How AI-Driven Search Engines are Impacting Content Strategies

Since Google released AI Overviews, it’s completely changed the way we find information. Think about it. When you run a Google search, an AI Overview is typically the first response you see. How often do you click through to read an article? Probably not as often as you did when search results were simply a list of articles to sift through. With 70 percent of consumers already trusting AI responses, organic traffic is expected to decrease by more than 50 percent. 

The impact of changing search habits. 

Generative AI search engines are rapidly evolving in an effort to take more manual work out of search. Google gives this example: “Let’s take a question like ‘what's better for a family with kids under 3 and a dog, Bryce Canyon or Arches.’ Normally, you might break this one question down into smaller ones, sort through the vast information available, and start to piece things together yourself. With generative AI, Search can do some of that heavy lifting for you.”

Those advanced capabilities are transforming users’ search habits. People are not only asking more complex questions, but also including multiple questions in a single query—relying on AI to understand the correlation and pull together a tight summary that takes each topic into account.

So how do companies optimize content for search as generative AI evolves? Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) is quickly emerging as a concept.  

What is Generative Engine Optimization?

While Search Engine Optimization (SEO) focuses on increasing your ranking on the search results page, the focus of GEO is to have your content included and cited in an AI-generated response—which means optimizing content for how AI-driven search engines process and understand information.

There are tactical differences between GEO and SEO, but the ultimate purpose remains the same—increasing visibility in search results. Common SEO principles such as content quality, relevance, keyword strategies, site authority, and user experience are still foundational. GEO simply adds the step of tailoring your content for AI to increase the odds of becoming a cited source.

How to optimize content for AI Search.

An AI-driven search engine is working to distill vast amounts of information into a quick, conversational response. Written content needs to be clear, direct and scannable so AI can quickly interpret and deliver a concise summary. Content also needs to be solution-oriented. Write headlines and subheads that mirror the way people naturally ask questions, and organize content with numbered or bulleted lists where applicable.  

Making your content “AI-ready” also requires proving credibility. This can be done by adding quotes, data and statistics, and citing reputable industry research throughout your articles. Building authority with thought leadership content has never been more important. People are also asking more complex questions, relying on AI to connect the dots. This could lead to a resurgence of long-format content such as pillar pages. Generative AI engines will pull from blog posts that can answer the many different questions in a user’s search query.

The future of GEO.

As with any technology, generative AI capabilities are growing, and companies continue to innovate. Google states “We’re already working on new capabilities and updates, like adding more visual responses with images and video, richer formatting, new ways to get to helpful web content and much more.”

Regardless of the tool, at the end of the day, the goal remains the same: connecting people with the right content. Advancements in AI Search should push companies all the more to deliver credible, high-quality content focused on what their audience needs. Experiment with GEO strategies, staying relevant as the customer journey evolves.