You’ve probably heard about AI by now. In fact, it’s pretty hard to escape this technology these days. Artificial intelligence is already in our smartphones, refrigerators, and glasses.
Now AI is breaking into the SEO world with full force.
AI tools have been making their way into the SEO mainstream for quite some time. But only now have they become so popular that companies offering the most sought-after services must respond decisively.
The threat from OpenAI (which is building its own search engine) and other companies offering large language models has become so significant that Google has no choice — it must join the race to create the best artificial intelligence.
That’s exactly why Google released AI Overviews — and then AI Mode, which may soon become the default mode for the popular search engine.
Data on how AI tools are being used also leaves no doubt. We’re using our ChatGPT accounts less and less for writing text, and more and more for finding or verifying information.
What does this mean for SEO? Will AI Optimization (AIO) replace the practices we know so well?
We answer these questions in the text below.
The End of Google Search as We Knew It
Imagine waking up one day to discover that 25% of your customers have stopped using Google.
They haven’t switched to a competitor. They’ve simply vanished from traditional organic traffic acquisition channels.
Gartner predicts that AI tools will “capture” 25% of traffic from classic search engines. And this prediction isn’t about the distant future, but about 2026.
That’s right! In just a year, you could lose 25% of your Google traffic. If you haven’t lost it already.
The data clearly shows that Gen Z searches for information online in a completely different way than previous generations. Short-form videos, social media, and chatbots are playing an increasingly important role, while traditional information search channels are losing relevance.
In other words, more and more users are abandoning traditional search in favor of conversations with AI. Instead of scrolling through dozens of results on Google, they ask ChatGPT, Claude, or Perplexity a question and get an answer — often with a specific brand, product, or service recommendation.
If your company doesn’t appear in these answers, you become invisible to a growing group of potential customers.
SEO vs AIO — Key Differences
1. Keywords vs Query Fan-Out
Traditional SEO is based on specific keywords. For example, you optimize a page for the keyword “best running shoes” and fight for the #1 position in SERPs.
When using AI tools, a single user query is automatically expanded into dozens of related sub-queries in a process called query fan-out.
When someone asks about “best electric SUVs,” the AI system generates parallel queries about EV safety, brand comparisons, charging times, or affordable models in 2025. The model then synthesizes the answers into one cohesive response.
What does this mean for you?
Optimizing a page for one keyword is no longer enough. You need to build an ecosystem of content that answers a whole spectrum of related questions.
2. Classic Rankings vs Citations
In traditional SEO, position matters. Ranking #1 = victory.
In AIO, what matters most is being cited. You might rank at position #5 on Google, but if AI considers your content authoritative, you’ll be the one referenced in the answer.
Research shows that 76% of citations in AI Overviews come from the top 10 organic results, but it also means that 14% of cited pages don’t appear in traditional search results at all.
What does this mean for you?
Authority and substantive quality of content matter more than ever. AI doesn’t just look at the article’s ranking — it looks at the quality and credibility of the source.
3. Entire Pages vs Passages
Google increasingly doesn’t display entire pages but extracts specific passages that best answer a given question.
In the most popular AI tools, this mechanism is turned up to 11. The AI model doesn’t send users to your page — it extracts a specific passage and presents it as part of its answer.
What does this mean for you?
Each section of content on your page should be a standalone, complete answer to a specific question. A structure with clear H2/H3 headings in question form, followed by concise answers, makes content easier for AI systems to digest.
4. Keywords vs Entities
Traditional SEO focused on keyword density and semantic keywords (LSI keywords).
AIO focuses on entities — people, places, products, and concepts. These serve as “semantic anchors” for AI.
What does this mean for you?
You need to clearly define who you are, what you do, and in what context you appear.
Entities are particularly useful for disambiguating meanings. For example, “jaguar speed” could refer to the animal’s velocity or the F-Type car’s performance.
Clear entity definition in content, supported by appropriate schema markup, helps search engines and AI understand context.
5. Backlinks vs Brand Mentions
In traditional SEO, backlinks were what mattered most.
In AIO, brand mentions play a crucial role. These are the situations where your brand is mentioned in an expert context — even without a direct link to your site.
Ahrefs analyzed the presence of 75,000 brands in AI Overviews and discovered that brand mentions correlate most strongly with brand visibility in AI responses.
What does this mean for you?
Build authority not just through links, but through presence in valuable industry discussions, reports, case studies, and expert content.
6. Technical Optimization vs E-E-A-T
Google and AI systems are putting more emphasis on E-E-A-T signals — Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness.
Having a technically well-constructed site isn’t enough. You need to prove that you’re an expert, that you have experience in your field, that others trust you.
Of course — good technical optimization is essential. But it’s certainly not sufficient if you wish to succeed.
What does this mean for you?
Analyze your content for authors, references, reviews, and trust signals. Strengthen the expert profile of your brand and the people behind it.
How AIO Is Changing Today’s SEO Landscape
1. The End of Google’s Hegemony
For the past 20 years, SEO has essentially been about optimizing for Google. Other search engines had their market share, but it was negligible.
Now that’s changing.
ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Gemini — each of these tools has its own data sources, its own algorithms, and its own preferences about what it considers a valuable source.
As a result, SEO specialists need to think about multi-platform visibility, not just Google.
2. Decline in Traditional Organic Traffic
Even pages ranking in first position are losing traffic if AI Overview fully satisfies user intent. Users get an answer directly in the AI interface and don’t need to click on any link.
It means that simply occupying high SERP positions no longer guarantees traffic.
Research confirms this, too. Based on survey responses, Sprout Social found that over 40% of Gen Z uses social media as their first source of information.
At the same time, the importance of AI tools continues to grow.
How to deal with this?
Instead of fighting for the #1 position for one keyword, build deep topical coverage.
The hub-and-spoke structure, where the main page (hub) provides a broad topic overview and related cluster pages (spokes) dive into specific issues, mirrors the way AI systems organize queries thematically.
3. New Success Metrics
Traditional KPIs used in SEO are no longer the only measure of success. SERP position, number of sessions, and CTR are slowly becoming obsolete.
In AIO, what counts is:
- Number of citations in AI Overviews — how often your brand is referenced in AI responses.
- Share in sub-queries — how many related questions your content answers.
- Traffic from AI tools — how many users visit your site from ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity.
- Brand mentions — how often others talk about you as an expert.
4. Content Marketing Becomes Even More Important
Paradoxically, in the era of automation and AI, human expertise and experience have more value than ever.
AI can generate a generic article. However, it cannot replace an authentic case study, personal experience, or an expert’s unique perspective.
These are exactly the elements AI wants to cite. It’s worth emphasizing this throughout your entire website.
5. Link Building Evolves Into Authority Building
Buying links with anchor text, guest posting for links, link exchanges — these tactics are losing importance.
In their place appears strategic authority building, which includes:
- publications in authoritative industry media
- participation in reports and research
- activity in expert discussions (e.g., LinkedIn, industry forums)
- citations by other experts
These are signals that AI recognizes and rewards.
What To Expect in the Coming Years
1. AI Product Cards
Google displays product cards at the top of transactional queries. Soon, similar cards will start showing up in AI tools.
AI Product Cards are generated directly in AI tool interfaces — with prices, descriptions, images, and direct purchase links.
Just a few days ago, Google announced the latest update for AI Mode allowing purchases directly in the Gemini app. This is the first (but certainly not the last) case where an AI app can make a purchase “for us.”
Another example — Shopify was one of the first e-commerce players to integrate its platform with ChatGPT. Thanks to the plugin, users can:
- search for products from Shopify stores directly in conversation
- receive recommendations tailored to the conversation context
- proceed directly to checkout from within ChatGPT
This is an extremely important change in your potential customers’ purchase journey.
We can safely assume that the amount of product cards appearing in AI tools will only increase with time.
What does this mean?
E-commerce stores need to optimize product data structures specifically for cards in AI tools. This requires fundamental rethinking of product information architecture.
Data must be readable for crawlers, but also accessible to language models through APIs and standardized data exchange formats.
2. Personalization of AI Responses
AI will know your preferences, purchase history, location — and will tailor recommendations. We’ll enter a level of hyper-personalization where the same artificial intelligence will work slightly differently for each user.
What does this mean?
Building relationships with users will be even more important. AI will recommend brands the user has already had contact with.
3. Multimodal Search
AI will analyze not just text, but also images, audio, and video. AI Mode already allows uploading images that AI processes and analyzes.
Similarly, AI Mode “figures out” when users expect to see an image rather than text — and delivers the appropriate type of response.
For example, the query “how does shuffling look like” results in a series of videos at the top of the response showing how to perform this dance move.
What does this mean?
Multimedia optimization will become crucial. Automatic image descriptions, video captions, audio transcriptions — all of this will be source material for AI.
What Should You Do Right Now?
1. Check What AI Knows About Your Brand
Ask ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, and Gemini about your company, products, and services.
Check:
- Do they know you at all?
- How do they describe you?
- Is the information current and correct?
- What other brands are recommended alongside you?
2. Build Comprehensive Content Architecture
Instead of creating individual articles for specific keywords, build topic clusters — hub pages with broad topic overviews + cluster pages diving into details. Each page should answer a specific combination of entities and intent.
3. Strengthen E-E-A-T Signals
- Add “About the author” sections with verifiable information.
- Collect references and case studies.
- Publish in authoritative media.
- Build an expert profile on LinkedIn.
- Participate in industry events.
4. Optimize Content for Passages
Ensure proper content structure. It’s best to use clear headings in question form, followed by concise answers. This makes it easy for AI to extract passages and include them in its responses.
5. Monitor Traffic From AI Tools
Check your server logs to see if AI bots are visiting your site (GPTBot, Claude-Web, PerplexityBot). Their presence is the first signal that your content is being added to AI databases.
Will AIO replace SEO?
No. AIO doesn’t replace SEO. Think of it as its natural evolution.
Just as mobile SEO once became an integral part of SEO, AIO is becoming an inseparable element of modern SEO strategies.
You can ignore this trend — but then the competition will overtake you.
It’s better to start acting now and gain an advantage before everyone else adapts.
Need Support With AIO?
At NON.agency, we help companies build visibility in search engines and AI tools. We conduct comprehensive audits, create content strategies, and implement technical optimizations.