How AI Impacts Search and SEO

Google has officially rolled out AI Mode on its homepage. AI Overviews now appear in roughly 13% of desktop searches, up from single digits a few months ago. Meanwhile, Perplexity is quietly observing around 100 million searches weekly, building a loyal user base that seeks direct, synthesized answers, not just a list of links.

I’m one of those users. Maybe you are, too.

These days, I open an AI engine first and use classic Google second. This simple shift has changed how people search for information and how brands get discovered.

In this post, I’ll unpack how AI search is reshaping traditional search from a marketer’s perspective. This is particularly relevant across paid search and SEO, highlighting the skills you need for a successful career in either field.

• Understanding AI Search vs. Traditional Search

  • What sets traditional search apart from AI search? What do we mean by “generative AI search” versus “conversational AI search”?

• Traditional Search Engine Marketing vs. AI Search

  • Traditional search engines are like ranked recall systems. They crawl billions of pages, score them by relevance, and return the famous “ten blue links.” Users scan, click, and navigate from there.

Large language models (LLMs) digest multiple sources and generate a natural-language answer. Often, they cite their sources below. Users now get the answer first, often without the need to click further. If the experience allows users to ask follow-up questions and explore topics in a chat-like format, it transforms into conversational search.

• Google’s AI Overview is a form of generative AI search.

• Tools like Perplexity combine generative and conversational AI search.

Why This Shift Matters for Marketers?

This transition isn’t just an update in user experience (UX), it's a transformation in attention and decision-making.

When an AI Overview appears at the top of the results page, it often answers the query directly. This means several critical changes:

• Users don’t scroll.

• They don’t click links.

  
  

Many may never see your content. In fact, according to Ahrefs, the presence of an Overview leads to a 34.5% drop in clicks on the first organic result.

For marketers, this shift represents a significant challenge:

• Organic SEO becomes more challenging. Even top-ranking content may be buried below the fold, unseen unless users deliberately scroll.

• Paid ads face tighter competition. It’s not just about keyword matching—you must align your message with the context of the AI-generated answer.

  
  

In short, search has transitioned from navigation to instant resolution. To stay visible, brands must optimize for summaries rather than just rankings.

How Paid Search is Adapting

At Google Marketing Live 2025, the introduction of AI-powered ad formats was announced. These formats now appear above, below, and even within AI Overviews, starting with mobile and expanding to desktop. So, what’s new?

Ads now respond to both the search query and the AI-generated summary. This change allows for improved contextual targeting.

For marketers, adapting means:

• Using broad match keywords and smart bidding.

  • These strategies enable your ads to appear in more natural, conversational search queries that you might not have initially considered.

• Optimizing your Performance Max and Demand Gen campaigns, enabling AI Max on your search campaigns, and ensuring your product information is accurate and up-to-date.

• Using strong visuals, like high-quality images or short videos, will help your ads stand out when displayed by AI.

• Preparing for new interactive ad formats.

  • Shopping cards appearing inside AI answers make it easier for users to click and buy with fewer steps.

    
    

SEO in the AI Era

Google’s guidance remains the same. Helpful, reliable, people-first content wins. However, what’s considered "helpful" has evolved:

• Structure your content for AI summarization.

  • Use clear headers, lists, and well-cited facts.

• Target complex, long-form queries.

  • These are likely to be handled by AI Overviews.

• Embrace rich content.

  • Incorporate images, charts, and product specifications that may be pulled into an AI snapshot.

Final Thoughts

This shift is not a passing trend. It marks a fundamental redesign of the search experience. We are moving from typing keywords to asking questions. We're transitioning from scrolling through blue links to receiving instant answers. The focus is shifting from ranking content to synthesizing it.

For marketers, this evolution compels us to rethink visibility. Instead of merely considering page positions, we must contemplate how our content fits into AI-generated summaries. Whether you're launching ad campaigns or optimizing SEO, the goal must evolve from just being found to being featured prominently.

Even for brands, discoverability needs reevaluation. When machines decide which facts and products to surface, quality, clarity, and structured data become crucial. This is not about writing for algorithms; it's about being useful enough to warrant citation.

For those entering the marketing profession, this evolution calls for a hybrid skill set. You'll need to understand human psychology and machine logic, crafting content for both readers and algorithms. Strategies must be flexible, adapting quickly to changes in formats and expectations.

AI won't replace your job YET, but it will definitely, or maybe already, change how you work.

So, how is your marketing team adapting to AI-first search? Share your insights on LinkedIn and tag a colleague. Let’s navigate this new search landscape together.

You can also listen to our latest podcast episode. Thank you!

🎙Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/1gqZcMf5dbob20mx5foC0H?si=5e6d59e6d0c84589

🎧 Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ep06-ai-search-impacts-adaptation-for-seo-and-ppc/id1814511423?i=1000712040362