Search Is Entering a New Phase

The way people discover information online has changed more in the past five years than in the previous two decades.

Conversational AI platforms have pushed search beyond basic keyword matching into a world shaped by meaning, context, and intent. Modern systems can now interpret what users are trying to achieve—not just what they type.

This has profound implications for how websites are planned, structured, and optimised.

Traditional SEO still matters, but it is no longer sufficient on its own. Today’s digital strategies must focus on how content satisfies user intent at a conceptual level, not simply how often a keyword appears on a page.

AI Is Reshaping Search Behaviour

Generative AI adoption continues to accelerate. Platforms such as ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity AI are becoming everyday tools for research, problem-solving, and decision-making.

At the same time, Google’s dominance of traditional search is slowly eroding as users diversify where and how they seek answers.

Search itself is evolving from a list of blue links into a conversational experience—one where users expect immediate, synthesised responses rather than multiple pages of results.

AI Overviews and the Growth of Zero-Click Search

Google’s rollout of AI Overviews has significantly intensified this shift. These AI-generated summaries appear at the top of many results pages and aim to resolve queries instantly.

Microsoft’s Bing Copilot follows a similar model, embedding AI directly into the search journey.

The impact is clear:

• Queries are becoming longer and more conversational

• Multimodal search (text + images + voice) is increasing

• Zero-click searches continue to rise, with roughly 60% of searches now ending without a visit to an external website

AI-driven answers are increasingly satisfying user needs directly within the search interface.

This raises an important question:

If fewer users click, what does success in search actually look like?

SEO Isn’t Dead — But Its Role Is Changing

Organic search remains the largest single source of trackable website traffic, and Google still processes trillions of searches each year.

However, click-through rates are under pressure. When AI Overviews appear, organic CTRs fall sharply. Paid CTRs decline as well.

The implication is not that SEO has failed—but that its purpose is expanding.

Visibility alone is no longer the end goal.
Influence inside AI-generated answers is becoming just as important.

From Traffic Volume to Traffic Value

Lower click volumes do not automatically mean lower performance.

Evidence suggests that users who do click after seeing AI summaries tend to be:

• Better informed

• More engaged

• More likely to convert

This shifts the focus of measurement away from raw session counts and toward:

• Engagement quality

• Time on site

• Conversion rate

• Lead quality

• Revenue impact

In response, many organisations are adopting Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO)—optimising content so it is more likely to be referenced, summarised, or cited by AI systems, alongside traditional SEO.

The core question becomes:

Did our content meaningfully solve the user’s problem—and did that drive a business outcome?

Where AI Matters Most (and Least)

AI Overviews do not appear equally across all query types.

They are most common for:

• Informational searches

• Definitions and explanations

• How-to content

• FAQs

They appear far less consistently for:

• Transactional searches

• Product comparisons with strong commercial intent

• Subscriptions and pricing

• Sensitive or regulated topics

This creates a clear strategic split:

• Informational content → prioritise GEO + SEO

• Commercial content → prioritise classic SEO + conversion optimisation

Both remain essential—just for different reasons.

The Strategic Reality

Search success today is no longer defined purely by rankings.

It is defined by:

• Relevance

• Authority

• Clarity

• Usefulness

Demonstrable impact on business goals

The strongest brands will be those that treat search not as a traffic channel, but as a trust-building system—one that helps users make better decisions wherever they encounter answers.

SEO is not disappearing.

It is evolving into a broader discipline where SEO and GEO work together to ensure visibility not just in results pages—but inside the answers themselves.