I've been doing SEO for 10 years and AI search is making me rethink everything I know, here are 10 changes I’m seeing:
1. Search results have always come from our sites. Now AI also pulls from sites like Reddit and YouTube. If you’re not present, you’re not visible in answers.
2. SEO has always been about optimising for website traffic. Today, impressions are going up but clicks are going down. Now we need to optimise for visibility EVERYWHERE (Google, AI Overviews, ChatGPT, Reddit, socials...).
3. The goal has always been to rank in the top 10. Simple. But now we need to show up positively in AI answers and track where negative narratives come from (and change it).
Reframe your “New SEO” project as a game and you'll become addicted to levelling up.
Start from level 1 in my “New SEO” game:
Level 1: Traditional SEO
- Audit your site for technical issues
- Research keywords and target quick wins
- Optimize on-page elements (titles, content)
- Build backlinks via guest posts and digital PR
Level 2: AI Search Optimization
- Optimize content for AI Overviews
- Structure content for AI consumption
- Create citation-worthy content for AI search
- Test how your brand appears in AI search results