI search is changing the rules but not the game. Foundational SEO fundamentals still matter, but success now depends on adapting them to how AI understands, cites, and delivers information.
- Visibility comes from trust, context, and structure. Entity-rich content, credible citations, and clear organization make it easier for AI and traditional search engines to surface your brand.
- Optimizing for Google means optimizing for AI search everywhere. Google’s AI Overviews influence visibility across multiple platforms, making Google-centric AI SEO the highest-impact starting point.
SEO is not becoming obsolete but is undergoing a significant transformation in an AI-powered search world, requiring adaptation of fundamental strategies rather than a complete overhaul.
In our recent client webinar, “SEO for AI Search: Stay Visible in the Age of Generative Answers,” we discussed the overall AI shift and the necessary changes to SEO strategy.
Watch the replay to learn more, or read on for a high-level recap.
Evolution, Not Replacement
While the search landscape is changing with the rise of AI, traditional search (dominated by Google) still holds the majority of market share. AI-powered search tools like ChatGPT are a growing segment that needs our attention now to stay ahead.
AI Search Defined
AI search uses artificial intelligence to comprehend complex queries, generate concise summaries, and provide direct answers, moving beyond just a list of links. Key features include conversational input, AI-generated overviews, context awareness, entity recognition, and citations.
Shift in SEO Focus
The fundamental pillars of SEO are adapting…
From keywords to entities
The focus is shifting from exact keyword matching to understanding and optimizing for entities (named people, places, things, ideas). AI tools use entities to understand context rather than literal search terms. A significant finding is that ~87% of the time, the exact search query does not appear in the AI Overview (AIO) summary, emphasizing the importance of context and the decline in exact-match keyword optimization importance.
From content volume to semantic relevance
Content optimization moves from mere text volume and keyword use to semantic relevance, meaning content that demonstrates depth, is structured for natural search, and reflects how people genuinely ask questions and connect topics. Content needs to be structured in the same way, be clear, and be concise to be chosen by AI as a trusted source.
From links to citations
While links are still important, the emphasis shifts to citations, which involve building trust through mentions and references from authoritative sources. Being present in Google’s top 10 organic results is highly correlated with being cited in AIOs (~41% of citations come from Google’s top 10).
Google’s Continued Importance
Optimizing for Google Search and its AIOs is the most impactful strategy for immediate and long-term results. Google’s AIOs are a hybrid model that pulls real-time data from its index, uses a language model to generate answers, and blends various search results and structured data. Moreover, optimizations made for Google AIOs also positively impact visibility in other AI search platforms like ChatGPT.
Brand Impression in Zero-Click Searches
With the rise of “zero-click searches” (where users get answers directly from AIOs without visiting a website), being cited in an Overview can still create a crucial brand impression and even encourage later brand-specific searches.
Actionable AI SEO Strategies
Search Influence is actively taking concrete, AI search-optimized steps for our clients where applicable:
- Content Design: Writing entity-rich, specific, direct, “chunked,” organized, and authoritative content, incorporating clear citations and external references.
- Semantic Triple: Structuring content using a subject-predicate-object format to help AI extract facts easily.
- Internal Linking: Linking to and from entities rather than using generic call-to-action anchor text.
- Schema Markup: Utilizing web code like schema to reinforce entities and structure content, which AI-powered search reads and benefits from.
- Citation Building: Actively building citations through online directories, media mentions, thought leadership, speaker bios, and professional associations, reinforcing the desired association between your brand and its offerings.
- Tracking and Analytics: While data for AI search tracking is rapidly developing, current tools like Google Analytics 4 can provide referral traffic from AI, and Google Search Console can identify conversational queries. Newer AI SEO tracking tools are emerging to monitor presence and sentiment in AI results.
We recommend a proactive and adaptive SEO approach that understands and leverages how AI processes information, prioritizing:
- Contextual understanding
- Structured content
- Credible external validation over traditional keyword-focused content and link quantity
Stay Ahead in the AI Search Era
We’re in the middle of one of the biggest shifts in search since Google was founded, but the fundamentals of SEO still matter. How you apply them just looks different in an AI-driven world. The brands that adapt now will be the ones that stay visible tomorrow.
Watch the full webinar recording for practical examples and strategies you can start using right away.
Wondering what this all means for your brand? Contact us, and let’s talk about how to position your brand for success in both traditional and AI search.
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