Why #1 on Google Isn’t Enough Anymore

AI is serving search. But how do you thrive when AI owns the search experience?

My friend and I found ourselves at a rather fancy pizza place and read ‘EVOO’ next to a few options. Determined not to embarrass ourselves and ask the server, we ran a quick Google search, ‘what is evoo on pizza.’ Within seconds, an AI-generated snippet told us it was just a fancy way of saying extra virgin olive oil, and we promptly got our pizza with ‘evoo’ drizzled.

This simple pizza query illustrates how AI is already transforming our search behaviour. But then, should we optimise content for Google or for AI? That’s a million-dollar question we, as SEO and Content experts, are getting hit with.

Today's content strategy requires a dual approach: satisfying both traditional search engine algorithms and AI models. While Google continues to dominate search, AI engines like Gemini, Perplexity and SearchGPT are rapidly gaining traction by offering contextual, hyper-personalised results that learn from each user interaction.

Now, visibility in AI engines will be critical for SEO success. As AI search gains momentum, SEO success will depend on search rankings and visibility within AI-generated responses. So, how do we adapt?

How To SEO For AIO in 2025

• Intent-Based Optimisation: Diversify traffic sources and double down on transactional queries. Conversational, long-tail queries will ultimately become more competitive. Eg: What foods are high in vitamin B12 (try this query, and you’ll see the AI has pulled the response from the #1 result)
• This includes structuring content for clear, direct answers, leveraging schemas, and focusing on conversational keyword strategies. 💡Schemas are code snippets that tell search engines what your content means, helping display rich results like ratings, prices, and FAQs in search listings.

• Optimise for AI crawling and ensure your website’s content is technically sound and easy for AI to access. How?💡 Make content credible by weaving in citations & expert quotes, adding specific data points and revamping structures (H2 - H4 tags) with skimmable headings.
• Track referral traffic from LLMs: You can find this data in GA4 to better understand which LLMs are sending traffic to your website. This gives you a better understanding of where your users are hanging out.

• Do your SERP homework and identify informational queries where AI overviews are likely to appear. Monitor content sources and check what Google (or Gemini) highlights as sources for AI results. 💡Type in a query most relevant to your brand and understand the AI overview that appears. Try weaving in similar helpful content throughout your website content to rank on the AIO.

Pro tip: Advanced analytics tools like SEMrush Enterprise help monitor and analyse your traffic from AI overviews and give recommendations on how to enhance AI presence. Get in touch to know more!

The Great Search Divide

While zero-click searches and AI summaries might seem threatening to traditional SEO metrics, we’re certain that they present an unprecedented opportunity. The ones at the top (literally) will be those who master the art of dual optimisation – creating content that's both snackable for AI and substantial for readers.

The question isn't whether to optimise for Google or AI – it's how to make your content indispensable to both. Because in the end, whether it's a simple pizza topping or complex market analysis, your content needs to be the answer users find, regardless of how they search.

In our next post, we will show you how we dominate the AIO for a B2C brand. Stay tuned 🔥 Reach out to us at bd@schbang.com for acing dual visibility on both Google & Ai search engines.

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