Guest writer Dakota Murphey

The field of search is undergoing its most dramatic transformation in recent years. AI (artificial intelligence) is finding itself increasingly intertwined within search, and businesses and marketing teams are turning to generative AI in an attempt to augment, support and delegate tasks and processes in campaigns.

But AI’s involvement in search doesn’t stop there. Google has recently introduced a game-changing feature, AI Overviews, and these represent a huge shift in search engines using generative AI to provide quick and accurate answers directly in search results.

Couple this with the rise in using genAI chatbots like ChatGPT and Gemini to find what they need, and it leaves question marks around what traditional SEO will look like. Recent statistics suggest that ChatGPT occupies 1.5% of the search market. While this may look tame next to Google’s 74.6%, direct traffic through ChatGPT surged between January and July 2024 (182,000%), and represents a trend unlikely to slow anytime soon. It’s understandable that marketing teams are concerned about the future of websites, particularly those that have historically ranked well for valuable key search terms, but are now experiencing a decline in click-through rates and traffic thanks to AI Overviews.

As AI continues to provide immediate answers to users’ search queries, the tried-and-tested approach of browsing and clicking through to multiple websites to find the information they need is becoming increasingly unnecessary. The presence of quick, direct, AI-led responses nullifies the need to scroll and click individual websites, especially if there’s no immediate giveaway that they’ll find what they need on said page.

This shift in user behaviour poses a challenge for businesses that rely heavily on organic search traffic to engage, educate, and inform their audience. So, let’s take a look at how users are interacting with search engines differently, and how businesses need to adapt their search approach to include generative search.

Understanding AI overviews

Traditional organic search has followed the same linear model and process for decades now.

1. Users type a query (e.g. keyword, question, term, brand)
2. Search engines return a list of indexed websites that rank for the key term(s)
3. Users typically click through to pages that rank in the top positions

This simple 3-step process is now being disrupted by AI Overviews and similar features found in search engines like Bing.

Google, for example, the most popular search engine, has altered the interface of SERPs (search engine results pages) numerous times, integrating features like the Local Pack, Google Shopping, featured snippets, and more. Not to mention that paid Google Ads also sit above the organic rankings for key terms. However, AI Overviews represent a much larger and significant alteration to search.

These AI Overviews synthesise information across Google’s massive index and present it directly to the searcher. Instead of them clicking through multiple websites to compile information, they now receive comprehensive answers directly in the SERP, saving them time and giving them an immediate solution.

AI Overviews also appear above traditional organic rankings, with the AI-generated summaries that directly answer user queries including “link cards”, which attribute information to source websites.

Why should we pay attention to AI overviews?

What makes these overviews particularly powerful is their ability to respond to complex, multi-layered queries. For instance, rather than searching individually for “UK coastal towns”, “areas with good transport to London” and “UK tech companies”, users can simply ask for “UK coastal towns with tech companies and good London transport links” and receive a thorough answer.

While this might not sound overly disruptive on the surface, generative AI’s continued insertion into organic search will mean evolution is afoot. Generative search, which sees AI creating conversational, personalised responses, could see more natural and chatbot-led interactions with search engines. Users will soon be able to ask follow-up questions, ask for clarification, or delve deeper into specific topical areas, where searching for information is less arbitrary and represents more of a back-and-forth dialogue.

Some marketers are skeptical about the accuracy of AI-generated content and its propensity across a largely unregulated index of websites. While generative AI is excellent at finding content gaps and supporting the ideation process, there does lie the potential for websites with swathes of (possibly misinformed or inaccurate) AI content to be attributed as relevant in an AI Overview.

How are users responding?

The introduction of AI Overviews and innovative AI-led search features is already affecting user behaviours. Users can:

• Expect more immediate, zero-click answers
• Formulate longer, more conversational or colloquial searches
• Spend less time visiting multiple websites to gather information
• Click through to websites less often

The last point is particularly astute because traditional SEO relies heavily on those click-throughs from SERPs.

How to adapt SEO strategies for AI Overviews

As AI Overviews begin to reshape how search works, businesses must prioritise understanding the shifts in consumer behaviour being driven by these algorithmic changes. While the technical aspects of adapting SEO strategies are beyond the scope of our work here at Clusters, comprehending how these changes define the way consumers interact with content is very important.

Businesses need to analyse and understand emerging consumer preferences and usage patterns. For example, numerous AI tools are focused on personalisation and user experience, underlining the importance of tailoring content to individual audiences, addressing both their preferences and pain points. Similarly, with search results increasingly being influenced and refined by AI, businesses should proactively consider how their content strategy can continue to meet consumers’ changing needs and expectations.

Adapting effectively requires prioritising the creation of content that is both parsable and engaging, as AI Overviews will pull through this information when aggregating results. Content demonstrating genuine expertise, knowledge, and tangible results within a given industry will prove exceptionally valuable. Reinforcing this knowledge and experience will give businesses the best chance of maintaining and strengthening customer trust and social proof. Essentially, the integration of AI into search engines has elevated consumer expectation, with users now anticipating faster and more personalised responses to their queries.

Ensuring future success

As organic search continues to change, Clusters is committed to helping businesses navigate these changes with data-driven approaches to customer journey mapping and segmentation. If this sounds like something you’d benefit from, arrange a no-obligation chat with us today to see how we can help you define your audience needs, establish their pain points and refine your processes and approaches for long-term success.